Pre-emptive DSLR-PRO-troll reply. Just to get them all out of the way.
Post by Sarah HoustonI'd like to take pretty decent photos ( I'm not a pro or anything ) with a
small light weight camera that I can keep in my purse.
Purse? Ditch that little purse, get yourself a decent backpack style camera bag.
Then you can carry a REAL camera! You say you aren't a pro now, but if you buy a
DSLR then you'll automatically be a pro! That's how it works. If you buy an
expensive and heavy and loud camera that scares all the children in the
neighborhood every time that you click that shutter, then you automatically
become part of the "Professional Photographers Association". That's how all pros
get to be pros. Just buy a good DSLR! Read this newsgroup. You'll find out
that's how all of them get to be pros. Your talent as a photographer depends
solely on the price of your camera. That's been proven for 20 years in this
newsgroup, by us PROS!
Post by Sarah HoustonI want something better than my Blackberry's camera, yet not super
expensive, heavy or bulky, because it does have to fit the purse.
You're limiting yourself. As I said, get rid of that purse and you can carry
something really worth having, a REAL camera! Why be just an amateur with a
purse, when you can be a pro with a backpack and a DSLR?
Post by Sarah HoustonSomething with USB of course, for transferring files to the PC.
Oh, you're going to have to get rid of that PC too if you want a REAL camera.
You'll need a REAL computer too! You'll need a Mac if you want to get into
photography. Then the PROFESSIONAL images from your DSLR can be edited the right
way. You'll do a lot of editing once you get to be a pro by buying a DSLR. It's
the only way to get professional looking photographs, you have to edit all of
them for a long time before you can get them to look right. You can never get a
good image directly from any PRO camera. We DSLR pros have known this for a long
time now. And don't forget, the same applies to your software as it does a
camera. The most expensive, biggest, most bloated, most difficult to navigate
program that you can buy is the only kind that will allow you to be a REAL PRO.
It's all about the money you spend. The more money you spend the better that you
can compose your images in your editor and the better PRO you'll be, because you
can never compose them correctly in the camera. Remember that, that's important
if you want to be a REAL PRO. Buying the DSLR is just the starting point. You're
going to need a good editor to fix every photo that you take from your PRO DSLR.
Post by Sarah HoustonIs there anything with a pretty decent lens too?
Not for something that's going to fit in a purse. The only really good lenses
all weigh over 10lbs each and start at $700, up to the price of a decent home.
You're going to have to get a backpack if you want to get into photography.
Maybe you could buy a backpack and modify it so it looks like a purse.
:-)
There ... now that I got all of the usual DSLR-PRO-troll's replies out of the
way, maybe someone can provide some REAL help for you.
Until you get some 1:1 help, you can always play with this link
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare.asp
See what shows up in your criteria search.
(I don't have a lot of knowledge about compacts and sub-compacts, but I've seen
some fantastic photography done with them.)