Since I've been doing so many trips, my wife has decided to reward herself with a trip to a photography school out of Sedona. I'd like to surprise her with a new camera, but since I'm unemployed I don't want to get too outrageous on the price. The camera can be P&S, but needs to be able to use filters, and I figure RAW would be nice too. Is there any hope?

Hi Joe,

You're a very kind person to surprise her this way. I hope your kindness is rewarded with a lot of future hikes :-)

P&S cameras that take filters are rare, and many that do require an adapter of some sort. I suspect there are a few that take them directly, but I can't name one offhand. Possibly certain "superzooms" that use a standard lens cap?

Your money probably is better spent on a used DSLR. It would take filters directly and would provide complete camera control, something few P&Ss do. DSLRs plummet spectacularly in value after purchase and are pretty commonly available. Maybe look at Craig's List and ebay?

Good luck,

Rick

Only yesterday the guy that took over my job as a camera buyer mentioned how cheap s/h DSLRs are and how well they sell.
There are several users that upgrade to the new version every second generation simply because they can.
So, yes, I think that Rick's suggestion should be considered.
Franco

DSLR's are pretty easy to get cheaply and I have one myself that I rarely carry hiking due to weight and size, especially with lenses.

A few photog's I know at the local paper that shoot sports/outdoors stuff use point and shoot cameras as lightweight backups. I've been speaking to them about possible camera options and they recommended the Panny LX3 and Canon G10. The Panasonic takes filters directly. The Canon uses and adapter for filters.

Just throwing those options out there.

Hi Chris,

Both the Panny and G10 are great P&Ss with a lot of user-controllable settings, but at $400+ probably aren't within the OP's price range. FWIW The LX3 requires an adapter to host a filter, but luckily it's not very expen$ive. I don't know whether the G10 can me similarly fitted, as its lens hides behind a shutter when parked.

Cheers,

Rick

True, used dslr's can be had for cheaper. Used lx3's and g10's aren't discounted much as they are fairly new and not as common, but used G9's can be had at good prices.

I have seen a few adapters that allow filters with the G10. However, one drawback is they extend the length of the lens enough to reduce the advantage of point and shoot size over dslr's with lenses of similar coverage.

So what should I look for, brand-wise and model-wise, in a used DSLR? I see a lot of Nikon D40s on EBay.

Another dumb question........do any of the new Olympus cameras use the same lenses that their old SLRs did? That would be handy, since I have two of their SLRs and 3 lenses somewhere.

Hi Joe,

Yes, you can fit an OM lens to any 4/3 DSLR via an adapter. Oly makes an "official" adapter that will fit and work perfectly, or you can chance an ebay version for a lot less money.

The lenses will be manual focus and aperture, but you'll still have aperture-preferred auto-exposure capability. An interesting technical trick Oly has applied to their bodies with image stabilization is they can be programmed to work with fixed focal length legacy (manual focus) lenses. This can really enhance their usefulness.

Cheers,

Rick