What kind of Camera???

[Ande]

I am just beginning to think about getting a "Grown Up" Camera Does anyone have a suggestion for a beginner Digital...would like to take a photography class. Is there something that is a good starter, not too expensive, User friendly for someone who can be a bit slow. I just have a canon PandS now. You guys all sound like such professionals with the talk of all the Lens's

[dugarner]

I just went through the dSLR debate with myself. I had a Sony for three years and was not a fan. It was an okay camera, but the lenses didn't have staying power and equipment was hard to find.

You'll get lots of different opinions, but I'll give mine to throw in the mix. (I got a lot of good advice from the ladies here.) I just bought the Canon EOS T2i about a month ago. It's middle-of-the-line as far as the price and bells and whistles, great for a beginner or advancing amateur alike. At 18MP, you don't have to invest a lot of money into a telephoto lens if you don't want to. You can crop the photos tight and still have great resolution. And it does video, which was huge for me. I haven't had a video camera since my Fuji P&S bit the dust.

It's priced extremely well (I saw the body only at Target for $599 a few weeks ago). You can opt for the body only or body with the wide angle kit lens for about $100 more. I purchased a kit that came with two lenses, the 18-55 and the 55-250. I am thrilled with both lenses. I paid $900 for that kit on Amazon.

It's easy to use, so lightweight, and if you're used to the Canon product, you might want to stay with a Canon. I have Canonites and Nikonians as friends, and one of my Nikonian friends, who has won national Nikon photography awards, told me if he were starting over, he'd go with Canon. **ducking the rotten tomatoes** He said right now, Canon is making a higher-quality dSLR. Canon lenses are affordable, there are a ton of them, and you can almost always find one you want for a great price used on eBay or Amazon if you're willing to go that route.

[Ande]

Thanks Sarah...I'll have to do some checking and see what I like the best.

[anxela]

I'll have to agree with Sarah - go for one of the big ones, Canon or Nikon. I'm a Canon girl, and I'm very happy with it.

If you decide to go for a Canon, I would suggest you get a 50 mm f/1.8 too, if you can afford it. Fantastic value for money, and it will give you great portrait photos as well as a great walk around prime lens (non zoom). It was my only lens (didn't even have a kit lens) for a loong time. But of course, it does depend on what kind of photos you want to take.

[georgeinci]

I absolutely echo Sarah and Anxela. I'm a Canon girl too. I have the Canon T1i (500D) and love it. It's my first DSLR and it is all I hoped it would be. Soon after I bought the 50mm 1.8f lens which basically replaced my kit lens and it now spends the majority of time on my camera (it's fabulous value for money!). Happy hunting! x

[tylertooo]

I am a Canon girl too. I made the jump from my first p&s to the 5D, as I got tired of saying "some day". I have always had Canon, even with film, but any of the big names are great - Canon/Nikon. I think their lower end dslr's are fabulous, I believe they have slight differences, but I think the biggest difference between one of their lower end models is it isn't that weather proofed, but I typically don't shoot in the rain. I have had mine for 6 years, and it is still going strong - now I am saving for the high end lenses. I still have a good p&s,which I carry all the time, but gotta have my DSLR.

[Ande]

Thanks everyone......I'm sure my ultimate pick will be a Canon....will have to do some checking