Photography is a bit of a hobby of mine, im ok at it but i enjoy it.

Now im thinking of moving up to a Digital SLR but dont know all that much about that type of camera, can anyone recommened a good book on Digital SLR cameras.

I have a budget of about £500 and was thinking of getting something like a EOS 400D later on in the year.

It's worth also looking at the Nikon D40 which is a cracking good camera for the price - or looking around any of the second hand places for any D70s or D50s.

Do you have any SLR lenses from any other camera's - if they are Nikon they would still work (taking digital - film differences into account).

My wife has a 400D and its a cracking ltitle camera. Make sure you hold one in a shop before buying to ensure you are comfortable with its size and weight (small and light.)

The thing to do is handle all the cameras you can afford and see which one feels good to handle and makes sense to you. You may need a few pointers as to what button does what, so it makes sense. There can be a lot of buttons [and annoying menus] on some cameras.
The less professional ones oddly enough, tend to be more fiddly to use as things can be hidden away in menus.

The other aspect to consider is how serious do you want to get with your photography and what sort of stuff do you want to shoot. Canon + Nikon are the two main manufacturers but are better at different things.
I shoot in low light, use wide angles at wide apertures at a lot, so Nikon is completely useless for my needs. But if I was doing sports work with long lenses, then Nikon do a fine and dandy job.
If you want a small SLR camera Olympus is your best bet. They've always been very good at making small cameras. I find my Canons quite big and very cumbersome at times. If they made a fast wide angle llens, I'd consider getting one for times I need a less bulky item.

Photography is a bit of a hobby of mine, im ok at it but i enjoy it.

Now im thinking of moving up to a Digital SLR but dont know all that much about that type of camera, can anyone recommened a good book on Digital SLR cameras.

I have a budget of about £500 and was thinking of getting something like a EOS 400D later on in the year.
I have a vested interest in this post.
But take a look at www.dpreview.com for details and tests of lots of cameras.
Also look at the link below.

It's worth also looking at the Nikon D40 which is a cracking good camera for the price - or looking around any of the second hand places for any D70s or D50s.

Do you have any SLR lenses from any other camera's - if they are Nikon they would still work (taking digital - film differences into account).
The Nikon D40 is an excellent camera but is not a full blown Dslr,it is an introduction to dslrs.It has now been replaced with the DX40, the only difference seems to be more megapixels.

I also have a canon 400d having upgreaded from the 300d. It's a brilliant camera, probably wasted on me! It's very easy to use and takes great shots in automatic mode as well has having all the manual options. The free lens is fine but when your feeling flush you can upgrade it. I just bought a 17-40 lens which is really good. I can't fault it, it's a fine camera.

I made the same move a few months ago and bought a Canon 350D second hand and am delighted with it.

I've always used Canon kit for my photography, but sold it of about 8 years ago when I was truly broke, so getting back in to the hobby's been harder than it might have been!

The biggest difference I've found is that I'm now more willing to take more shots and bin them in the camera, so to say, after looking them over. On the whole I've enjoyed the move - I do some photography through a microsocope (and some astronomical stuff) and that's been much improved by going digital.

i have a 300d (the old steam powered digital slr)
just had a weekends course on digitla photogaphy - the proper stuff which stops you using the automatic settings!!
two nikon d40 and a newer nikon - absolute ball ache for the non professionals to negotiate the menu's and the manual settings.similarly for a fuji bridhe camera.
7 with canons plus the instructors.it doesn't make them any better, but there must be some justification for them.

The Nikon D40 is an excellent camera but is not a full blown Dslr,it is an introduction to dslrs.It has now been replaced with the DX40, the only difference seems to be more megapixels.Not sure what you mean by that. A camera is either an SLR or it isn't.:confused:
It has a reflex mirror and just the one lens with digital capture, so a full blown SLR it is. Whether it's any good, depends on your own needs.

i have a 300d (the old steam powered digital slr)
just had a weekends course on digitla photogaphy - the proper stuff which stops you using the automatic settings!!
two nikon d40 and a newer nikon
7 with canons plus the instructors.it doesn't make them any better, but there must be some justification for them.
Canon have completely trumped Nikon with Digital. Canon have a far more comprehensive range of kit and as they make and design their own sensors, they are not dependent on one of their rivals [Sony] for sensors.
If I was using film and had a full Nikon setup and was looking to change to digital, I would sell all my Nikon stuff and buy Canon. The reason, they don't make Full frame sensors [very important optically], they don't have the fast wideangle lenses and Canon's high ISO performace is much, much better.
But having said that, Cameras in the budget range are a different kettle of fish and if you never intend buying a FF camera, then Nikon, Canon, Olympus, Sony may all do just what you want. So choose the one you like to use best.

two nikon d40 and a newer nikon - absolute ball ache for the non professionals to negotiate the menu's and the manual settings.similarly for a fuji bridhe camera.Professionals have no interest in menus either, less if anything and Canon's cheaper offerings also have features buried in menus [if they have them] that are a one click away on the more expensive models. It's just marketing to make you pay more!

Photography is a bit of a hobby of mine, im ok at it but i enjoy it.

Now im thinking of moving up to a Digital SLR but dont know all that much about that type of camera, can anyone recommened a good book on Digital SLR cameras.

I have a budget of about £500 and was thinking of getting something like a EOS 400D later on in the year.

Digital Photographer's Handbook by Tom Ang (published by DK) is pretty good. It covers equipment, technique, digital processing etc in reasonable detail and is very readable.

The 400D is a great camera with very little to fault, but bear in mind your budget will only get you the kit lens. Unless you're prepared to spend more at some point, you are not going to do the camera justice.

Might be better to get a second hand 350D and spend a couple of hundred quid on a lens.

The thing to do is handle all the cameras you can afford and see which one feels good to handle and makes sense to you. You may need a few pointers as to what button does what, so it makes sense. There can be a lot of buttons [and annoying menus] on some cameras.
I couldn't agree more with jezzyjj.
I wanted a DSLR and went into my local Jessops having read a load of camera reviews on the net.
I tried all those I could afford and a couple that I couldn't really justify.**
Each had a different feel and there was one I really felt happy with. (a Nikon).
The lens I wanted wasn't available for months! but I was lucky and found another NIKON dealer who'd just had a delivery and a spare one after settling his pre-orders.
As the assistant in Jessops had spent so much time with me and actually knew what he what talking about I felt obliged to buy the body there.
However if I ordered on line and used the "collect from shop" service I saved about £25.
It's mad because the shop had it in stock and I paid the money in store!
**Guess which one I bought

Which camera to buy to start DSLR photography is the hardest decision to make really and it's an important one, and unfortunately you make it when you are in the worst position to decide.

The make you choose will determine your future options as you buy into a system. You can always upgrade the body at a later date, but the range of lenses will always be governed by your first choice, as will the availablilty of flash guns etc etc.

If your interest in photography leads you into macro, or wildlife, or portraiture, or landscapes, or fashion - whatever, then your first choice of brand will either make it easier or harder for you.

I was in the opposite situation when I went digital as I had lots of Minolta lenses and gear from my Dynax 9 days, so Sony was the obvious way to go as it meant I could still use all my existing kit (well, most of it) and likewise, Nikon film users could upgrade their bodies and keep the lenses etc, and this made the choice more straighforward.

There are probably some people who shot with, say Olympus film gear and then changed to all Canon or all Nikon or all Sigma - but I imagine that most kept with a system that enabled them to use existing gear.

Quality in DSLR's is pretty much a given now, and to be honest, if this is your hobby, you want a camera you will enjoy using, not one that takes you half an hour to change the ISO or the exposure compensation. You need a camera that you can get to grips with and use to take pictures - not one that makes hard work out of taking a good picture.

I go along with jezzyjj when he says (to paraphrase) get it in your hands and see if you like it.