Yeah I am in the same boat. Lately I have been talking to a few of my buddies who are die hard photographers and been learning a lot so if you have any friends that shoot I would definitely talk to him.

I am leaning toward a Nikon, but still have some more research to do. Have you even checked CNet as a starting point to see whats out there and get an idea?

 

Nikon D60 FTW... i took this________

 

yeah, Nikon is the way to go. D90 if you can swing it becuase it shoots video, which will come in handy. If you cant, go for a D60. The D90 is only about $100 more expensive than the 1000D.

 

Ok thanks for the advice. I have 0,0 photoshop skills so I need to have a cam that does 90% of the work for me. Why Nikon over Canon though? Saw a really good deal on the 500D today...

 

Its all personal choice. Go somewhere that you could hold both cameras side by side. You will most likely find that it will come down to the camera that just fits/feels better in your hand. That is the reason I went with Nikon. Held the Nikon D50 next to the Canon Rebel and felt like the Canon was going to just break right there.

 

test the real camera is the best way to to know what's best for you, if possible, avoid buying your first equipment online. get the first hand experience. go to the nearest dealer, test every similar model available in that shop let say D90 vs 500D or 550D. if you are keen on 60D then by all mean, don't compare it with 500D or 550D instead compare it with 1000D, the closest rival. I dont mention Sony DSLR because I didnt know anything about Alpha Model.

The next thing to consider is your close friends' equipment, if most of them use Nikon, you might want to consider Nikon more since equipment-pooling is very very useful and important in photography. Equipments (mostly flash and lens) are very expensive so sometimes trusted friends will be more than willing to lend them to their friends. Unless money is not a constraint to you, then you are free to choose which ever brand.

After that, consider original manufacturer equipment prices, in my country (Malaysia), generally prices of Nikon's lenses are more expensive than prices of Canon's lenses so for a freelancers like me (I'm still a uni student) I will definitely opt for Canon since I'm seeing my self will invest a lot in this area (and yes that's true).

However, the point above is becoming more irrelevant since noawadays you can buy third party lenses and flash like sigma, tamron tokina and others for a very good price but get very similar quality to those OEM lens (sometimes better).

Last thing is, I believe it's better for you to buy just OEM body and the spare money, buy third party lens. Just my personal opinion, I strongly believe that Tamron or Sigma 17-50 F2.8 version are much much better than Nikon and Canon 18-55 F3.5-5.6

OEM body + tokina 11-16 F2.8 is a good combination too

 

Anyone that tells you Canon or Nikon is better than the other is clearly biased by personal use as both make excellent cameras that can take fantastic images.

I shoot Canon and I do so because when I decided to move up to an SLR (when the 20D was new) I went to a camera store and played with several different cameras. Out of all that I held the Canon's made the most sense and I decided on the 20D because the metal body and the controls were laid out best for my personal taste.

I have friends that shoot Nikon and once in awhile we'll play with each others cameras and remark on how each others camera is confusing to the other.

Even the most base model SLR these days can take fantastic images so don't trip on that too much and just focus on what camera makes the most sense to you so that learning it's functions will be easiest.

zahid made some great points too about what your friends shoot with and such. My good photog friend happens to shoot Canon also so it's nice to be able to borrow gear from time to time.

 

Here's some advice I've learned:

-Go try them out, see what feels best in your hands. They all take great images.
-Invest in good lenses more so than a body. Buying a used camera body is NOT a bad thing.

That is all. Good luck with your search and post some photos when you get it!

 

Thanks a lot again! I am going to the local electronics store tomorrow, and compare some of the mentioned cameras. They have a great deal on the 500D with a 18-55 (non-IS though) lens. 444,- for the set, body is normally 520-ish without lens. But I guess it would be better to get the 1000D body for ~350,-, and then invest in one really good lens plus the necessary accessories.

And my friends all use Canon... the mentioned Nikons are 100,- more expensive, don't really want to stretch my budget. I'll let you know what the results are of the shop visit tomorrow. Thanks again.

 

don't buy new whatever you do....

i would recommend a 40d with a great cheaper lense maybe a 50mm

 

The best advice I've heard so far is to:
1. Go to a camera store, hold both Nikon and Canon in your hand.
2. Decide which one feels most comfortable to you.
3. GO HOME! And look at lenses and accesories on both cameras.
4. Pick the camera that has the lenses selection you need + price range you can handle.
Here is an example, you can get a Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 for roughly $1500 shipped on ebay, but the same focal distance lens (Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8) cost around $1800 shipped on ebay.
I picked my Nikon D7000 over Canon 60D because the Nikon felt better in my hands, plus the 35mm Nikkor prime can be had for about 200 bucks. (Canon doesn't make the 35mm f/1.8, the next best thing is either their 35mm f/2.0 for $300 or 35mm f/1.4 for a whopping $1300)

 

Just out of curiosity, what makes you want a DSLR? The stuff you mention shooting could all be shot very well with many of the point and shoot cameras on the market today. It's more in knowing how to use the camera, than the camera you have.

I have a DSLR and a SLR that I really only shoot when I have a need for instant shutter release, fast autofocus, hand held low light, off camera lighting, or have the need for a really long focal length (which is rare for me.) Otherwise, I shoot a point and shoot for most anything else as I have found that I get tired of carrying the SLRs after a while. And it will do for probably 80% of the stuff I shoot.

Just something to think about before spending a knot on a new camera is all.

 

In the end, I did end up with some new equipment. I am scared of buying used, because everytime I do it, it ends up broken after a short while. I just want to have warranty, and not have to worry. So I got me a Canon 1000D, standard 18-55 lens and all the necessary stuff around it. Thursday I have a day off, and if the weather is any decent I will try to put the results here that night.

 

Buy a cheap body and good glass. Quality lenses hold their value very well. If you buy a used Canon L lens at a good price it's not uncommon to sell it back for zero loss or even a slight profit, if Canon happens to raise prices in between. I'm sure Nikon's high quality lenses are the same way.