[Herandu]

Best advice I can give you is get a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50. I got about 8 cameras now, of various formats and sizes. That Lumix does however cover all of them and more. Look at the features:
RAW & JPG. You need RAW if you are going to do any picture editing of value.
Adjustable dioptric. Spec wearer? Use manual focus as well? Then you need this.
Leica zoom from 35mm to 420mm. LEICA: need I say more?
Rear LCD display can be flicked out and rotated in just about every angle. Shots I have taken using this facility I couldn't manage with any other of my cameras.
Two modes of picture vibration/shake control. One is very good for still shots at slow speed, the other for sports.
Every connection point is secured by a dust repellent cover. You'll appreciate this if you use your camera a lot outdoors.

They tell me on the net that the pictures are soft. I keep looking for this in the ones I take, but those testers must have had an early production version.

My 1st Professional Canon Digital was about 10M pixels. Cost a fortune then. The DMC-FZ50 delivers the same at a fraction of the price.
I don't pull my hairs out about the dust on the sensors when I change lenses: I don't need to change lenses.
Falls within your budget.
Good accessories. I bought the wireless and wired remote control release, and the MACRO lenses.

Highly recommended

 

[ronin74]

Quote:

Originally Posted by padi89 /img/forum/go_quote.gif ...i want to do is move away from the point n shoot market into DSLR...i do feel its time to move on and up. I do feel very limited by my point n shoot these days, so much so that i just don't bother bringing it with me much anymore. I would very much like to improve. My budget would be in the 750 euro region give or take. I am looking into some evening classes local to get the basics right and to follow up with time....

So, do you what better equipment or do you want to take better pictures?? Quite often one is not synonymous with the other.

 

[rb67]

The thing that DSLR's offer IMO is easy accessibility of manual adjustments. With most point and shoots, you have to go through software to adjust aperature/shutter/ISO whereas DSLR's have dials and switches. Plus you get added flexibility of flash units, better metering, etc etc.

That's not to say any of this will improve your basic artistic sense, but it certainly allows you to experiment with different settings more easily.

 

[Herandu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rb67 /img/forum/go_quote.gif The thing that DSLR's offer IMO is easy accessibility of manual adjustments. With most point and shoots, you have to go through software to adjust aperature/shutter/ISO whereas DSLR's have dials and switches. Plus you get added flexibility of flash units, better metering, etc etc. .

Those are some of the features I failed to mention in my recommendation of the DMC-FZ50. It has dials and switches to adjust aperature/shutter/ISO. It has an inbuilt flash, and an optional dedicated flashgun.The length of the lens barrel is also fixed. So start uptime is almost instant. Great piece of kit that.

 

[dan1son]

I'm in the same boat as the OP. I was just lucky enough to receive a Nikon D40 with kit lens from my wife, with my fathers help (he's a pro photographer on the side), and a 55-200 AF-S VR lens from my father for my birthday. I'd have to say I couldn't be happier. Total cost of body, 18-55 kit lens and 55-200 was around $800. I've already bought a case, tripod, shutter remote, and cleaning stuff and it's only been a month and a half. Now I need a speedlight and a very fast 50 or 85mm prime.

I've taken the camera to two weddings and got some extremely good shots. The DSLRs can do an amazing job indoors with minimal light. The D40 looks extremely clear at ISO1600, even better than my fathers D70. The Vibration Reduction helps quite a bit with handheld shots as well.

It's amazing how many more pictures I shot than I would've if I only had my point and shoot. A DSLR is just so much nicer and faster. It's easier to grab those split second shots. Time required to zoom, focus, and click the trigger is incomparably faster than any point and shoot.

Don't let the "entry level" part of the lower end Canons or Nikons fool you. They're very versatile great cameras. And in the case of the D40 the camera with kit lens is remarkably light and easy to hold. The photographer at the wedding last weekend just bought one as his every day carry around camera and it looks like my father is going to pick one up as well.

 

[Isao]

I got hit with the DSLR bug about 6 months ago.
I did most of my research on dpreview.com for about 2 months before finally deciding on the Nikon D40. I figured that I would use only the kit lens for awhile. Boy was I wrong, almost immediately I wanted to get some bigger zooms, but none of the lens I wanted to get were compatible with the D40.

The D40 requires AF-S type lens. Nikon only makes a few consumer level AF-S lenses(mostly zooms 18-55, 18-70, 18-135, and 18-200), the other AF-S lenses are VERY expensive PROFESSIONAL level. If you want to use any of the cheaper 3rd party lenses from Tamron, Tokina, or Sigma(except a few of their HSM models), you have to manually focus the lenses. Also, none of Nikon's very affordable prime lenses are AF-S either...

After about 2 months using the D40, I ended of trading my D40 for an refurbished older model D50. This allowed me to use a wonderful lens like the Nikon 80-200f2.8AF that I picked up used on craigslist for $600. To get the latest AF-S version of this lens, the 70-200f2.8VR AF-S cost $1600.
Unless you are absolutely sure that you will be happy with the AF-S offering from Nikon, I recommend getting the next step up model, the D80. If your budget is tight, find a used D50 or D70s.

 

[Sheynkman]

sooo

I actually shoot

www.sheynk.com

I shoot with canon.

Buy a cheap beat up rebel with a kit lens. Spend a year with in to figure out exactly what you need.

Post processing should be kept to a minimal... do not rely on software for good results...ever. I am not saying that it isnt a useful tool...just don't approach this from a head-fi/dpreview perspective of gear gear gear.

Go on fredmiranda.com if you want some great pro advice and a fantastic B/S forum (best on the internetz imho)

feel free to ask questions

 

[Sarchi]

Between Canon and Nikon, it would seem that Canon has a more flexible upgrade path - the EF lens mounts have been around for decades. I like Nikon too, but Canon seemed to have the popularity edge. Get over to Canon Digital Forums, it's the Headfi of the DSLR world. I picked up a used Rebel dslr on their classifieds a couple of years ago and I've been very happy with it.

 

[ozz]

i have been very happy with the nikon d-80 for a couple of months now
still learning i don't think i will outgrow this one.

 

[Daniel L]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Sony Alpha A100. It, argueably, has the best kit lens out of the entry level DSLRs and has picked up great reviews everywhere. It also has a decent upgrade path as well.

 

[ozz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daniel L /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Sony Alpha A100. It, argueably, has the best kit lens out of the entry level DSLRs and has picked up great reviews everywhere. It also has a decent upgrade path as well.

although it is a good camera in test both the current nikon and cannon beat
it out in pq.according to popular photography and shutterbug.