Digital cameras 101

[Nugo]

Hey,
    I've done some searching and haven't come up with my answer.  I'm taking a photojournalism class and I have to get a camera that has a manually adjustable f/stop (aperture) and manually adjustable shutter speed.  
    My professor seems to think that that only digital ones that will do that are up in the $1,000.00 range...is this true?

[Deb]

Hi Nugo, Hooray for manual mode! I'm glad to hear that you're interested in it.  

A digital SLR is probably what your instructor has in mind. I've got the Nikon D100 and the Canon 20d. I love both of them for different reasons.

You can, however, adjust the aperture and the shutterspeed on many digicams as well.   Their aperture ranges will vary as well as their available shutterspeeds. Also the ease at which you can use them manually will vary. I've had a Nikon 995 for ages and its manual mode is simple to use. I'd suggest getting your hands on a few different camera models after reading product reviews and see which ones suit you and your needs.

[ShutterbugGail]

Try the feature seach at dpreview. While it doesn't tell if a camera has manual mode, you can at least put in the parameters you're looking for and pull up a few models from the database within your price range. Then check the specs to see if the camera has manual mode. Most mid-priced digital cameras do.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare.asp

Make sure, though, that your instructor doesn't require a Single Lens Reflex camera, whether film or digital. Some of them require a SLR for such a class.