The thing I'm HOPING is (and you camera gurus can enlighten me, I'm sure)......I can shoot images on the high res at a greater distance.......zoom them in when cropping....and STILL get good, quality finished images.

Does this make sense?

Jeff, I'm glad you made this post. This is what I'm going to get for christmas, but I'm going a different route. I'm going with an "Advanced" point and shoot. The highest level point and shoot before you get into the SLR's. The ones I'm looking at are between 12x and 15x OPTICAL zoom. I'm excited, just for having it during hunting season.

There are alot of things that come in to play when trying to get good wildlife photos, amount of light, zoom level, appeture speed, ISO settings, how stable the camera is, ect... A digital SLR type camera is the only way to go for very good photos

Optical zoom is definetly the way to go, it provides the most clearity, a digital zoom will act in the same way as zoom in on a picture that you are editing after it is already zoomed to full size, it distorts the image in order to enlarge it.

I have had alot of experience with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ series of digital cameras and these are some of the best units on the market for their price. 10X optical zoom, image stabilization, a good array of manual settings, ect..

This photo of a nice Ohio buck was taken with a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ5 which is a older unit, it was taken at a distance of around 100 yards in very low light conditions....

I really want to get a "good" digital camera, one for taking all kinds of photos. I like my Olympus but it's only good for close shots (what I need it for with my work)

I see some of the photos others have taken including GregH's and it makes me want one more.

You guys are costing me money.[:@]

What he said.

Here's two shots from my DSLR (Nikon D40)from last weekend. My only warning is that once you get one you'll be addicted. I'm craving new lenses that cost more than my bow and I can't stop.

I just can't see lugging that to the field, Justin. I KNOW I'd love it.....but it's all I could do to take the Power shot (which is, technically, an SLR).

I know I'll take the small camera with me. I won't mess with the big one.

Great shots, though. Beautiful.

What sort of pack, if any, do you carry into the woods with you? I thought the same thing when I first got it but after lugging around video gear for half the season, carrying this little camera is a dream. I have a Cabela's fanny pack that I bring with and it fits nicely in there with my extra release, gloves, hand warmers, clippers, wind detector thing, license, etc etc. At the end of the day if you want nice photos, that's really your only good option.

And the PowerShot Pro1 was close to being an SLR, but technically wasn't.

That's the big deal, Justin. I usually walk to my stand with.....OK....my STAND (lol)....my bow.....and a little muff/handwarmer that has a little compartment with it. In there....I have...my UA gloves....UA facemask.....haul line and a bowhoook.

That's it. I don't carry a "pack". I sometimes have a grunt tube....and I took a "can", ONCE, this year.

I'm a minimalist. I know I need to and WANT to take some more photos, next year.....but lugging the camera (I'd need A pack for it)....taxes me for some reason. Where I hunt...it's typically not very cold. So....the lighter I can travel....the better.

Hope this makes sense.

Your old.

You could always get a small camera bag and carry just that with you, thus eliminating the need for an entire pack. My Lowepro bag is 8"x6"x8" and not really very big at all. You could easily toss it on over your should or around your waste with your hand-muff and be off to your spot in no time, with little weight and fuss.

99% of the crap I carry with me I know I don't NEED, but I want to have it with me to make my hunt more enjoyable. Granted it's nice to not have to lug all of the extra gear around, but it's also nice to have some great photos that will last me a lifetime and that I can share with other people. I guess it call comes down to what your priorities are and what you feel like carrying into the woods with you.