DSLR recommendations?

[Lasse]

I have canon 1000D simpliest DSLR here are some pics that I shot with it http://www.flickr.com/photos/42460588@N07/ It is cheep and perfect for the beginner

Awesome pictures!
All taken with the 1000D??? Shows you don't need the most expensive camera to get nice shots! Expensive lenses maybe? Or a lot of work on the computer afterwards?

I'm also flirting with the idea of buying a good dslr and was leaning towards a Canon 7D or 40D, having big hands and finding the 400D not such a nice fit. But seeing what you get out of these, I'm not sure I could justify the price for essentially a bigger body... (don't really care about most other features)

 

[bigant]

just to throw a spanner in the works i have a Olympus e-420se with twin lens kit and its been amazing took all these pics with it http://bigant84.deviantart.com/gallery/
full kit with tripod memory cards and bag and stuff came in to just under 500 quid cracking cam nice small and lightweight could be worth a look

http://fc08.deviantart.com/fs50/i/2009/293/8/2/Other_World__by_Bigant84.jpg is a fave of mine

 

[Overlander30]

I'm a professional photographer, and my advice is not to get hung up on the camera, just get something from ebay like a D70 or a 300 as teflon suggested.

As for RAW, don't bother. Amateurs are really hung up on raw shooting when they just do not need to be. Modern cameras can print jpegs upto A3 easily, Raw just means more disk space taken up with pixel information you'll rarely ever use.

Yes, if you blow highlights then you can often pull it back with a raw file, but then you shouldnt be blowing highlights in the first place. Ditto loss of shadow detail unless deliberate.

Bear in mind that memory card manufacturers and camera firms work hand in hand. larger images (megabytes wise) means more cards means more sales.

the bottom line for the majority of hobbyists is dont use raw, its a waste of disk space and time, and you just dont need it.