photography buffs, help me buy a DSLR camera

[Analyst]

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I'm a Canon guy - 1D Mark II.

There's not a lot of difference between Canon and Nikon anymore, but I like that Canon seem to think full-size sensors is the way to go with DSLRs.

[/ QUOTE ]That's not quite true. While they do have more FF cameras than Nikon (does Nikon have any?), they also fully support the crop sensor, having just released the 40D and two new EF-S lenses.

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The highly-anticipated Nikon D3, out in a few weeks or so, is full frame.

[Osprey]

Have you thought about Pentax or Sony at all? The reason to go with one of those make, IMO, is for image based sensor stabilization, which would be great on fast lenses for low light work. Nikon and Canon only do image stabilization in each individual lens, so you couldn't buy a 50mm 1.4 or 85 1.4 with image stabilization for examples. The problems with those brands is spotty new product releases and lack of all system accessories. If you want to just take general purpose photos, they should be fine.

[guller]

Get the nikon d40 with the 2 lens kit. I costs the same as the d40x with 1 lens.

I got the d40 a few months back and am very happy with the kit lenses, very sharp. The smaller file sizes are also easier to handle.