Ultra power zoom digicams that can shoot .tiff?
 

In light of my sony camera problem, if I cannot get it fixed, I will have to get myself another camera, I have liked the ultra /power zoom cameras, because I do not have to carry around bulky removable lenses that DSLRs have, & I also like to shoot video, so the power zoom allowed me to have both in one product, where as a DSLR does not shoot video & I would have to lug around 2 different items for the these purposes.

If I get another power zoom, in I mean a digicam with a 10x or bigger optical zoom, I would like one that can shoot .tiffs & raw files as well as .jpgs, I shoot photos of my artwork & need something of reasonable quality. For artwork or other important items I need good documentary photos, I have used my film SLR & shot slides, & scanned the slides for .tiffs, but it would be nice to have a camera that could shoot better quality than just .jpgs.

Added to all this I am on a budget & cannot afford a $1000 + DSLR kit right now.

What is the maximum budget you have available to work with?

Would you be interested in a DSLR, if you only needed one lens? In essence, that would be the same as an advanced point-and-shoot.

yes I would, but I dont have thousands of dollars to buy one, is it possible to get a good DSLR for under $800.00? I have seen the pentax K2000, I like its .dng universal format & use of AA batteries, I prefer AA batteries. I also have a film SLR with a Sears label, no name brand with a K mount & I learned pentax uses K mount lenses. It would be used mostly at home for things like artwork, but also wildlife,action low light/night shots too.

Does canon or Nikon make a AA battery DSLR? or a DSLR for my needs with a lens & body kit for under $800.00?

The budget of $800 is plenty -- in fact, it may be more than is needed. I'm currently hunting down some deals for you, as well as assembling a really nice "to buy" list, for one option you can look at. With a "grip", you can use AA batteries -- I do it too, when my rechargeables die on me, and I don't have time to recharge. While I use a much higher-end camera, with a budget of $800, you'll still walk away with a really nice DSLR setup. The Pentax DSLRs are nice, but with your budget, you can do better, not a problem. It's taken a few days to reply, but I've had this on my mind between other tasks.

With the sub-$800 DSLR setup I have in mind, you can take MUCH BETTER QUALITY still images, but video is not available. is that a deal breaker? If so, I'll have to look into advanced P&S options. I only re-visit the no-video option because of your mention of the Pentax, which also lacks video. In all honesty, even with a $2,000+ DSLR, you'll never get a really good video+still shooting experience. The best still images will come from a DSLR because of how the sensor and glass is made, whereas video can range from VHS-like decent quality on the most modern P&S (canon and Sony, for example) for $100-150 range, up to edit-quality from a sub-compact DV or even HD/AVCHD cameras.

I currently shoot a D200, and I was going to hunt down a great deal on a nice zoom (18-135 range) and a lower-end body such as D40, D40x or D60. I get a lot of e-mails from camera companies wanting to advertise, just need to browse through the current week's available sales/coupons/deals. So yes, Nikon was where I would look first. I'd give Canon a browse too, but I'm not too fond of their lower-end DSLR bodies (plastic and sometimes flimsy).