i finally just started to have time to start to do some train watching and wanted to purchase a good camera, but dont want to spend a whole lot on it. any suggestions on a good camera that isn’t over $200. thanks much appreciated.
$200 is going to be a little bit of a challenge. A couple of questions:
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What type of railroad photography are you going to be looking to do? Roster shots? Action? Low light?
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What are you planning to do with the photos? Post to the internet? Print? If so, how big?
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Are you planning on doing anything else with the camera? Specifically, shooting kids or sports or any other kind of action photography?
This’ll let me narrow it down a bit. If you want something new, I’d look at some of the low end Canon P&S offerings. Canon offers Image Stabilized Point and Shoots at some very attractive price points. The A1100IS, for example, offers an image stabilized 35mm-140mm equivalent lens. The grey one sells for $140 or thereabouts. Colored versions go for $10 more.
There are a couple of problems with point and shoot type cameras, though. They usually have “shutter lag” (e.g. the shutter takes a bit to fire after you press the shutter button). So they’re not great for action stuff. They usually don’t do very well at higher ISOs or long exposures, so they’re not suited to low light photography.
If action/low light is important to you, you’ll need to look into a DSLR. $200 is on the low end, but you could probably find an original Canon Digital Rebel or similar for around that price point if you look for awhile. A DSLR will allow you the opportunity to expand your system as your needs grow, too.
As for megapixels, don’t worry about it. Unless you’re planning on printing murals, you don’t need as much as camera companies would have you believe. I’ve printed 20"x30" images from 6 Mp cameras before. Proper technique and good glass are much more important than megapixels.
Good luck!
That’s quite a capable little camera for the price. Not a bad deal at all.