good macro camera?

[mp3z24]

alright, so im looking to get a digital camera for my b-day. my parents are going to throw in some money and im gonna have to pick up the remainder.

ive been looking around a lot and i want to know what you guys recomend.

i dont see much info out there regarding macro abilities, unless im not reading up on the right material (always a possibility!).

i want some thing to do model photos (obviously) but also something that takes nice general pictures. probably in the $500 range.

let me know what you think.... and yeah i know this gets asked all the time, but i would like to get some personal input for what i want

~mike

[flyonthewall]

When i did my camera hunting a while back, I decided on the Fujifilm Finepix 2800zoom. Warren (Primera Man) got one just before me so if you like the pics him and I post then why not get one too? It has good macro abilities and is within your price range - you should have enough left over to get a couple of kits! Alternatively the model below it - 2600 is just as good, same macro abilities and a bit cheaper too so you could get a few more kits!!!

[mp3z24]

ooohh... quick reply... like chat!!!

well, in typical "me" style, ive been looking well beyond my price range, and ive taken a liking to the canon powershot g2 and the sony s85. i think i have found them online for 550+. too bad the retail is somewhere up around 800

im gonna look a round A LOT more, so keep them ideas comin'.

should i be looking for an optical zoom of 3 or more??? i know how the different zooms (optical and digital) work, and it seems logical to me to get on with as high of an optical zoom as possible. but i really dont want one that is "SLR-like" cuz i dont want the bulk associated with the SLR camera body!

~mike