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3. Photo question is subjective

For you professionals out there. I'm going out to Montana in August and I'm in need of a digital camera to take on the trip. Is it possible to get some wall-hanging type photo results with a point and shoot camera with a small telephoto lens or do I need to buy a professional model. I realize that's a broad question. How about in the neighborhood of $200.
Thanks

Im not a professional but yes you can get good quality photos blown up to atleast 12" probably more.

Hi Bruce
I just bought this one--Olympus Stylus 1030 SW
Here is a Review--http://www.digitalcamerareview.com/default.asp?newsID=3444.

I'm no profession but the 1030 takes good pictures and is the next thing to imposable to damage. It also takes under water movies and pics.

JAD

Yeah, you certainly can. It depends how big you want the photo on our you wall to be. Just about any consumer camera can do nice 8x10s. A really nice 20x30 is going to take a pretty expensive camera, but I'm guessing that's not what you're looking for.

If you are just looking for 8x10s, don't get too caught up in the camera's "megapixels," because most of them will be good enough for that right now. Look at reviews on sites like dpreview.com and see how the cameras are reviewed for sharpness, noise, and color. Megapixels are still the most common selling point used by salesmen, but enough is enough -- those other aspects are where you'll find the real differences for most cameras.

Another common, misleading selling point is the zoom, because people like the idea of getting good pictures of stuff that's far away. Consumer cameras just can't do that very well, though, even if they're marked as "12x zoom": they'll get you zoomed in, but the pictures will disappoint. For zoom, 3x or 4x is enough. Anything more than that and you're bound to get a lot of blurry pictures. Long-zoom photos from point+shoot cameras just don't work well unless conditions are ideal (steady hand, good lighting, etc). Your best wall-hangers are almost certain to come from the low end of the zoom range.

Thanks All! I'm looking for some nice scenery photos in the 8 x 10 to 11 x 14 inch range. I have a film camera,, and old Cannon AE-1, but I'm wondering if it's going to be too much to carry with 3 lenses while I'm wading, etc. Good point about the megapixels and zoom, too.

Hay Lastchance:I may be to late but as far as a camera goes you want the most Mega Pixel you can afford.To blow up to 8X10 or larger you want 6 or higher.Also get a camera with the best quality lens because the lens is the heart of the camera.Make sure the camera uses AA batteries so you can get a set that you can recharge.Plus if your batteries run down you can keep a couple in your pocket.Allot of cameras come with expensive batteries and the only way to recharge is to plug in the camera.And they cost 30-40 Dollars to replace.Get a memory card that can hold a couple hundred pictures so you can just shoot away.I hope this well help..Have a great trip and cant wait to here about the great time you well have.Rick

That danged 1030SW from Olympus debuted around 2 weeks after I bought my Canon SD 1100S. I would have appreciated the waterproofness of the Olympus. The 10mgp is an outstanding amount of clarity and you should be able to get to 18" blow-ups with no picture "noise,"if you can keep the ISO below 200. I have however purchased a waterproof case for the Canon and it should be able to compete with the Olympus 1030SW. BTW the Amazon.com price is outstanding.