Reply To: First DSLR

[Elsinore]

Well, the answer to your question might depend most on your budget. You’ve outgrown your Panasonic FZ5 fairly quickly, so you may want to consider whether you want the lowest end DSLR or something more midrange, though again, that may be determined by your budget.

Regardless of cost issues, there are lots of great cameras out there, and at the lower end you may want to look into the Nikon D50, Canon 350 RebelXT, Pentax (*ist D, I think is the introductory line?), or the Olympus E330 or E500. Moving up the scale you’ll find the Canon 30D (or the recently discontinued 20D which you could probably still find on discount), Nikon D70, Fuji S3 pro, or even the new Sony Alpha that’s due to be released this month.

Check the review sites ( http://www.dpreview.com or http://www.dcresource.com are great ones) for some unbiased reviews of what these cameras offer and how well they deliver. Decide which features are most important to you–image stabilization, lens selection, image quality/high ISO noise control, anti-dust features, extended dynamic range, etc–then decide which 2 or 3 cameras most closely matche your must-have list. Finally, if at all possible, go to a camera store and hold your top 2 or 3 in your hands. If the camera isn’t comfortable for you to hold, you won’t take as many pictures with it as you would with one that fits you like a glove. You may also think you’ve settled on one camera but find it’s too big/small/heavy/light/just doesn’t feel right.

It’s a tough call with so many great cameras out there, but it’s also a lot of fun to find just the right camera for you 😉