Need Help picking a DSLR

[Tee-M]

So I've going back and forth about the Olympus e420 and seem to not be able to pull the trigger. Seems like a good camera and I love the size and price. I don't expect to be taking alot of photos; really the ones I am interested in are just when I go on vacation, on the golf course, and perhaps some anyday candid shots. The one thing I seem to be torn on is the lack of the IS on the e420.

I have also looked at the rebel xti-- which obviously is a slightly bigger camera.

Any thoughts?

[Tee-M]

also how about the rebel xs?

[K1W1]

If you have read the reviews, looked at the photos (search Flickr for real photos from real users rather than the sort of staged shots you get in reviews) and are happy with the price there is only one more thing to do. Go to a store and actually pick the camera up and use it (or simulate using it). It must feel comfortable to you in your hands. If it passes that test buy it.
You are likely to get all sorts of suggestions from all sorts of people with a query like yours. Most will give reasons why you should buy the camera they own because they consider it to be the best solution but other people are not you and only you know how any camera actually feels in your hands.

[heyheyhey]

Nikons seem to hold their resell value better than most, which gives you a pretty good clue as too whats a good DSLR. If your not doing much shooting, you don't want to be lugging around a heavy camera, so a smaller SLR might be the go http://imagesshack.info/88l770.jpg

[Rooz]

are any olympus lens' stabilised ? if not, then isnt buying a non stabilised oly body a dead end ?

[cdifoto]

If you have read the reviews, looked at the photos (search Flickr for real photos from real users rather than the sort of staged shots you get in reviews)
How do you figure the shots in a review are staged? If anything they're more honest because they haven't been futzed. You get to see what comes out of the camera and anything better would be up to you, the photographer. A review is about technical capability, not artistic possibility.

[K1W1]

Most reviewer have favourite scenes or shots that appear over and over, particularly portrait shots. That's handy for comparing the image results for camera A against camera B. Photos on places like Photobucket or SmugMug or Flickr more represent real world usage of cameras.
It's a tool that can be useful in a buying decision that's all whether a person wants to use it is entirely up to them but many people don't even think about using it so that's why I pointed it out.

[raven15]

The E-420 is a good camera. It's best features are, in fact, size, price and features, and the size, price and quality of the lenses available. I have an E-410 for those reasons. No, it can not have image stabilization (unless you buy one of two rare Leica/Panasonic lenses). That will probably not be a problem during daylight hours. The XS is a good choice too, with an IS kit lens. See if its benefits are worth the extra size and price to you.

A Pentax K2000 is another small camera with IS. Perhaps a Nikon D60 which also has an IS ("VR") kit lens if you don't need too many "features." An Olympus E-520 is around the same weight as these others and has IS. You probably know these things already.

Try an E-420 in a store to see if you like the shape, if you can.

[cdifoto]

Most reviewer have favourite scenes or shots that appear over and over, particularly portrait shots. That's handy for comparing the image results for camera A against camera B. Photos on places like Photobucket or SmugMug or Flickr more represent real world usage of cameras.
It's a tool that can be useful in a buying decision that's all whether a person wants to use it is entirely up to them but many people don't even think about using it so that's why I pointed it out.
Oh yeah definitely look at real world shots on flickr and the like to see what's possible, but don't disregard the review samples. If you ignore review samples and only look at post-processed images in galleries, you might assume you'll get that stuff straight out of the camera. And by "you" I mean newbies, who don't understand that "amazing" isn't a camera setting, that are looking for their first camera.