Suggest a non-SLR for me

My school is wanting me to purchase a digital camera for school use...we have several mavica's that I despise...but my principal wants another one...not necessarily a mavica. I'm having a hard time making a recommendation because he wants it to stay under $500!!!! Any advice?

-daniel

I have a G3 that I think works nicely, and is definitely under $500. You may even be able to get a G5 or G6 for that as well.

The A series is also a popular choice (A80 maybe?)

How is it gonna be used? By whom? when? what conditions?

G or A series.. the A lacks RAW files.. but I'm gessing that is not a concern.

The newer A's have a nice tilting LCD that I like a lot. The last time I looked it was the A80 at the top of the "A" heap.. but I know there are a few newer "A" models now.

Well... might as well be completely honest here...its going to be used by me, unless I train others... I've used the G5 a little bit and was quite impressed with it... It would allow me to keep using the CF card readers too. The Raw files would be nice... I also do our school's entire website and take all the photos for it...so teaching my computer club kids to work with RAW files would be a good thing.

thanks,
daniel

As long as you're in the Creative Modes, the G3 (and therefore I'd assume the G5 and G6) can write in RAW, so you'd be good to go there. Most, if not all, Canon cameras use CF cards (I know the G series, A series, and at least some of the S series use them).

Since you've liked the G5, that might be a good way for you to go.

Another vote for the G5 here ...

... but if you compare it to your 10D, you won't be that impressed...

Best regards,
Andy

RAW for website photos is overkill. Plus, it'll only be of significant use to them once they see the light and decide that they'll get Canon digicams themselves (and their parents might have been seduced by the N*ko*n side of the Force). They'll be able to get plenty of Photoshopping experience using JPEGs, so think about a good A-series. The A95 is 5 MP, tilting LCD, and well under $500, even with a couple of largish CF cards, a couple of sets of NiMH batteries and a charger.

Right..RAW is overkill for webuse, but teaching the concept is not. Yes, we do our website, but I also introduce them to many other aspects of digital media design...which might as well include RAW conversion IMO...


Looking for G5's are they really still over $500? I thought they'd dropped

-daniel

hmm, apparently they ARE still over $500... looks like you could get a used one for $420 on Amazon, or the cheapest otherwise is $525 at TigerDirect. I could have sworn they had come down more than that in price. The G3 is still a very nice option (just one less MP I think is the main difference.... and it's silver) which is under $500

http://resellerratings​.dealtime.com …owerShot_G5~S-6~OR-0~PG-1

Get the S1 then.. Lightweight, Decent Lens, IS, CF, creative modes, just no hot shoe... I put together a computer system for my Father-in-law and included the S1 and canon ip4000 and WHAT A COMBO.... WOW!!!! Very impressed... dropped a 512MB card in that puppy and he is set!!!! Got him a dell 2.8GHz with 160GBHD and 512MB mem with a 19" monitor with the camera, flash card, and printer all for $1100 shipped...

Another vote here for the Powershot S1 is. Great camera, which I bought the missus for her birthday. She knows nothing about computers (apart from surfing) and had this working and had pictures up on her web space in a very short time.

For the price: A95

But the G series have better lenses and have a flash hotshoe.

Look closely at the features offered and decide whether the camera will do all you need.

My vote goes to the G5 also. I take mine everywhere that I dont want to take my 10D, ie; dusty four wheeling jaunts into the Desert, etc.
Since you say you already like the G5, it's the obvious choice.
-Bruce

I do like the G5, but theres no way we'll get that at still over $500.... I like the S1 price. I think they're looking at spending between 300-400 realistically. Even the G3 is still right at $500!!

-daniel