An SLR would probably do best in that situation. Getting one that also gives you the extra zoom you want means you'll either have to look out for a 'kit' that contains something like an 18-135, or buy another lens..

For low light photos of children, you might be best picking up, say, a cheap 50mm f/1.8 lens (usually 60 or so for Nikon or Canon). The combination of a fast lens and ISO800 or 1600 will give you lots of choices in poor light you don't currently have, but watch out for the shallow depth of field..

You could get a Canon 350D for your budget, or a Pentax K100D, or a Nikon D40 with some of the cashback offers I've seen lately. Not sure you'd get a long lens too though..

Be aware if you get the Nikon that not all Nikon lenses autofocus with that camera..

Androohttp://Androo.smugmug.com..

Yep, sadly the good and cheap Nikon 50mm f/1.8 won't AF with the D40 so maybe Pentax/Canon is the way to go there..

Although the OP is not far off affording a Nikon 55-200 VR (i.e. image stabilised) to go with a Nikon D40 + 18-55 kit, for his telephoto requiremements. That is getting good user reports and reviews despite it's rather plasticky feel:.

Http://www.photozone.de/8Reviews/lenses/nikkor_55200_456vr/index.htm.

Alex.

Http://akiralx.smugmug.com/..

Consider the Fuji f31fd. Look at some of the low light photos at the following thread even though they were taken with an f30.http://forums.dpreview.com/...forums/read.asp?forum=1012&message=21732418.

Look up the dpreview review at:http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/fujifilmf31fd/.

You might also consider shooting at a higher ISO..

Not to get flamed, but the aspirin dSLR isn't the answer to everyone's problems.vsteffel..

V steffel wrote:.

Not to get flamed, but the aspirin dSLR isn't the answer toeveryone's problems.>>.

Indeed so. You will get less lag with a DSLR but the camera will be more tiresome to use. You'll be reviewing shots on the back LCD to see if they worked because there isn't any live preview. How many action shots will you misss while doing that?.

Are you prepared to pre-focus a zoom with a traditional ring grip where the action is? Are you prepared to half press the shutter to get exposure lock on that area?.

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If yes, then most of the lag disappears and you can catch shots like this with a Fuji 9100 which is well within your budget..

I can even do it with a real P&S where I anticipated the lag to make a humorous picture.

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And this wasn't with a DSLR either, but shot in high speed mode at several fps on a Minolta.

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But the dslr will do it better if you set a high shutter speed and then point and shoot.

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There is no reason why you cannot improve the number of sucessful shots if you can get focus and exposure lock on a P&S. Not every DSLR shot is a keeper either..

John.Please visit me at:http://www.pbase.com/johnfr/backtothebridgehttp://www.pbase.com/johnfr..

Thanks..

Interesting stuff..

What abotu a Sony DSC H5 for instance, or any other brand equivalent, would they suffice?..

Gareth Cook wrote:.

Thanks.Interesting stuff.What abotu a Sony DSC H5 for instance, or any other brandequivalent, would they suffice?.

Doubt you'd notice any low-light improvement over what you already have..

A DSLR is in a different league with the right lenses, but it's not the choice for everyone. If you can, try one out. You might find the lag of shutter lag addictive if nothing else!.

Androohttp://Androo.smugmug.com..

Unless we know what you're doing, it's rather difficult to tell you if you're doing something wrong. A sample shot with EXIF preserved would be helpful..

I will note that long-distance, low-light, action is difficult. General advice is that you'll probably have to choose between underexposure and motion blur, and I favor underexposure an underexposed shot will be noisy, but it may be usable. An image with all detail smeared is not usually interesting..

Ex. technique shutter priority, appropriate fast shutter speed, high ISO, shoot raw if possible. Focus on area of interest if you know what it is, before the action happens..

If the location of and distance to the action are both unpredictable, it becomes -very- difficult it becomes a test of both your reflexes and the camera's AF system, in addition to the usual low-light issues...

There is no reason why you cannot improve the number of sucessfulshots if you can get focus and exposure lock on a P&S. Not everyDSLR shot is a keeper either..

I couldn't agree more. I think that many PNS amateurs (myself included) take a look at the beautiful shots taken by reviewers or the pros here and think that a DSLR will automatically take our shots to the next level. The learning curve (which is still going on for me) with the 30D was pretty darn steep and I had plenty of blurry pictures to show for it in the beginning. Having bought the DSLR didn't change anythingI still had to improve my technique and know how to compose a picture..

Also, I think that PNSs are truly great for being able to go from macro mode smack dab in front of the lense all the way to telephoto; for a DSLR, you'd need several lenses for that...

Excersise in frustration, plain ans simple..

I have 2 young children, went from a Toshiba 3.2mp (an oldie that had about 10 seconds of shutter lag) to a Sony 828 which is still about as fast as the fastest all in ones or any P&S to an Oly E-300 DSLR to a Canon 30D DSLR..

Each move was a clear upgrade in focus and overall shooting speed..

If you want to get quality shots of your children in all settings then do yourself a favor and get a DSLR, you won't regret it in the long run..

More expensive, sure, but ain't your kids worth it in the end?.

Gene..