Well, I picked up a new toy...

I was getting frustrated with the low-light and focus abilities of my Nikon Coolpix 4100; so I went looking for a more powerful unit, with more features.

After looking at the Nikon D70, the Canon Digital Rebel XT, and several others, I settled on a Konica-Minolta Z5.



It's not an SLR camera; but for my uses it's more than adequate.  It's got a 5 megapixel CCD and a strong 12x optical zoom.  It also has the best autofocus that I've ever seen.  It can lock on a moving target quickly and accurately.  The focus-lock feature is really helpful too.  Although I haven't picked up one yet, it supports an interactive flash through the hot-shoe (connector on the top).

The real magic that sets this camera apart is the image stabilization system.  Normally, when using a lot of zoom, things end up blurry.  The Z5 has an amazing stabilization system.  I can shoot at full zoom without a tripod, and it actually looks good.  Quite an amazing little creature.  Not to mention that it cost about half what a Nikon D70 or Canon DR XT.  Although it isn't an SLR; it really doesn't need to be one.  It does just fine for me.

It uses four AA batteries at a time, and from what I've seen, I have no power complaints at all.  I'm still on the first set.

From now on, most of the new pictures in the photo album will likely be shot with this camera.

Hey Sam.  Thanks for the advice.  You got me in the right direction.