Camera purchasing decisions--to much information to process

[severtt]

I want an SLR camera, good in low lighting situations, just the body. As for lens, I basically want a good wide angle one. and zoom. Also, the most professional results for the money. This is probably a tall order, and I don't know much about cameras (obviously). For the camera buffs out there, what camera do you suggest? I am leaning toward Canon and Nikon, but don't won't to go overboard and spend $thousands when I can get good enough for scrapping, but not cheapos either.

Photoshop CS2, Lightroom. Plan on upgrading to mac.

[LauraBean]

Any digital SLR from Canon or Nikon will provide what you're looking for, I think. When I bought my first dSLR a year ago, I knew I wanted as much camera as I could possibly afford, and I went with the Canon 40D (the 50D has since come out), which is a step above their entry level SLRs. It's an excellent camera and I have no regrets whatsoever. I bought it with the kit lens, which is a very good lens (28-135mm f/3.5-5.6), and I also got a 50mm f/1.8. Both were great to start out with and I continue to use them both, though I've also added a zoom with more reach.

I decided by reading reviews at camera sites (dpreviews is one I relied on). I had pretty much decided on Canon just because I'd had Canon point and shoots that I liked a lot, but another good thing to do is to go to a store where you can hold them and see how they feel in your hand.

[kchris]

When I bought mine I had to go the cheapest I could. I got the Nikon d40 and have been happy with it, especially since learning how to use manual mode. (Thank you Katrina!)

[calligraphybycarol]

I have the Nikon D40 also. It is a great, inexpensive body, and you can get great lenses for it. You just have to make sure they are the AFS lenses, with a motor. They need to be able to auto focus. Ken Rockwell uses the D40 and still prefers it over the later models Nikon has come out with:

NEW: Nikon D60 and Nikon D40x, slightly downgraded versions of the D40, but with more pixels and a higher price. I prefer my D40 over the D40x and D60, even for the same price, and since the D40 costs less, the D40 is the deal of the past two years!

I have the kit lens, but don't use it much now since we recently bought the new 35mm, f1.8/ Nikon lens (it's a prime lens, not a zoom), and the Tamron 17-50mm, F2.8.

I love the 35mm. I have been coveting the 50mm, 1.8 lens for some time, but didn't want to manual focus with it, and it won't auto focus on my D40. The 35mm is great for portraits as long as you don't get too close. For $199, it's an awesome lens. It is the "hot" lens right now, so they are having a time keeping up with demand, but we prepaid when we ordered and got them in about three weeks.

My flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/calligraphycarol/