Low Light Digital SLR (Which one???)

I'm planning to upgrade my digital SLR in the near future and wanting to get the absolute best (well under $3,000 best!) digital SLR for taking pictures in low light conditions. Most of them seem to perform rather poor to horrible in low light conditions.

I wished that Sony made a digital SLR with their Super HAD chip but it's not there. So does anyone know which one is the best, lowest noise, etc.?

I plan to use this for taking photos of lightening storms at night, ocassional connection to my scope for taking pictures of bright objects like Jupiter, taking photos of birds that might be hiding in the shadows, indoor shots without needing a flash, etc.

Nikon D70 or Canon 10D.

Gene,

Try looking through the reviews at http://www.steves-digicams.com/. There are a few other digital camera review sites but this is arguably the best. Steve even has a few links to the others. Let us know what you decide.

Kent

Most digital SLR cameras use a CMOS chip. CMOS chips are inherently noisy compared to CCD chips. So, you should look for a CCD based camera. Two Nikon CCD based cameras are: Nikon D70 and D100. Nikon also make the D1 series, but they are more expensive than your limit.

Olympus also has a CCD based camera: Olympus E-1.

Pentax has the Pentax *ist D which is CCD based.

Go to www.dpreview.com for reviews and camera forums.

Russ Schnitzer

One great resource is dpreview.com. Maybe the most comprehensive and reliable information on digital cameras. Note that each camera reviewed is accompanied by numerous images which can be downloaded at full resolution and then examined with Photoshop. This gives you the chance to really see what you are going to get.

Canon has announced the upcoming 20D. Take a good look at that one.

Hope this helps.

Steve