$1000 later...........

[isca]

Budget

My budget is about $1000. I was given a gift, and can top it up ever so slightly. To around $1100. Things are tight at the mo, and I can't see having another lump of money any time soon. So, I'm looking for a DSLR preferably with a single, flexible lens.

Size

I have big hands, but have been using tiny P&S types since i lost access to a darkroom. I used to use an old Nikon EM (Aperture-Priority type thing). Not sure I've ever used a BIG camera.

Features

How many megapixels will suffice for you? I DO like to crop (at least back in the darkroom days until 2001), so I can imagine 10MP being handy.

* What optical zoom will you need? (None, Standard = 3x-4x, Ultrazoom = 10x-12x, Other - Specify) Dunno. I like picking people out of crowds, without them necessarily knowing. So, I need a bit of zoom. But I'm not picking butterflies off of distant tree branches. I also do enjoy close-up work. So, flexibility, but I don't need massive extremes.

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

I want to say 10, but I'm not sure my standards are actually that high. ;) I've never owned a really top camera. But I do look at pro photos occasionally and find myself drooling.

Do you care for manual controls?

Absolutely! I want to be able to play with all the old tools.

General Usage

* What will you generally use the camera for?

I sort of do arty-farty things. So anything from patterns in walls and texture shots to stereotypical landscapes with dramatic skies. And I have a new baby. And all my friends seem to be getting married. So people shots are more important.

* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not?

Hopefully biggish. I'd like to be able to get up to 12x18 or so.

Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos?

I was into night photography for a while. And I dislike flash when shooting people indoors.

Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos?

Unlikely.

Miscellaneous

Are there particular brands you like or hate?

Well, I liked the Nikon I used to use. Don't know much about the others, though I've been researching obsessively.

Are there particular models you already have in mind?

My current thinking is this:

Pentax K10D with a Sigma 17-70mm lens. I can get it at almost exactly my budget (with SDHC & UV filter) from Amazon. I live in England, but have family in the states, so can get them to forward it on to me (it's about $400 cheaper doing it this way...). It seems to give good ruggedness, good flexibility, good image quality, and forces me to use RAW images, which I actually look forward to (post-production has always been one of my real loves).

(If applicable) Do you need any of the following special features? (Wide Angle, Image Stabilization, Weatherproof, Hotshoe, Rotating LCD)

Dunno. It can get pretty wet around here! I'm definitely more of an out-and-about photographer than a studio type.

Anyhoo, I'm partly wondering if my thinking is on track and, if not, what other paths I might choose. My previous alternate thinking had been the Nikon D80 with the 18-135 lens, but the lens gets mixed reviews, and I couldn't afford the better one (20-200???? something like that).

Thanks in advance for your wisdom and generosity.

[Rooz]

d40+18-200mm VR lens is the only nikon option that gets you around budget and gives you that all-in-one zoom.

[SpecialK]

The K10D and 17-70 would be an excellent choice. Best bang-for-the-buck body (better in USA with $100 rebate, though) and the 17-70 is wide enough for landscape/city streets, but long enough for portraits or picking out a bit of architectural detail. You won't be shooting much wildlife, though.

[isca]

d40+18-200mm VR lens is the only nikon option that gets you around budget and gives you that all-in-one zoom.

I had three problems with the D40:

1. 6 megapixels
2. Bad RAW support (can't afford the $150 software bundle)
3. Couldn't get it on Amazon body-only, so end up paying for a kit lens which gets decent reviews, but isn't what I want.

BTW, thanks for the help.

[Norm in Fujino]

Check out the Olympus E-510 two-lens kit. The kit lenses are high quality compared to those of other makes, and Oly has the largest stable of made-for-digital lenses, plus live view, in-body IS, the only effective dust shaker, in-camera pixel mapping.

[edl]

If you want to shoot people indoors without flash then the K10D with a 35 or 50 prime would be a good choice.

I considered the Olympus as well but didn't care for the viewfinder.

I picked up a K10D + Sigma 18-50 2.8 earlier this week for under $1,000 shipped after rebates. All USA brand new stuff (the 18-50 also has a 4 year warranty in USA).

[chardog]

I'll second rooz's recommendation; you should be able to print 12x18 fairly well with a 6mp camera. Anything above 6mpix is very good; it doesnt meet your 10mpix criteria, but it will meet your 12x18 criteria.

but to satisfy your criteria, it's best if you spend a little more. There is no ultra zoom that will get you low light capabilities, so if you dont care about low light, then get a d80 + 18-200mm vr.

if you need lowlight, you can go the cheap route and get a prime or get edl's deal + a zoom of with f2.8. Either way, you're gonna blow your budget.