D7000 all the way. But the price is about 1200-1500 with kit lenses. You can buy used lens from ebay.  Look for a new body on ebay. You can get it for about 899-1100 just for the body and add the lens later.  Do not go below d7000 if you want to take good pictures and with that money being spent. Get a 60mm used macro 2.8 lens.  24-200mm for wide and zoom feature. 

vyrus · Dec 23, 2011 8:11 AM

Daum, My recommendation, 1. go for Nikon D7000. Body is lil over 1K$ but its on sale .. i saw one for 1079 @ amazon today.. trust me it wont last long.. 2. Nikorr 50-200 mm and Nikkor 55 mm (I have 18-105 and 55 mm and soon planning to buy 70-300mm) 3. welcome to the wonderful world of Nikon. happy shooting. 

perfectionist · Dec 23, 2011 8:15 AM

One advice I can give you is to invest on the lens; not so much camera. Camera technology changes every year and the price goes down every year with the intro of a newer model. A camera worth $1000 last year would be worth $500-$600 this year (not all). These digital gadgets also have a small shelf life. Lens, on the other hand, have longer shelf life and their price hardly change significantly. Get a decent camera but make sure you get a good lens (now don't overpay for them either). You will be bored with your camera in a year or two, you can then buy a new one again and still use your old lens as adapters for almost every lens are found in the market.

Kiddo · Dec 23, 2011 8:41 AM

vyrus, perfectionist and Kiddo, Thanks a lot for your comments. I was just searching. I found: 1. New! Nikon D3100 14.2MP DSLR w/ NIKKOR 18-55mm, 55-200mm VR Lens, and Lowepro Nikon DSLR Kit Web Code: B9002796 Price:$1,079.96 On Sale:$999.97 Save: $79.99 Sale Ends: 12/24/2011 AND, 2. Nikon D5100 16.2MP DSLR Camera with 18-55mm VR Lens and 55-200mm VR Lens Web Code: B9001805 Price:$1,149.98 On Sale:$1,079.98 Save: $70.00 Sale Ends: 12/24/2011 I have decided that I will buy one of these two. Most probably no. 2. What do you think friends? -daum

daum · Dec 23, 2011 8:51 AM

The price that u listed is very expensive Nikon 3100 - costs $599 55-200mm lens - costs $149 Nikon 5100 - costs $800 http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb... http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb...

serial · Dec 23, 2011 9:03 AM

I agree with Kiddo, Investing in lens is the way to go.. However you want a camera that can use the lens as well. If you are thinking of Nikon My suggestion is to go for atleast a Nikon D90 and above. D7000 is amazing, but D90 will do the trick. The D90 is compatiable with older FX lenses as well. as far as the lens are concerned don't buy the kit lens its not worth it atleast that is what I think. 50mm F1.8 old version $130 new $200-250, or a 35 mm f 1.8 is $199. 50mm is good for outdoor but too big to use it indors remember DX camera you have to use 1.5 times the focal length so your 35 mm comes out to be 50mm and 50 mm comes out to be 75mm. Well for the other primary lens you can look at a used 35-70 mm you can find one in ebay if you are lucky for about 250-300 dollars. Its the lens that does the magic rather than the camera. Happy shooting.

baire · Dec 23, 2011 9:57 AM

 Let me tell you one thing, the problem with the kit lens is it is most of time crap. and after u reach certain level i.e 6 months to 1 year depending upon how much you are interested in photography it becomes a obsolete piece of crap which you wont use anymore. For your budget, I would suggest Nikon D90 www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/580241-REG/Nikon_25446_D90_SLR_Digital_Camera.html Nikon 35 mm f1.8 lens  www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/606792-USA/Nikon_2183_AF_S_Nikkor_35mm_f_1_8G.html Nikon 85 mm f1.8 lens www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/84151-GREY/Nikon_1931_AF_Nikkor_85mm_f_1_8D.html The 35 mm lens is pretty good for any kind of photography and with 0.75 cropping factor in D90 it is almost near to 50 mm which is what human eye sees. and what I have learned till now is, the prime lenses teaches you more in composition and all than those zoom lenses. Also with f at 1.8 it can handle any kind of light possible. If you are interested in portraits and far nature, 85 mm is perfect choice, so with those two sets of lenses and D90 I am sure you wont repent it. Just my two cents Cheers.

Juggy · Dec 23, 2011 9:57 AM

 i use canon, but if I were to recommend you a Nikon dslr, it'd be either D90 or D5100. They are both on the same price range. But I think D90 is a little bit older than D5100. If you think you'll be shooting some videos too, buy D5100 and you might be able to find it a bit cheaper than D90 (because D5100 is classified as beginners' camera whereas D90 is considered a prosumer). below is a link for a site that compares these two cameras.  talking about lenses, it really depends on what you want to shoot. since you said it's your first time buying a dslr, get a decent walkaround lens like 18-105mm and a prime lens - 35mm or 50mm should do fine for now. you can and probably will add more lenses in the next 6 months or so.  when buying a camera, buy from major retailers : amazon, adorama, bhphoto, cameta camera, nikon itself, etc. do not buy camera body and expensive lenses from ebay, it's risky. again, if I were you, i'd buy D5100. check prices on the four retailers i stated above, they usually have the best prices available. http://snapsort.com/compare/Ni...

jantare1 · Dec 23, 2011 12:13 PM

all you need is Canon 1.f 50mm or 35mm Canon 24-70 mm 2.8f fixed buy any body.

dolphin · Dec 23, 2011 3:24 PM

 If you plan to spend over a $1000 why not go with something that is better than Canon 7D.... So Nikon D7000 is the best choice. Spend $300 more and get the best in the market. I tell you you will regret getting d5100 or even d90. If you need answers google best DSLR for 2011 and you can get the answers. Canons are good but the body is not as great as Nikons. Canon gives you a lots of problem down the road. 

vyrus · Dec 23, 2011 3:36 PM

 stop canon vs nikon bs, will ya? they are both great camera makers and both do excellent job of taking pictures. all that matters is your skills - if you have skills you can take great shots with either camera. if you don't have skills, your pictures will look worse than the ones that come out of a low end point n shoot.

jantare1 · Dec 23, 2011 3:56 PM

Go with Nikon D5100. D3100 is decent, but it's worth spending few hundred dollars more for D5100. D7000, in my opinion, is not worth extra $500+ over D5100. Costco was selling D5100 with 18-55 and 55-300 VR lenses and other knickknacks for $1000. The 55-300 zoom lens is quite awesome. PS: My D5100 stopped working after few weeks of use. I believe this is an isolated incident. I have not ready anywhere about this happening with others. If you can wait, I am sure there are even nicer models coming out in 2012.

Nepali_American · Dec 23, 2011 4:50 PM

vyrus, perfectionist and Kiddo, serial, thanks for the letting me know the cheap prices, appreciate it. Juggy, thanks for the more info on D90, and 35/80 mm (1.8 lens) baire, i agree ur view on kit lens. also..yes it's true that lens does the magic and NIKON lenses are magical comparing to others. jantare 1, thanks for letting me know the decent sites. well, i'm buying from either BESTBUY or FUTURESHOP (stores). dolphin, you know this instinct bro.... for music ... iPod for communication .. iPhone for laptop.. mac for VID CAM.. SONY for HEADSET.. BOSS and i decided to buy NIKON seven years ago.. but everytime it's $$ problem... student zindagi.. vyrus, D7000 ko lagi khalti ali prepare chaina bro N_A, thanks for estimating the prices.. will go for 55-300 (if it's in sale, BOXING DAY is coming). -daum

daum · Dec 23, 2011 5:28 PM

most expensive camera doesn't make you good photographer -.. unknown. mine is old panasonic fz28, still takes astounding moonshots and mind blowing scenaries.. I know the skill, my contemporaries with the expensive cameras doubt it, I already sold 4 seasons shots and many others on ebays and other auction sites over 3 grands. beginners should not jump into advanced one. basic one with basic feature and understanding of aperture, shutter speed and exposure should be enough. Gradually, you'll know how to tap at the right time.

bittertruth · Dec 23, 2011 10:39 PM