Digital Camera Recs - Bridge Cameras

I'm looking to finally invest in a bridge or dslr digital camera. I have a point and shoot and a 35mm SLR, but I decided I needed to take that next step. Although I was once very much into photography, I've kinda fallen out of the loop and am lost on which one to get.

Wants:

-something that i can buy a remote for

-short shutter lag/high shuttr speed

-I'd preferably like to spend less than $600-$700

-something that is Jessica-resistant (I tend to drop things a lot!)

-doesn't HAVE to be a super zoom, but would be cool

-manual mode

Any suggestions?

Jessica, what does bridge camera mean? I am not great with cameras but my DH wants to get something in a year or so that is better than just a point and shoot because of kids.

Bridge is sort of like a DSLR camera, but with a few differences - without the reflex, lens fixed to body and some other differences in aperture, ISO, etc.

I just edited my post, I'll take DSLR recs too. I may actually prefer a DSLR over a bridge now that I'm really thinking about it.

so basically a little more professional/higher end than a point and shoot, but not the kind of camera that the pro-photogs use right?

pretty much!!!!

i just want to be more versatile in my photos of Aiden and when we go on vacation and stuff. i actually have a point and shoot and a really nice film camera, but considering i have film sitting in it from 4 years ago, i think it's safe to say i'm really lazy at getting film developed!

I'd say go for point & shoot digital, instead of a full dslr (unless you plan on getting back into photography). The real reason I say this, is because if you're looking for a good quality image with faster shutter speeds to capture Aiden on-the-go, messing around with camera settings on a dslr to go from manual to programmable is going to be frustrating.

The only thing that makes me cautious about your need for the digital camera is the dropping thing. Honestly, film cameras always took that kind of abuse better because they didn't use electronic circuitry to perform actions. Unlike digital cameras, which are going to be more sensitive to "shocks" like that. Granted, there are probably some models out there that are more shock-resistant than other models--- but overall, they might wear out more quickly....

My brother-in-law has a "point-n-shoot" attitude dslr from Fuji. They took it with them this summer to Alaska and even I was surprised by the clarity of images (it was like a 7.0 meg camera) and the zoom capabilities (they were on one mountain and had some decent close-up's of animals on the mountain facing them). The big thing with the zoom is optical-vs-digital zoom. The digital zoom has more deterioration of the image quality, IMO. Optical zoom maintains quality, but won't go as far with the zoom ability.

here's the fuji style I mentioned:

Fujifilm | FinePix S8000fd Digital Camera | 15774199 | B&H Photo

just be sure that if the battery source on ANY digital camera is regular alkaline battery, that you read the reviews on the camera. If you see any reports of quick battery drainage, RUN. digital cameras tend to be "bleeders" of alkaline batteries (where you'll get maybe 15-60 minutes of taking pictures before the batteries die).

Avoid HP point-n-shoot's that use alkaline. Worst purchase I ever made for that very reason. When I bought my most recent camera, I very very HAPPILY took my HP to the parking lot and beat the shit out of it with a bat...

I've been looking at this one for a while....

RefurbDepot.com - Product Details

Thanks for the tips Maria!! I'm sort of thinking about getting back into photography, but I didn't jump on the digital camera bandwagon until late, so they are all pretty new to me. Your adivce helps though!

That Fujifilm one looks pretty neat. I'll have to look into it.

Melissa, that Canon has been the one I've been looking at as well!!!

I've been looking for a camera for a while now, to get a bit further in on the photography fun w/out needing too much learning and have been eying the Canon Powershot G9. It's not the prettiest thing ever (not that that matters if performance is there, right?) but it's a bit easier to lug around and has all a LOT of the manual controls of an SLR but the option to have them automatically set as well (for novices like me). I like that it has twice the optical zoom than most point and shoot cameras do but with the advantage of the convenient size and the image stabilization feature I want.

As a gee whiz feature, it's got the color accent feature as well. yay!

This one's $499 so it's not as painful on the pocket as some other ones that tease me every time I walk by the dslr display at Best Buy.