What brand and kind of camera do you use to get great pictures of your doodle(s)?

[Kathy (Ellie & Oliver)]

As the holidays approach, many of us may be thinking of getting a different camera to help us capture those unforgettable doodle moments. There seems to be sales, sales, and more sales! I like to have a wish list on hand for items that I am possibly interested in buying now or in the future. Please share with us the name of a user friendly point and shoot or SLR camera that you use to take awesome pictures of your doodle(s). Thanks for your suggestions!!!

[Zoe, Benny and Tyler]

I can recommend the new Canon EOS 7D. It is an expensive camera but it is worth it. Especially if you want take pictures of the always moving doodles ....The camera has 10 autofocus spots so it makes it quite easy to capture moving objects. I was always a fan of the EOS because the pictures are so sharp and brilliant although we used a Sony @ so far which was fine.
But we will definitely switch to the new EOS 7D now.

[texanmom4]

I have a Canon XTi. There are newer models now, but myXTi does what I meed it to do. I practice my manual settings a lot. Using a tripod helps me too for action.

[Camilla and Darwin]

We have an Olympus point and shoot. I would love an SLR, but we really can't afford it right now, so we got this camera. It was a good price, and it is a great camera. It's 12mp and has 5x optical zoom... and it really does take great photos of action or still life. Can't help from drooling over Canon Rebels though... :-)

[F, Calla & Luca]

Your pictures are always great. Sarah, see below, did have a zoom lens but I don't know the specifics.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I use a Canon digital Elph which does a nice job. My son's girlfriend, Sarah Vandergriff used a Nikon digital SLR, I think a D40 perhaps, to take pictures at a romp and was able to shoot over 600 in a day. They were great and one made it into the calendar. They are in my album Sandy Hook. The digital SLR is far more capable in taking action pictures.

[Joy Williams]

My husband gave me a Sony DSLR A-300 with a regular lens and a long lens last year for Christmas and I love it! It takes such great photos. It has the auto settings, and also you can manually set it for special photos. But I like the fast auto focus which is something I really need with trying to get good shots of 2 Doods that rarely stand still!

[F, Calla & Luca]

BTW, Sarah did ask me if she got attribution in the calendar. I told her she was mentioned on DK but not in the calendar. Maybe the photographers could get mentioned next year.

[Robert K]

It depends on how much you want to spend. What is your price range? Nikon & Cannon make the best high end SLRs. (>$1500.00) There really isn't any other serious competittion at that level. The Pentax K7 is an awesome new camera that is right around $1,500 Below that, there is a lot of good camera competition out there. Too many to list. I would need a price range to sugest something.

[Kathy (Ellie & Oliver)]

I would like to stay around $1,000. That is what I can afford right now. I've never owned a SLR camera and would like to learn how to take some wonderful pictures of my doodles. Any suggestions would be appreciated!
Thanks! Kathy

[Kathy (Ellie & Oliver)]

Thanks for the suggestion about getting involved in a photo class. I'm going to look into that idea.

[Robert K]

For $1,000 you can get a very nice first camera. If you can spend $1,200 (depending on the lens) the Nikon D90 is a great camera. It also films HD video, a very nice feature to have. For $600 - $800 (Depending on the lens) the Nikon D5000 / Canon EOS Rebel T1i / or the Pentax KX. All three of these also will film HD video. Nikon & Canon are the best brands in this category and above. Personally I prefer Nikon but it's a matter of preference. The Pentax is also very nice.

If you want to purchase online B&H Photo (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/) in New York is a great place to look. They have a long history of happy customers. You could also look at E-Bay but be a little more careful who you buy from.

If you are in So. California try Samy's. The people there know their stuff and are a great source of information and helping with your decision. Samy's has 5 locations. http://www.samys.com/

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I have a NikonD60. It works well and easily. I am not a great picture taker but really enjoy it. It does the work for me most of the time. I also Sony cybershot. It is small and I can use it in any environment (sunny,cloudy, inside) and it works.