What camera should I buy

[sstreck]

Which camera should I buy?

This short questionnaire will help the rest of us make good camera recommendations for you. Please answer each question carefully and succinctly.

The questions marked with a * are the most important.

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Budget

* What budget have you allocated for buying this camera? Please be as specific as possible. $800 +/-

Size

* What size camera are you looking for? Or does size not matter at all to you?

I'm not looking for something small--I'd like the standard SLR size with the ability to use different lenses

Features

How many megapixels will suffice for you? I'm not sure, but I've been told 6 is plenty unless I plan to make very large prints--correct?

* What optical zoom will you need? (None, Standard = 3x-4x, Ultrazoom = 10x-12x, Other - Specify) I'd like a nice soom lens--perhaps 18-135 mm

* How important is “image quality” to you? (Rate using a scale of 1-10) 8-9

Do you care for manual controls? yes--I'd like the ability to use them

General Usage

* What will you generally use the camera for? hobby photographer--mostly nature stuff

* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not? sometimes, if the photos are really special

Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos? not a lot, but once ina while

Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos? rarely

Miscellaneous

Are there particular brands you like or hate? Not really

Are there particular models you already have in mind? I've seen Nikons and Canons in my price range

(If applicable) Do you need any of the following special features? (Wide Angle, Image Stabilization, Weatherproof, Hotshoe, Rotating LCD) I don't think so, but how important is image stabilization?

[Rooz]

you're price range seems to suggest the following cams. there is a plethora of info on these in the forums if you do a search.

olympus e510; in body IS and anti dust, very impressive reviews. 14-42mm kit lens.
canon xti; the current market leader for entry level dslr's. a proven winner but i don;t like the feel of it personally. 18-55mm kit lens.
nikon d40; great ergonomics, sharp kit lens with good range. clever use menu interface. 18-135mm nikon kit lens
sony alpha; in body IS and anti dust. 18-70mm kit lens

there is also the nikon d40x which is a 10mp version of the d40 and moderate improvements but for its price i'd be looking at an xti instead.

the D80 and K10d are probably out of your price range.

[SpecialK]

The Pentax K100D with 18-55mm lens is as low as $419 after rebate. As you plan on not shooting sports, you will probably not have a problem with the tiny buffer that only allows 5 jpg or 3 RAW shots in a row, then (pause to write to the card) and resume :-)

There are many third-party lenses such as Sigma or Tamron that will work on it. The Pentax 50-200mm zoom for about $239 is a nice complement to the 18-55mm kit lens and if you get that lens and the camera you get $150 rebate - a pretty good deal. A Sigma 70-300mm APO version zoom is about $219. The in-body stabilization works on all lenses (though really old zooms can pose a problem as you have to set the focal length of it manually in the stabilization setting - and you only get one length :-(

You probably won't be able to get another lens with your budget if you go with a Canon XTi, and the Nikon D40 has a smaller selection of inexpensive lenses at the moment due to the fact that only the AF-S variety of lenses (with a motor in them) will autofocus. These AF-S lenses are for the most pretty expensive. There is an economical 55-200mm for about $250, however.