Deron, goldfries's reply (which I just authorised) answers your question. I can't see the auction as it's ended now. I don't know much about this camera as I've not really looked at it much and Dave only got it just before Christmas so hasn't really had a chance to use it very much yet.

Another option is looking at refurbished 350Ds or 400Ds. There's a canon 'shop' on eBay that offers these at around $400-500 along with a guarantee/warranty for X months or a year. Perhaps that's worth a look too?

I'm sure it'll help you decide what you should be looking into.

Also check out my latest album at the local Bird Park
http://www.goldfries.com/inper.....k&n=83

I'm using the 350D a.k.a Digital Rebel XT. Older version of the 400D that Sarah is using.

Deron, Sarah wasn't wrong. The item in the Ebay link you gave IS NOT a lens. It's a converter. the Fujifilm Finepix S5700 is a prosumer camera, you can't change lens on it but you could add converters.

I own a Fujifilm Finepix S7000 and it's a great camera too but it's aged.

http://cgi.ebay.com/HD-Wide-An.....dZViewItem

This camera does allow you to control the aperture and shutter speed yes. The only 2 things it lacks is being able to switch lenses and shooting in RAW, which would just mean you could process your photos eg. the white balance etc. afterwards. But it's a great camera otherwise and would get you used to the flexibility that a DSLR could offer you.

The Macro? I'm pretty fuzzy on it too! Here are a couple of dicussions from Flickr on the subject:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/macro/discuss/22422/
http://www.flickr.com/groups/macro/discuss/108019/

I don't know what ratio you get on the Macro on the fuji but it's good for close ups. Dave's uploaded a few on his Flickr – http://flickr.com/photos/ap4a/.....epixs5700/

However, for the price it's a very good camera to get you on your way to understanding the extra functionality and there's no reason why your shots can't be good with this to be honest.

Look forward to seeing some new pics if you do get one

I found that same model on ebay and am watching it. It's got a little over a day left and right now is really low, so we'll see. If I can't nab it, I might just go with Amazon.

With the camera you recommended, it does allow you to control the aperture and shutter speed, correct? Even though you can't change the lens?

One thing I'm still a little fuzzy on is the 1:1 macro. What does that mean? I looked it up on wikipedia, but still wasn't following 100%. Does it just mean that if I'm zoomed in on a cell phone for example, that the picture that I take, the cell phone will be life size in the image?

-Deron

Fuji do a model that Dave bought just before christmas for around £100 ($200 from Amazon.com).

That's a very good price for this camera. It allows you to control every element of your camera, I think you may even be able to buy filters for it (go for a circular polarising filter first), the only thing you can't do is change the lens so you'll never have true 1:1 macro, but the macro is pretty good, and it will have a top limit on the zoom, although a 10X optical zoom isn't bad.

The features, to explain more, that you're looking to control is aperture – the wider the aperture, the more light is let in so the quicker a photo can be taken (equates to less blurry, less need for a flash in low light etc). To control the shutter speed also means you can control the outcome of your photo. Take the light trail in the second photo. This was taken with about a 20-30 second shutter speed, so you can't see the vehicle but you can see the light left by it.

Of course a tripod is also needed, but mine cost £17/$35 and had done the job well so far. I'll probably invest in something a little more professional and sturdier once I've got the cash, but for now it does me fine

What are some things to look for in a good camera? If I had to go buy one tomorrow I wouldn't even know what features were must haves.

The 400D (Rebel XTi in the US I believe) is a fantastic camera, and the photos are because of the camera, not the person