i mentioned before ur question has been asked too many times in this thread. cheapest brand new ones now are canon 1000D and nikon d3000. not sure about other brands. if u're okay with 2nd hand, find canon 400D or nikon D40.

u should try reading past pages in this thread. a lot of people asked the same question (cheapest dslr), n we always have the same answer

nikon D3000 + 18-55mm kit lens + 35mm f1.8G lens + good UV filter

or nikon D5000 + 18-55 kit lens + good UV filter

dont compare functions, mostly are the same except live view n a couple of minor features. dont compare image quality too

what to compare is the controls and menu...which one u like better. e.g. i prefer nikon because can change focus point without having to press the Focus button 1st (well not sure if that's still applicable to newer canons)

it's also a good idea to get the brand most of ur friends/family use..that way easier for you to learn, or borrow lenses, flash, etc

canon S90 or G11

skip LX3 if ur budget is 2500 may i recommend panasonic GF1? IMO it's better than the oly, but also slightly above ur budget lah

about low light dun juz look at the lx3 aperture... it's sensor is still smaller than a m4/3. ISO 400 is the max i'd go with my lx3, anything more is too noisy

okay sorry for the simple recommendations let me explain a bit

the D3000 is nikon's cheapest dslr among the current models. the D5000 takes slightly better pictures (but honestly most people wont know the difference), can also shoot videos, and also has Live View function. Live View is how the image seen by the lens is showed on the LCD, much like how compact cameras n even camera phones work. D3000 dont have this function, you have to frame ur shot using the small 'window' called viewfinder much like film cameras. another pros of D5000 is that u can tilt the screen

the 18-55 lens is kind of the 'basic' lens, and normally D5000 and D3000 are sold with this lens included. basically it's a 3X zoom lens

so the most important thing is for u to ask urself if u want to record videos or not. if yes, then go for D5000. 2ndly, think about Live View. i think most of us here dont need it, but it's pretty handy when u have to aim the camera at weird angles (e.g. in a crowd, u can hold the camera above ur head, tilt down the screen n shoot pics w/o worrying ppl obstructing ur view). apart from these two, the differences are quite negligible. u can get the D3000 and save the extra money for something else, or juz buy the D5000 and know that u can shoot videos n have live view when a situation calls for it

either way u should get a UV filter for ur lens. buy reputable brands like Hoya or B+W

This post has been edited by dvlzplayground: Feb 25 2010, 11:10 PM

i think can get D60. if 1700 maybe can get 2nd hand D3000

canon 450D? it's older than the 1000D but better lah. shud b like 2.2k

not bad la, but of course steady hands is always better

isnt leica X1 around 7k?

among the three, D90 wins hands down

consider canon 50D too

did u even bother to compare the price?

50D cant take videos. D90 and 500D can, and yes it can record sound. but the sound quality isnt that good because the mic is on the camera itself. more expensive cameras have a jack where u can attach a better mic to, so you can get good video AND good sound.

i dunno what girls look for in a camera hehe...if she wants stylish-looking cameras go for sony T-series i guess

btw is canon S90 not S11. between canon G11 and S90, i prefer S90 cuz it's smaller while the picture quality is around the same as G11.

between LX3 and Dlux4, note that these two are exactly the same camera. get LX3 (which is half the price of the Dlux4), but the Leica logo kinda screams 'luxury' . probably can get the Dlux4 safari limited edition if money isnt a problem

Olympus PEN <- which model?

D80 is a good choice if u havent hold one yet, try so...some people dont like the buttons

dont depend so much on reviews. i bet there are equal reviews out there saying 500D is better than D5000

juz go to a shop n compare both models. compare the menu, the controls, the feel etc n juz buy whichever u like

im in miri right now yeah same gifts. sometimes got tripod, but crappy ones u wont want to use anyway

rm3288 sounds expensive. shudnt b more than 3k. miri isnt a good place to buy a camera

canon website is the MSRP. normally shops will sell less that that price.

uh mine is 2nd hand lol...from some guy in pahang i think

both are solid choices but for different usage. try to decide whether u need the zoom range of the fz35 or not, and whether u can tolerate its size n weight. only u can decide

bintulu ah..no plans hehe. nikon d5000 is good...but if really want good portrait u buy nikon d3000 kit around rm2k and af-s nikkor 35mm f1.8G lens around rm850. im currently using this lens n very happy with my portraits

This post has been edited by dvlzplayground: Mar 8 2010, 03:49 PM

d5000 slightly better sensor (=better pics), can record video, n the LCD can tilt2

ofcoz its better than d3000 up to u, spend extra money on better camera, or spend on better lens

if no motor, u need to use lenses that has motor to autofocus. that's the AF-S series. u can stil use lens w/o motor la but quite a hassle to manually focus everytime...

AF-S are more expensive compared to the non-AFS equivalent. e.g. 50mm f1.4D is only about rm1k...but the AFS version is rm1.8k~

ofcoz the newer AF-S got more improvements lah... got manual focus override w/o needing to switch, internal focusing (good if u use graduated filters)

range of AF-S are very good already so for me it's not a big deal

ooo if like that, what do u think is the limitation of lx3?

assuming u want to take photos of the club environment... d5000 tilting LCD could prove useful to frame shots above ur head.

of course in low light, ideally u get the D3S la for the high native ISO, but d90 n d300s ISO performance more or less the same with d5000.

juz get d5000 body only, then pair with a fast zoom lens, maybe tamron 17-50 2.8

of course it's better, but how many of us can differentiate it? different ppl might have different ideas on how to spend the price difference.

anyway i've written a guide here so those wanna buy a new camera can refer to

http://ninezerothree.wordpress.com/2010/03...amera-shopping/

feel free to comment or add anything i miss hehe