scott_diegel

<p>An update in case any of you who helped happen to read this. I ended up getting the Canon XSi and the $100 50mm/f1.8 lens and am extremely happy so far. I'm definitely taking MUCH better photos than I was ever taking with any P&S. My biggest regret is waiting until a week after the baby was born to get the camera. Thanks again for all the help.</p>

<p>Thank you all for the input. I wasn't expecting such a fantastic response to my first post on photo.net! After considering everything I've read here, I think I am going to stick with my original plan: the Canon XS with the kit lens and the 50mm f1.8 lens. It seems like that will meet my needs for a while and will also meet my budget.</p>

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<p>Like stated above, It really doesn't matter which DSLR you get.<br />Lenses and techniques are most important, and a cheap $89 50mm f1.8 is what I used to capture this shot.</p>

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<p>I assume the lens you are referring to is the Canon lens? This is really the type of thing I'm looking for: nice, sharp pictures with the blurred background that's difficult to get with a P&S. Will I have a terrible time trying to get sharp pictures of a baby indoors with that lens on something like the XS that doesn't have in-body stabilization? Mind you, I'm just a casual photographer at this point, but am willing to put in the time and effort to learn, which is why I'm starting to look for a new camera now (5 months in advance).</p>

<p>Thanks again. I really appreciate your time and the incredibly helpful information. Regarding the K2000, it looks like I could get the same setup with the K200D for about $815 at B&H minus the external flash. Thoughts?</p>

<p>I did see your post about some of the K2000's issues in the Pentax forum, and I'll try to keep any more Pentax-specific issues in the Pentax forum.</p>

<p>Again, thank you, R.T.!</p>

<p>How about the fact that the K2000D and K200D are powered by AA batteries? OR maybe that's actually a good thing?</p>

<p>R.T., you've definitely piqued my interest in the Pentax. Are the rest of their lenses priced similarly to Canon's and Nikon's? Are there any good reasons NOT to get a Pentax, since Canon and Nikon are the "Big 2" in DSLRs?</p>

<p>Thanks for the help, and thanks, R.T., for the congratulations. We are very excited, but have quite a way to go yet (baby's due in late October).</p>

<p>I was originally planning on going the route that Tommy suggested (kit zoom lens + the Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens) -- this should total about $650 with the Canon XS. What is the equivalent Pentax lens and how much does it cost? Just from browsing the Pentax website, their lenses seem fairly expensive compared to Canon's. There's a bit of a "wife acceptance factor" involved with this purchase, as she seems to think that our current P&S is fine. I'm sure she'll appreciate the SLR after baby comes, but for now it would be prudent to try and minimize the cost. </p>

<p>With our first baby on the way, I'm using that as an excuse to finally get an SLR. This also means that my SLR budget is not terribly high. I'm looking for something that will take excellent indoor pictures with better results than the point-and-shoot I've been using (a Kodak Z7590). </p>

<p>I've been looking at the Canon XS and am wondering if it's worth stepping up to the XSi or even the new T1i. I've pretty much already decided on Canon, but will not strictly rule out Nikon (the D60 would probably be the only one in my price range, excluding the D40). I'm not terribly interested in video, especially in paying the $300 premium from the XS to the T1i considering that I could get better video from a standalone camcorder if I decided to go that route.</p>

<p>Thanks for any help!</p>