At the moment there's an embarassment of riches in the DSLR department and as with most such things there's really no "best" one out there. If you want great lens selection, you should probably stick with either Canon or Nikon. If you want a live video viewfinder, the Olympus E-volt 330 is your best bet. If you're a bleeding-edge kind of guy, check out the new Sony Alpha which looks great but is in the first few months of manufacture.

Incidentally, point-and-shoot cameras have themselves gotten amazingly better in the past few years; it's possible that you'll find what you're looking for there - particularly with the SuperZooms.

In the end, the best way to go is to simply walk into a lot of different camera stores and play with the various models, then get the one which speaks to your soul. A camera may be just a tool, but it's the tool of an artist and it has to feel right. Have a great time deciding because practically anything you get will be amazingly capable.

Thanks for your thoughts. I was figuring that that's what I'd have to do-thought I'd run it by you guys first. Of the cameras that I have looked at so far, one aspect of a new camera is ease of use, something that the people at the camera store generally don't think is a problem, but as a new user, this is something that I think is important.

Also, what do you guys think of getting a Konica Minolta dslr, considering that Sony is planning on using the same mount as Konica Minolta dlsrs? I know that since Minolta got out of the camera business, it's not the best idea to buy a used Minolta, since there will be no new lenses from them, but since Sony said they will be using the same mount does that mean that a refurb Konica Minolta camera would be a good deal?

Joe as I have discovered this is not an easy thing. I feel first you have to decide what you are going to use it for and how large of prints and how many do you intend to make. Also how much control you need with the camera on white balance exposure and so on. Coming from film there has been a lot to consider here for me. Your camera is best picked by your needs. Monte.

Hi JoelH
I Love my Nikon D70s and after reading the manual and playing with the camera it was easy.
The D50 Nikon again,great begining camera you might look at that one. It realy becomes a personel choice weight,size,and as mentiond previsoly mentioned in another post what you are using it for /good luck.. Jim

Quote:
you have to decide what you are going to use it for and how large of prints and how many do you intend to make

Just for the record, I spent the weekend making a few really nice 11x14 prints (PS7/NN/R2400) from images originally shot with my Nikon 885 P&S which creates images with just 3mp density. Since you're just now making the jump to digital, you might consider getting one of these P&S cameras just to experience what they can do. These days it's quite a lot. Don't forget that the 885 is five years old this September and I picked mine up for a hundred bucks used at my local camera shop. In its day it was one of the very best and it's still pretty darned good - especially at that price!

Here's a little info: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikoncp885/