My hobby is to breed praying mantids and document them, eventually building a database of all the different species that i can find and this year I have decided will be the year that i buy myself a half decent camera, rather than borrowing from friends and family.
As im sure you can guess, im not overly knowledgeable about cameras and would like some advice. I have been looking into the powershot s2 IS and the cybershot dcs-h1 and i am trying to decide which is better for my needs, or have a missed something and is there an even better suited model for my needs?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Does anyone have any ideas?

Most, if not all of the photos on your website were taken with either a G2 or a C5050Z... the pics look great - any reason why those cameras are no longer suitable for your needs?

The two cameras you mentioned are megazooms...seems like a camera with a good macro mode would be better for your needs.

Nice mantid collection.

the Hun

Ok well thats why i need help, can you advise a good camera for my needs. Oh and the reason why I cant use those camera any more is because one is my sisters boyfriends, the other is another close friends camera, neither are actually mine, which is most irritating when interesting things happen and i miss the chance to capture it!

Actually, the H1 takes pretty good macro shots. Two of my friends recently purchased cameras...one got the H1, and the other bought the S2 IS. Both take good pictures, but I think the Sony has the edge, especially as far as noise.

Regarding my original reply, I started thinking, that a mantis might not like you getting real close, so a bit of a zoom might not be a bad idea.

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2005_...1_samples.html

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canons2is/page11.asp

Good luck with your search.

the Hun

The Canon S2 has one of the best macro modes available as far as getting very close. Dpreview says you can actually touch the lens to the target and still get an in-focus shot in super macro. It is also pretty exceptional for macro shots zoomed out, being able to get an area 8.5 cm across at full zoom from 70cm away. That really helps for light and flash use, as well as makes for a much flatter and less distorted image. http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canons2is/page5.asp

The articulated LCD would also be great for macro if you had the subject higher than knee level or wanted to use the zoom.

The H1 is almost as good for close distance and probably more versatile in the ranges you would want to use for a large insect. It is almost as good at zoom also. http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sonydsch1/page5.asp

They are both good. I would think you would want to use them at zoom so you don’t block light and can use flash if you desire. And avoid extreme barrel distortion you get from close at wide angle. They will both just about fill the frame with a big mantis at full zoom, which is unusual. Most other cameras don’t do well in macro at zoom. It seems the S2 LCD would be more versatile. But the macro range at wide angle from up close is more versatile with the H1.

First shot taken with a Nikon Coolpix 4500 with no accessories. Second one taken with a Panasonic FZ30 with 55-52 step down ring and Nikon T4 close-up lens. For the kind of work you want the camera for, I'd be looking at one that has a threaded lens for accessories and a flash shoe with TTL metering. Internal focusing and zooming in the lens would be a big plus also.

FZ-30

Ugh... I cant sleep, its 5:30 AM and i cant tell if its my near insomnia or my child like mentality and christmas morning combo that is keeping me awake...

So anyway, this is all over my head, is there a specific camera that you recomend das44 or are you sugesting one of the models that has taken those photos?

s7000 - will macro focus right down to 1 cm from lens