I'm looking for a digital camera with good low-light (flashless) capability.?

I used to have a Pentax K-1000 35mm camera. I loved it. It was able to take wonderful pictures in low light conditions, largely in part to the fact that it was completely manual and that for low light (flashless) shots I was able to set the F-Stop and shutter speeds to get the shot.



Since that camera was destroyed in a flood and compounded with the fact that it is no longer as cheap as it once was for film processing, I'm looking at Digital Cameras.



The questions are, what is a good camera (10-12 megapixel) that either allows for a manual adjustment of F-Stop and the equivalent of shutter speed, or has some other way of getting in good low-light shots.



A good example of what I'm looking for would be for places like Luray Caverns where a flash isn't good at getting me the distance shots of objects as the walls of the cavern aren't all that great at catching and reflecting the light.



Any suggestions for a camera (specific make and model please) that might fit the bill? Something in the 2-4 hundred dollar range...$500 tops.I'm looking for a digital camera with good low-light (flashless) capability.?
With your budget and if you want to be able to change lenses, you might consider a used DSLR with a 50mm f1.4 or 1.8 lens. A viable alternative is the Panasonic Lumix LX-3. It's got a ultra-wide 24mm lens, fast aperture of f2 (for a compact camera) and image stabilization to compensate for shake at low shutter speeds (as in a dark cavern). Also allows for manual adjustments for shutter/aperture if you don't like the program settings. Check the specs here:



http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonicdmclx3/
Canon Powershot SX10IS 10MP Digital Camera with 20x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom $399.00

Sony Alpha A200K 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera Kit with Super SteadyShot Image Stabilization with 18-70mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens $499



and more if you want to see you may see here more model to choose and cheap more you want.

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-digital-camera-low-price-20]I'm looking for a digital camera with good low-light (flashless) capability.?
I agree with fhotoace, DSLR is going to provide the most flexibility and the Nikon D40 is about the only camera and lens that meets your budget, unless you go with refurbished.



Some point and shoots provide some of the capability that you're looking for. For instance the Canon SD990 IS, $400, has a manual mode that lets you set aperture and shutter speed. Below is a link to the manual that shows you its capabilities. Canon is the only company that I know of that has the optical viewfinder on its P%26amp;S cameras. Everybody else seems to rely on LCDs only. LCDs are very poor in broad daylight.



http://gdlp01.c-wss.com/gds/0300001398/P鈥?/a>
The Sony A230 w/18-55mm f3.5-5.6 lens is $499.95 at B%26amp;H. It gives good results up to about ISO 1600 although it does even better at ISO 800. Sony has their version of Image Stabilization (IS) in the camera body so every lens used will become an IS lens.



A more important consideration is the lens you use. The 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 is really too slow for your cave pictures unless you can use a tripod. A 50mm f1.4, which is 2-2/3 stops faster than f3.5 and a full 4 stops faster than f5.6 will allow you to use a much lower ISO and still get a hand-holdable shutter speed. Of course the in-camera IS will help. I'd still use a tripod though - if at all possible.



You can use every Minolta Maxxum AF lens made since 1985 with any Sony DSLR. Plus, Sony has the Carl Zeiss "ZA" lenses available as well as the ones in their catalog.



The Sony A330 adds Live View. $599.95 w/18-55mm lens at B%26amp;H.



http://www.bhphotovideo.com
Any of the current DSLR's have the same capacity as your destroyed K-1000, so actually all the cameras have 'low light' capability given you have the camera on a tripod and your subject does not move.



You have two choices really. Buy an entry level Pentax DSLR and build your camera system from there or do a lot of research and pick a new camera system form the ones that have cameras within your $500 price range.



Nikon has some D40's left with a 18-55 mm lens for around $450

Pentax has a D100K for just under $475, but you will have to come up with a lens

Sony has a Alpha A100 with 18-70 mm lens for around $770

Canon has Rebel XT for $600 but like the Pentax, you will have to supply a lens



Good cameras do not depend upon pixel counts. As the pixel counts go up, so does the price, but in the end, a 6 mp sensor on a DSLR is far superior to any P%26amp;S digital camera.



http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/mpmyth.h鈥?/a>



If you are talking about shooting at 6400 ISO, with little or no noise, then there is only on camera at this time that can do that, the Nikon D3, but it costs ten times your budget
Your budget is probably out by a factor of 10, so get a decent DSLR with a good reputation for noise performance. Certainly check out the second hand market.

But then invest in a good lens with a large aperture (if it sounds like you are doing wide angle types of shots here the depth of field shouldn't be a problem. Third party can oftern be cheaper.

Then think about reducing the noise in software in post production, some ideas are in the links.