D40 and a 70-300 will do that just fine.Don't wait for the Nikon D-whatever, have fun now!http://www.flickr.com/photos/j_wijnands/..

The Canon Rebel Xt/Xti is actually geared toward the beginner DSLR user. But in my opinion if you went with a beginner DSLR from Nikon like the D40, the user interface and help menu are much more useful to the beginner. I am a first time DSLR user myself, but I decided to skip the D40 and go straight to the D80 so that I won't be kicking myself in a couple years or less for wanting to "upgrade" yah I am so bad for that! But at least with the D80, eventhough I am still learning a lot about what it has and can do, I felt that this would be a better camera for me to grow with and won't have the itch to upgrade it anytime soon...otherwise I would have bought the D200...but this is a happy medium for me. If you need a long zoom lens, then I would advise going with one that has VR as opposed to one that doesn't. Yes it is more expensive, but unless you have a tripod with you, you might find more of your pics blurred at longer focal lengths. For example, in my area you can buy the Nikkor 70-300 lens with NO VR for just under C$300.

I don't know that the VR in itself would be worth double the price, but the quality of the VR lens (more lens elements) makes it a better quality lens than the one with no VR. Or you could also consider the 55-200 VR at a much better price, in my area, it's going for C$300. Sounds like a good price, but I already have the all encompassing 18-200 VR because the VR and the convienience of not having to change lens as much is important to me. But if it's not a big deal to you, then getting the 55-200 VR with the 18-55 kit lens would be much cheaper to do.KelvinNikon D80, 18-200mm VR, SB-600 FlashGalleries (Taken with a Sony H5):.

Hawaiihttp://picasaweb.google.com/corrsfreak/Hawaii?authkey=QMYfcNocFqQCar show:http://picasaweb.google.com/.../corrsfreak/CarShowMar18?authkey=vdeSQn7a_sgZoo and Ducks:http://picasaweb.google.com/...corrsfreak/CalgaryZooMar17?authkey=DvyRbU989F0..

Hey there,.

I got a D40 a couple of moths ago and I adore it - it's a brilliant camera and really great for the first-time DSLR user, I can't reccomend it enough. It feels really good in the hand, everything seems straight-forward to use and it doesn't suffer from being compact and light. Having said that I've just moved up to the D80 and passed the D40 on to my boyfriend who wanted a DSLR. He uses the kit 18-135 and it's an awesome combo, the AF is lightening fast and it all works so well..

We tried the Pentax K100 and thought it was a really good camera, but we just both came down on the side of Nikon. My friends all seem to have Canons - there's a D300 in front of me right now! It's all what you like the feel and look of, get down to a shop and try them in your hand and take some pics..

Good luck, you've a lot of fun ahead!.

Kimhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/kimlondon..

Stephanie Hudnell wrote:.

Around 6 megapixels10x-12x optical zoomAt least 2.5 sec. frame/sec.Easy to use (which the Canon Rebel isn't really for the novice owner?).

Thanks, I'm a novice w/ the new cameras, current one is a Canonpower shot A75!.

Firstly a DSLR like the nikon d40 and canon xti have fully automatic modes with special modes for sports, close ups, etc So these will easily do what you want. And both are as easy to use if you want to stick to the picture modes..

A 70-300mm lens is not 10x or 12x. It is in fact 4x. It will not capture wider shots eg groups of people , close ups, landscapes, and indoors it will be difficult to get shots (unless you live in a castle). It is only good for things a fair distance away or very tight headshots..

If I was you I would explore one of these options:.

1. Getting a compact camera with a 10x zoom. It won't have 2.5 frames per sec, but they will be pretty fast, have a great zoom range, and take fantastic pictures. They are also more compact, and less complicated..

2. A d40 or canon XTi, with an 'all in one' zoom, eg 18-200 (better)..

3. A d40 or canon XTi with two lenses - both kit lenses 18-55 and the 55-200. That way you can do indoors, big groups etc, and also do long distance and school sports AND shoot at 3 frames per sec if you want to. This is the better option in my opinion...

3. A d40 or canon XTi with two lenses - both kit lenses 18-55 andthe 55-200. That way you can do indoors, big groups etc, and alsodo long distance and school sports AND shoot at 3 frames per sec ifyou want to. This is the better option in my opinion..

I would go with this option, as it will give you a lot of flexibility. I started with the D70 and the 18-70 and 70-300 and it worked well. I am no up to a D200 w/ 28-75 f2.8 Tamron, 70-200 f2.8, and 50 1.8. Soon to get a 300mm f2.8 II..

And as said before the 10x doesn't apply to dSLR's it does but not in the way P&S's do. dSLR's work in mm. Wide angle 10-70, midtelephoto 70-300 and super tele 300+..

Since you are just starting don't jump in full bore, start with the kit above. After a while of getting comfortable look towards an f2.8 lens. Will help in low light situations.Photography and Graphic DesignPortfolio - http://www.atlanticexpressinc.comPrints - http://www.atlanticexpressions.com..

I bought the D40x (the D40 would be fine). The 18-55 takes better pictures than most kit lenses and is light. When you're ready get the 55-200VR (cheap) or the more expensive 18-200VR..

The D40 is a great camera...

And that right there is what I'm doing. My D40 with 18-55mm may arrive tomorrow (woo hoo!), and I'll save some dough for the 55-200 "someday."..