aNdY wrote:
> Wow Paul,
>
>        Thanks so much for the information given. Actually this
> morning, Singapore time, I saw that there is a promotion for Canon
> 350D and Olympus Camedia E-500. I was planning to get it tomrorow.
> But then I am shock you mention that even if I get 350D cannon, I
> still need a good len.

As I said, the one that comes with it is okay, but it's worth buying 
something better.

> This make my decision difficult. Base upon all
> that you wrote to me, I believe I needed a camera with something like
> this...
>
> 1) Large LCD screen behind for me to view the picture
>
> 2) Picture must be of at least 8 Mega pixels.
>
> 3) Light weight , small but hopefully professional looking

Well the DSLRs aren't all that small or light.  The Canon G6 or Panasonic 
LX1 may be a better choice.

> 4) Best if uses AA or AAA batteries.

Actually it isn't.  Cameras that use AAs run out of power very quickly, so 
you'll have to carry lots of spare batteries.  The best cameras use 
Lithium-ion batteries.  They're more expensive but they last much, much 
longer.

> 5) Can zoom far and near.

As I said, the big advantage of DSLRs is that you can get different lenses 
for them, ranging from incredibly wide (16mm equivalent) to incredibly long 
(800mm equivalent or longer).  The lens that comes with the 350D is only 
29-88mm equivalent.  Many digicams have lenses equivalent to 35-140mm.  If 
you want a good range in a single lens, 28-200mm would be around the maximum 
you could get, but the longer the range, the lower the quality.

There are a few 8MP digicams with 28-200mm zooms, Canon, Minolta and a few 
others make them, Nikon, Olympus and Sony I think.  The Minolta I already 
mentioned in my first post, that's the only one that has image 
stabilisation.  The Canon is the Pro1
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Canon/canon_pro1.asp
Can't remember the others offhand, but I can try to find them if you want.

> 6) if one len is good for far and near image taking, one lend is all
> I need.

The 17-85mm lens I recommended is only equivalent to 27-136mm.  You can get 
longer ones but the quality isn't so good.

> 7) Added features which I have yet know.

Get one with RAW mode, most of the best cameras have this.

> I will personally go check it out in the shop later. I hope they knew
> what I am saying too. Too complex for someone like em who knew
> nothing about digital camera but yet want a good one. Thanks for yuor
> help. If I did get the camera base upon your suggestion, I will be
> very grateful. Should yuo come to Singapore, I might even show you
> around. Thanks.

Thanks, but I'm not planning a holiday there any time soon.

Now.. wish me good luck. lol....

Okay, but don't buy the first camera you see, you might regret it later. 
Compare all these different cameras first, read the reviews and decide which 
features you really need most.  Like what range of lens do you want?  That's 
very important.

Take a look at these pages to see what different focal lengths look like;
http://www.usa.canon.com/html/eflenses/lens101/focallength/index.html
http://www.wolfes.com/photo/lenses/guide.html

Remember when looking at lenses to look at the "equivalent" focal length 
instead of the actual focal length.  A 28-200mm zoom on a 350D would 
actually be equivalent to 45-320mm (multiply by 1.6).

Paul