Mary,

What are you finding the difference in price to be between the D70 kit that includes the lens (I paid $1299 I think) and the Rebel with the lens?

Quite a bit..to me anyway. I have found the rebel with a lense for anywhere between 700-900 and the d70 is consistently over a thousand, ususally in the range you paid.

Any camera can go belly up at the worst possible time. The last two cameras I've owned, prior to the D70, I dropped on the concrete within two weeks of purchase.

In a pinch those spots could easily be knocked out in photoshop.

Mike, I am really leaning toward becoming a Nikon convert, I don't have any logical reason, especially since the camera shop in town is a Canon dealer..that would be easier. However after everything I have read and a ridiculous amount of hours spent on dpreview yesterday, I just fell the pull..

While the Nikon guru's have surely had nothing but rave reviews over the d70, after listening to me, and realizing Im a bit camera dumb, they think that a coolpix 8700 or 8800 might be all I need and suit me better. Have you looked at either of these?

Just know that if I end up with the d70, Im liable to drive you absolutely nuts...(actually, I think you are already there ;) )so here is your chance to talk me into another camera.

What does the person that made that determination know about what you need?

What you need is the best photo reference you can possibly get.

If money is the consideration (and I don't sneeze at a $500 difference) then I would go with the Canon Digital Rebel SLR. That is a bunch of camera for the money.

I would be willing to bet that the difference in user friendliness between these point and shoots and either the Canon or Nikon SLR's is non existent. I took my camera out of the box and shot up a storm before I ever cracked the book.

Check out this link, "all pixels are not created equal":

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/es...ounting1.shtml

For me the SLR is far and away better in those areas that matter most to me -- low light, and image quality.

Mary,

I agree with Mike 100%.

Prior to buying my Rebel (which I love) I was very inexperienced with a camera. Literally one hour after getting home from the camera shop I was taking pictures that I was proud of.

I would also like to add that in that hour I made supper, had a nice meal with my family and cleaned the kitchen.

It was that easy to get started............taking quality pictures that is.

What I am trying to say is don't sell yourself short. You WILL be able to get it. The Rebel is so user friendly for the beginner, yet it is great when you start to understand things and want to try to be more creative. Though I can't speak for the D70, I would venture to guess it is the same story.

One other note. The biggest bonus, for me anyway, with the SLR was not having a delayed reaction when I snap the picture. I can get sharp images of my son William (AKA Perpetual Motion) Prior to the Rebel my digital camera (a $300.00 one 2 years ago) couldn't capture a clear image of a moving target. I was told that the only way to get away from that problem is to get into the SLRs.

For photographing children this feature is priceless!!

On yet another note, although I love my Rebel if I had to do it over again I would probably go with the D70. Don't ask me why just yet, because I don't really know myself.

Good luck!

Dust will eventually find it's way onto the CCD of every digital camera. The D70 has a feature where you can shoot a reference photo of a white card and the camera will eradicate those black dots on your picture by interpolating surrounding data over them.

Also if you follow the proper procedures for changing lenses you can eliminate much of the potential for problems. It's also much easier for a technician to clean a camera with a removable lens.

The D70 will give you great pictures out of the box on the auto setting. As you familiarize yourself with the camera you will discover how you can further maximize your results if you so choose.

The kit lens on the D70 is a much better quality lens that the one that comes with the Canon. A better lens gives you superior images all things being equal. The Cannon Eos is a stripped down version of it's more expensive predecessor the 10D while the D70 is a slightly improved version of it's more expensive predecessor the D100. Both have lighter non metal bodies.

Many people feel that the D70 matches up well to the new 8 megapixel Canon D20 which is far more costly.

The lenses are a one time investment. When the time comes to move up to your next camera you will already have lenses that will work as long as you stay within the same company.

I'm continually impressed by the quality of my D70's images. It's my second favorite piece of technology, next to my new iPod of course.