Digital SLR for those who care

[AstrosFan]

For those who may be considering a purchase of an entry-level SLR, I thought I'd post some of the sites I found helpful in my recent purchase.
I'm a novice photographer who recently upgraded from a point & shoot digital camera to an entry-level SLR.
Ultimately, I narrowed my choices down to the Nikon series (D50 & D70) as well as the Canon Digital Rebel XT.
In the end, I decided there was no 'clear-cut' right answer, but that all 3 cameras had their respective merits. Ultimately, it became a decision of what type of pictures/prints you are going to shoot, how much post-processing you like to do, as well as your individual comfort with each camera.
I hope these links help other people - I know I struggled with the decision for some time.

http://www.dpreview.com/

http://www.dcresource.com/

http://www.steves-digicams.com/

http://www.digitalreview.ca/

I hope I haven't wasted anyone's time; good luck with your purchase!

 

[crazzyeddie]

Well what did you end up buying, and based on which personal preferences?

 

[AstrosFan]

I ended up getting the D50.
The primary personal preference was the feel of the camera.
I felt like the XT was a bit too small (some have called it 'toylike') and uncomfortable to grip.
The D70, on the other hand, was a bit too large for me to feel comfortable carrying it around, especially with the included kit lens.
Ultimately, the D50 just felt right in my hand.

As to picture quality, when I looked through all the reviews, I found a split opinion as to whether the D50 or XT had better picture quality.
Most places that I read essentially came to the conclusion that ultimately, the photographer was a more important factor in the quality of image between those cameras.

 

[javabear90]

I have the d70 and my best friend has a d50. I played around with it for a while. Its a good camera, however I like the lens on the d70 a lot better, and I like the use of CompactFlash on the the d70 becuase of larger sized memory cards such as microdrives and such.
-.02¢