Bootup05

So my Sony Cybershot (a few months old) gave up the ghost, the internal memory is somehow no logner being recognised, luckily I sent it back under warrantly and got a full refund, including shipping! Thankyou Ebuyer

I've got a limited budget, i'm looking for new kit only, so I know even a K100D is out of the question... Been wanting to get into photography for a while now but never really persued it, this will be my first camera that 'learning / experimenting' with.

Looking around for one now because I'm off to the German Grand Prix in July for my 18th, and would like to get some nice shots.

I have around 3 weeks to make my decision, know I'll have to stick with point & shoot, but would like to stay away from the whole 'compact digital camera' thing, personal preference really..

I'm all ears to suggestions, I know theres a lot of guys on here good with camera's.

Looking for the camera to generally just be good all round, I'm interested in macro's, will obviously need to be good with fast moving objects due to the race, will be taking pictures in and outside etc..

Things I'm looking for are,

Rechargable Battery
Avoiding Compact if possible
Good macro capability
Full Manual Mode
RAW Capable
Manual Focus

I don't any manufacturer preference.

I'll through in a few camera's ive been looking over so far.
Would like to know which one is considered better & why if possible, and i'm open to all suggestions.

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Kodak EASYSHARE Z1015 IS 10mp 15x Optical Zoom



Rechargable Battery - Yes
Avoiding Compact if possible - Yes
Good macro capability - ?
Full Manual Mode - Yes
RAW Capable - Yes
Manual Focus - Yes

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Fujifilm Finepix S1500




Rechargable Battery - No
Avoiding Compact if possible - Yes
Good macro capability - ?
Full Manual Mode - No
RAW Capable - No
Manual Focus - No


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Fujifilm Finepix S2000HD




Rechargable Battery - No
Avoiding Compact if possible - Yes
Good macro capability - ?
Full Manual Mode - Yes
RAW Capable - No
Manual Focus - Yes

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Olympus SP 565




Rechargable Battery - No
Avoiding Compact if possible - Yes
Good macro capability - ?
Full Manual Mode - Yes
RAW Capable - Yes
Manual Focus - Yes

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Nikon Koolpix L100





Rechargable Battery - No
Avoiding Compact if possible - Yes
Good macro capability - ?
Full Manual Mode - No
RAW Capable - Yes
Manual Focus - No?

This is the camera I least like

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Right now im more inclined to go with the Kodak, mainly just because of the batteries. How long would camera life be on 4 x AA batteries?

Also, 'Manual Focus' Is that a 'twisting the lense with your hand' focus?

Basically I just want a camera that will take good quality pictures for the price, will let me much around in photoshop, and just really get some experience

Looking forward to any comments!

Thanks for reading

PS: Here is an image I took with my old Sony



I'm looking for macro focus range as good / better than that.

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