Oh Sandy, What lens do I NOT want~tee-hee! 100mm macro right now is what I am thinking of...although I really had wanted the 60mm macro for awhile Same with another flash...have thought about getting a ring light just for macro photography but then found that it was not as effective as twin flash...ahhh, wish that I had the mooola. I have a whole bunch of different lenses depending upon what I am shooting. My fave for sports photography is my telephoto 100-400mm zoom. I had a 300mm but wasn't crazy about it. I use a 17-85mm for 'general' stuff. I have a few other lenses... Okay, what I'd recommend is a tripod or monopod and a good ball head mount. I actually have several monopods and tripods (see what I mean?) and found a ball head that I love that I mounted on this monopod that actually can convert to a tripod (go figure! I got tired of the size of regular tripods but sometimes a monopod doesn't quite do the trick). Both are by Manfrotto. I like the ball head because I can rotate and set the camera to shoot at weird angles, particularly for those macro shots, that are often a pain. I also recommend changing the strap. When you start lugging around equipment, the Canon strap doesn't cut it. The strap I have is designed to take at least 50% of the weight off so it doesn't feel like the entire set-up weights 1000 pounds. :) For someone with a bad back and neck like me, this is a god-send. Yeah, I'm a camera junkie. Don't even ask me how many cameras I've had in my life. We won't go there.

An SLR is single lens reflex, which ultimately means that what you see in the viewfinder is what will be "photographed". As opposed to cameras that use two lenses, AKA rangefinders "or the little automatic cameras), one is the viewfinder, the other is the lens which can cause a little disparity in what you shoot vs what you are seeing. The D-DSLR is just the digital version of the SLR camera. I have mostly Nikons, the D-40 which is lighter and smaller than the regular DSLRs and the D70, D100 & D200. I also buy last years model, which are perfectly fine and usually on sale. The D60 is the newer, smaller version available and often comes with a two lens package. Best thing you can do is actually do some hands on shopping. You will probably find that ultimately there won't be a whole lot of difference in quality/price between Canon & Nikon and you just have to decide and stick with it. Also you might consider buying an extra battery, an extra card, external flash and neutral density filter to protect the glass on the lens. And don't forget to backup your photos! Use DVD or external hard drive.

I purchased that Nikon 40mm f/2.8G AF-S DX Micro NIKKOR Lens, and like it a lot. It is sharper and faster than my kit lens (18-55mm zoom VR) and the 55-300 telephoto. I also use the 55-300 telephoto for closeups of butterflies and other "shy" creatures. Its VR feature lets me handhold it at the full 300mm setting. This closeup of a butterfly on one of my hybrid zinnias was cropped from a 300mm handheld shot, with the VR feature "on". I use all three of my lenses about equally, so I am frequently switching lenses. The 40mm Micro NIKKOR is good for close sharp macros, and also functions as a prime lens, since it focuses to infinity just fine. At some time in the future, when my budget allows, I will get the 85mm Micro, which has vibration reduction, and should be relatively easy to hand-hold. I also plan to get one of those right-angle viewer attachments, which let you "look down into" your camera and get convenient low-angle shots. I particularly need that for some of my macro close-ups. The D3200 and my lenses are giving me the photographic capability that I have been wanting. ZM

I would suggest the following for entry level: Nikon D70 or D40 Canon XT or XTi Olympus E500 ( best bang for the buck, 2 lenses and camera can be bought for $650) - E410, Liveview and really small, if you have small hands I own a Canon XT and Olympus E500, E1. Played with the Sony, and I did not like it, at all. If you are buying from a large electronic store, they don't know what they are talking about, well most don't, some do. They just need to sell stuff. Sony is large, well known name, that should not be selling point. Sony bought the KM digital branch and they are taking an aggressive approach in the market. My in a year or so I might be interested in their camera but their first two attempts were great considering its their first two they have made, just not for me. They plan to be in the top three sellers so it should be interesting to see the improvements and prices they offer