My mom wants to get me a camera.

She told me yesterday after school, after seeing my portfolio from photography class this year. She thinks I could really create some good photographs.

I'd like suggestions on what type of camera to ask for... I'm mainly looking for one with shutter and macro settings, along with a very sharp picture. The ones I use at school are blurry unless it's held super still, which drives me crazy.

I'm looking at a max price of around $600.00.

Mods, feel free to move this if it's in the wrong section.

I have a Cannon EOS 1000D (Cannon EOS Rebel XS in the US), a really good camera for its price and a very good entry level camera. It's a Digital Single Lens Reflex camera. It'll allow you to control all the settings on the camera, like shutter speed, ISO speed, aperture, temperature, auto focus points and a bunch of other things.

For $600 you should be able to buy it and have a little extra left, which you can maybe save for a lens upgrade later on, though you'll probably be just fine with the kit lens for a while.

Here's a thread with pictures I've taken with a 1000D myself: http://www.dreamviews.com/community/...ad.php?t=89277

The resolution is around 3800x2500, or 10.1 megapixels. I usually resize my pictures because uploading gigantic pictures like that is pointless :P

edit: come to think of it, the extra you save you could easily use on a flash. A good flash can really produce some amazing pictures, and it gives you better understanding of how light works in photography.

Very nice, I love the one you took of the food.

I'll be sure to look into that camera.

There is a Nikon which has just about the same specs. I've had a little experience with it, since one of my friends has it, but I must say that overall, it's a worse camera. It has 0.1 more megapixels, but it lacks a few features and the pictures are not quite as sharp as the 1000D. The Nikon is a little cheaper though.

Personally, I suggest you should get the Cannon. It's a more raw camera and it allows you to do more things, where the Nikon is a little more focused on being pretty.