Best Affordable Digital SLR Cameras

[11/25] Decided to move Digital Rebel XSi to #1 position - combination of increased pixels and considerably lower price made me change my mind.
Nikon is keeping price close to $900 - that's simply not realistic given the general economy and the improved offerings from its rivals. Digital Rebel Rules!
Digital Rebel" just sounds cool. The camera also appears excellent, with more bells and whistles than most of us would ever need, or want to figure out how to use.
It appears that Canon users are just as emotional about their Rebels as Nikon are about D40x - if you ever stray into one of the forums where users compare notes, there is no end of "my camera is better than yours' exchanges. Bottom line - you can't go wrong buying Canon.
As for the pricing - it seems to be around $600 on a good day. On Amazon, I don't know which "genius" came up with the idea of showing "too low to display" instead of a price. Be that as it may, at least twice this month ( Novemebr 2009) , I saw the price drop to $548, so if you are looking to buy the 12 MP Digital Rebel, it's worth checking this page once a week or so.

BTW: Speaking of the XSi - I spoke with a guy who dropped 3k on a Canon EOS 5D, and loves it. But says he is tired of switching lenses, and having to worry about dust, etc. So he plans to get Digital Reble XSi as well - and never have to change lenses in the clouds of dust again.

This sounds like a fine excu... I mean, an upgrade strategy for your cameras!

[10/25] After demotion of Nikon to 3rd place, Olympus moves up in the rating. Solid picture quality, combined with affordable price make it a good first runner up.
My first digital camera was made by Olympus, so it's a sentimental favorite. Olympus E510 boasts image stabilization - don't know how good it is, but my wife sure could use it - she has a tendency to do one-handed pictures of our kid - 90% come out blurred. We have a trip to a store scheduled - if she can do one-handed pictures that aren't blurred, she is getting the Olympus.

[10/25] Given Nikon's high price, and improved cameras from rivals - Nikon is being demoted to the 2nd unner up position. Pricing of the camera is particularly strange - has not changed in almost a year - even though it's rivals dropped their prices and improved their offerings.
[old]After comapring reviews, reading blogs and countless hours on the comparison sites, Nikon D40x ended up on top. To be honest - I don't think you can objectively decide which of the top 3 is better than the others - it's a combination of features, feel of the camera, prices, company reputation, etc.
For me, Nikon D40x is it - and the Amazon price is hard to beat - I checked Best Buy, Comp USA, Circuit City, and local camera stores - Amazon still came in with the best price [update: 3/15/08 - I take it back - Amazon just jacked up the price by $90 - it no longer is a great deal]. BTW: when comparing prices, make sure you are comparing prices that include the basic lense - "body only" camera is cheaper, but you will still have to buy a lense, so make sure you are comparing "apples to apples" [click on Amazon below to see all technical details and customer reviews]

Not to be outdone, Pentax came up with K200D - a 10 mega pixel camera with Pentax's 23.5mm x 15.7mm CCD image sensor with the PRIME (Pentax Real Image Engine) as its imaging engine. It's supposed to produce images with subtle gradations and texture.
Pentax K200D also offers Shake Reduction system for producing blur-free images even under difficult shooting conditions - macro and telephoto photography or low light settings without a flash.
Pentax has been making excellent cameras for years, and this one is no exception. If Nikon does not lower its prices soon, I may have to do some reshuffling. After all, first place is not a permanent position.

Since SLRs allow you to change lenses, there are a few things to keep in mind:
a) the cost of the lenses over time will be higher than the cost of the body itself.
b) if you already have a bunch of lenses, switching to a different manufacturer can be very expensive
c) since the lenses constitute most of the cost,
it makes sense to compare prices of body only - since you are likely to buy lenses other than the standard ones that come with the camera.
d) keep in mind, that 2-3 years from now, there will be new bodies - vastly better in terms of CCD and other features - but your lenses can last a lifetime.

Here is a link to a whole bunch of electronic toys for little ( and not so little ) kids.

Electronic toys

For yourself, check out the Lego Mindstorms NXT robotic kit:

Lego Mindstorms NXT robot

Check out this lense for more ETF info
More about ETFs.

Couple other lenses to visit - to take a break from the money game:
Fun

and more fun

Back to money stuff:

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