Decent camera for under $400

[Eventer29]

Already posted in the photography section but figured I would ask here as well since so many take such awesome horse pics.
Getting mom a camera for Mother's Day. Yeah I waited till the last minute! lol
Looking mainly at Nikon and Canon, but others brands are fine w me. I dont know much about cameras or photography. Mom takes some good pics of us riding and the horses but she is not what I would consider an educated photographer. Would like a decent zoom as it is not always possible to get right there near the jumps or whatever she is shooting. Must be good for action shots! What I am kind of looking at is BuyDig.com - Nikon COOLPIX P510 16.1MP 42x Opt Zoom 3.0 LCD Digital Camera 8GB Black Bundle
or BuyDig.com - Canon Powershot SX40 HS 35x Zoom 12.1 MP Digital Camera w/ 2.7" Vari-Angle LCD but def open to other options.
I know that each photographer has his/her own preferences but which of these might be better for action shots of the horses as well as some portraits. Something decent in low light situations would be cool as we do have the indoor and have not found anything as of yet that we can get decent indoor pics. Partly probably due to operator ignorance.
Or what would your recommendations be for a good camera for her for under $400? Also have to ad that she refuses to use an lcd screen and must have the eye holey thing (viewfinder maybe?) to look thru. So this is an absolute must!

 

[czygvtwkr]

Canon G15, it might be a bit more than $400 but the lens is amazing, what most people dont realize is how important the F-Stop is to a lens, the lower the number the more light it lets in and the better it takes low light pictures.


It doesnt have a huge zoom but what a lot of people dont realize is that huge zoom costs you in F-Stop (lens brightness) and that ruins low light capability.

Here is a review

Canon PowerShot G15 Camera - Express Review

 

[nutz]

IMO, the Nikon D3100 will do everything you asked plus 1080p video w/sound. With interchangeable lenses, it offers more options than a point and shoot camera. Yes, the lower the f-stop the better is true to an extent, but that is a function of the lens assembly.

They have a factory refurbished one for 349.95.
This is a great site for camera stuff
Digital Cameras| B&H Photo Video

 

[erinjograves]

This is the camera I got for Christmas.

Canon SX500

I LOVE this camera. I will eventually end up moving up to a larger Nikon with interchangeable lenses, but God I love this camera. If you are interested in seeing some of the shots I have taken with it, you can go here. The pictures I took at the BEST show are at the bottom of that page.

Good Luck!