Looking to 'upgrade' my G9 - suggestions?

[Schattenjager]

I LOVE the G9 and have been lucky enough to capture some really fun photos with it. My biggest gripe is the lack of a zoom, so I bought a cheapie mega zoom for those occasions to run along with the G9, but it takes cheapie pics as you might have guessed. So, I'm selling the G9 in hopes of buying a used DSLR with lens options that will take as good a pics as the G9. Carrying an extra lens vs. an extra camera seems prudent for what I want to do.

For those of you that know the G9 and DSLRs, what would you suggest I look at in regards to used? Costco has some interesting Nikon and Canon kit options in the realm of new and my budget, but DPReview gave them so-so marks. I do not want to get away from the wonderful G9 picture quality and the ability to produce larger format prints.

Ideas?

 

[RMP&O]

Just FYI, you can't take time lapse video with any of the newer G-series, the G9 was the end of that.

 

[ssssnake529]

Olympus OMD e-5

http://www.dpreview.com/previews/olympusem5

 

[psykokid]

I'd honestly stay away from the newer entry level bodies and pick up a used prosumer - pro level body. They are built better with more features than the lower end models.

 

[nwoods]

You can get a lightly used Canon 50D and some fun and decent EF-S lenses for pretty inexpensive. It's one or two generations better than the G9's processors, and the batteries last considerably longer (like 4x more).

 

[Cody1771]

well Depends, do you want to stick with something that has a smaller package like the G9? DSLR's are nice but for me the biggest issue was the SIZE. i ended up replacing my Cannon S3IS with a NIkon 1 series, they are small which i was looking for but pack a big punch, take great pictures, easy to use, have multiple lense options and are fairly "low cost" (if $650 can be considered low cost, to me it wasnt) but you can find them on Ebay for about $400. they have a decent zoom lense you can buy for $250 or you can step up to the higher quality larger range lense for about $750, but i am not willing to spend that kind of cash on this camera. if you like having the eye piece the V1 has that even if it is digital it still makes it nicer to use. the Sony is probably the better of the cameras but its also more pricey, but its a true micro 4/3's if im not mistaken.