If you are looking to move to SLR, check out this camera
For the past eight or so years, I have been a huge fan of digital photography. While I always loved film cameras, the cost for picture development was the key reason why decided to move my creative talents to video. As the cost for digital cameras became more affordable for me, I decided to take the plunge and invest in the Kodak DC290. This is was 3 megapixel camera that, unlike its counterparts back then gave users the ability to manual adjust things like aperture and shutter speed. This was a great intro camera for me (and I still own it to this day). Since then, I bought a more compact-sized 5 megapixel digital camera made by Olympus. The picture quality from this camera was just great, however I knew that sooner or later I wanted to move on to something more sophisticated.
About a week or so before our trip to Hawai’i, I decided to do some research on an entry-level SLR camera. After spending several days and long nights on the web, I came across the Nikon D40 (Current price range $500-$599). While this camera is only 6 megapixels, when it comes to SLR (Single-lens reflex) technology, the quality of your pictures will far exceed any standard 6 megapixel digital point-and-shoot camera.
In short, many of the over 600 pictures I took on our vacation came out beautifully (quiet a few look downright professional, IMO 
). The standard package for this camera comes with a 18-55mm lens that is great for people like me who are just starting out shooting with a digital SLR. Perhaps one of the best features of this camera is that you can do basic photo editing right inside this device. With the D40, you can adjust the color levels, crop and other features normally reserved for PC software such as Photoshop. This camera makes picture-taking fun for me.
Most of the reviews I have read on this camera have been on the money based on my experience. If you want to learn more about this camera, check out Ken Rockwell’s website (the information he provided on his site helped me to make up my mind on this camera). Also, check out Nikon’s D40 product page here.
Where to buy
I would check out a few places online. J&R is probably one of the best out there when it comes down to reliability. If you find this camera being sold by someone online with the lens kit for about $100-plus below retail, DO NOT THINK ABOUT IT. Oftentimes it is a grey market product that is not warrantied here in the US. Unfortunately, I fell for one of these deals at first, but was able to get out of it without it hitting my credit card. Instead, I went to a camera shop down in Hollywood and bought it at their cash price for $535. Camera shops tend to be a lot more knowledgeable and understanding of their product than if you were to buy it from a big chain store. They also (in many cases) have better prices than the chain stores as well.
If I have the time today, I will post a few of the pictures I took in Hawai’i with this camera.
