OK - after 2 years of stealing my girlfriend's camera I've finally gone out and got one today. Ended up going for a DSLR and I'm pretty impressed with the results so far.

I'm getting used to the whole idea of manual control and suddenly I realise why we had to study physics at school!

The image uploader is down, but have a nose at the attachment for a sample snap of my neighbour

That's 3D isn't it ? Worth the wait though

Nah - just playing with the aperture; really starts to show depth (or so the book says anyway)..... seems to work.

We've just had the latest round of baby horses let out into the paddocks..... they're brilliant fun but haven't yet realised that the fences are electric and they kept getting shocked when they came over to see us

Nice looking picture, What make did you go for????

I got a Nikon D60 and ended up getting the 18-55 VR and 55-200 lenses with it. I actually went out looking for the D40 but the D60 seemed far more capable.

It can do timelapse so I'll see if I can capture cleaning the car and post on youtube

Nice bit of kit. Im Still in need of a camera also looking at a DSLR, Will have to pull my finger out and get one.....SOOOOOOOOO many to choose from

I ended up going for the Nikon based pretty much on "feel" in my hand. I've got little girly hands (said in a deep voice) so the smaller nikon just felt better when I picked it up. I figured I'm going to get more value out of a comfortable camera than a "better" one that I never use.

My dad has the Sony a200 and on paper its pretty much the same as the Nikon but £100 less. For me it just doesn't feel as comfortable or easy to use. The Nikon also does give some pretty good guidelines as to what you're doing wrong when you're about to take a photo and it has a cool graphical display showing you what the shutter and aperture are doing so that you don't get confused by f numbers and shutter speeds which don't really mean much to the untrained eye. Great for the beginner

Basically, set a price limit, look at everything in the range and weigh up the goods and the bads and then work out if you're willing to spend a bit more for a few extra features...... there is always a camera that is just £50 more so set your limit but be sensible on considering extras and keep an eye out for deals. Don't right off the high street - I got mine from jessops and it was as cheap as the internet and there is a branch in every town for backup.

Finally - and I can't stress this enough - don't listen to a thing the salesman has to say in jessops, currys or pc world..... more mega pixals isn't that important, Sony aren't just good at making TVs and my computer SD slot wont read SDhc cards!!!! Do your research online, check out the reviews (often side by side) and go into the shops and physically hold the cameras and take pictures.

ive got a nikon d40x, ill post some of my best pics in a few mins

Liking the light flash of the rear wing...... my D60 will put that in for me as an on camera post edit function

It true regarding the lens - this is what drives image quality and allows you to get the effects that you simply can't control on a compact (mind you, these are getting better and better).

here are some pics ive taken using my camera

good pics mate

Takes a lot of practice and dedication to acheive these results
Fancy playing Pac Man ?