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Dang! which one do I choose... Evolt 520, D60, or XSi? Evolt and D60 have gotten really cheap.

I am saving up for the Canon XSI

I would suggest the D40 - it's 6MP, but same sized chip, so the photowells are larger, which generally means less noise. Very sharp. If you tend not to go crop-crazy, you won't miss the 4MP.

If you have to have 10MP, I would get the D200. (I have the D80 & D200; in-law has the D40).

As for Nikon/Canon, I went Nikon b/c Nikon's LCDs are MUCH better, and the cropped sensor means smaller, cheaper glass (although your wide wide angle suffers -- a 10mm focal length lens becomes 15mm). Canon makes great cameras, but with the full frame chip you need the expensive pro glass to get decent shots.

YMMV, though, and I was getting into digital from scratch (my older pro Canon film glass would not fit new Canon bodies - this I found offensive, but not controlling).

See dpreview.com for a month's worth of reading...

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Hey #1, don't forget Pentax and Sony options as well.

Pentax's K is staying APS-C (1.5x crop) and Olympus' E-volt is staying 4/3rds (2x crop), both offering reduced size lenses. I find APS-C is the "best balance," and have a thing for Pentax's system/lenses, but E-volt is quite enticing in the sizes and options for the price too. Pentax now offers the K2000 (K-m outside the US) with a two (2) lens system and AF200 flash attachment as standard, and it should come down another $100 during Christmas shopping season. There's also the K200D, which is basically the K10D (with key differences).

Canon, Nikon and now Sony are offering more full-frame, and lenses that cover it. But their entry-to-mid level mainstays are definitely APS-C (1.5x crop) for now.

I agree with #3, if you're going Nikon, get the sub-$600 D80 or D200 (not sure where it's at new nowdays), instead of the D60. If you can find the D40 (not the D40x, which is little different than D60) for dirt-cheap (sub-$300), its 6MP output is excellent.

If you're going Canon, the Rebel XSi should be your first stop. Kinda hard to argue for anything higher or lower at its price-point.

BTW, and I cannot stress this enough, don't go dSLR only to buy a single, $500+ "superzoom" lens. Get at least a two (2) lens system of wide + tele. You'll thank me in the end. A lot of the "kits" are 18-55 (~28-80mm equiv), but I'd opt for something that starts at 16 (~24mm equiv) on the wide to "make dSLR worth your while."

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I have now inspected every "kit" lens and a lot of sites agree, the metal mount and build quality of the Pentax DA 18-55 f/3.5-5.6 "kit" is really hard to beat against other DA 18-5x f/3.5-5.6 options, and the optics are pretty damn good in its class. That's why I really favor the K2000 system with flash included (at least as it drops towards $500 this holiday season).

But in reality, you typically don't want to stick with the "kit," and every system has a solid, $200-300 wide angle or 3rd party option. In the Pentax world, I recommend people skip directly to the ~$250 DA 16-45 f/4. I personally have the more expensive (over $500) DA* 16-50 f/2.8, which is also sold as the Tokina 16-50 f/2.8 AT-X Pro for other systems. People will have their recommendations for other systems as well.

If you're gonna get a Nikon, there is no reason to spend the extra money on the D60. Get the D40 instead and spend the money you save on better lenses. The D40, D40x, and D60 do not have internal focusing motors, limiting the number and type of lenses you can use with autofocus.

Or, as others have suggested, don't get a Nikon.

Cheapest price I've seen this go so far. D60 is the refresh of the D40x - but like others suggest, if you're new to DSLR, you might want to consider the D40 and save yourself at least $100. If anything you get a VR lens and D-lighting with this camera over the D40/x kits.

Thanks for all of the advises, I'll go for the D40 instead, now, an someone show me where can I get the D40 for sub $300?
I'll get you say $25 bonus?

I agree, dont go with the d40/d60, its just too slow to use, and you will end up with an abundance of unfocused shots.

How would compare the speed of the d-90??

Canon XS and Nikon D40 is the best value unless you are in sports photos.

Any two lens suggestion for Nikon? I am using a Nikon 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 VR kit and would like to have a telephoto to extend the range.

I got D60 with kit lens and 55-200mm from ritzcamera.com for a pretty good deal.

D60 deal is pretty good for the specs, but quality of shots is not as good as D40. The pixel count and faster fps is the only useful thing, but it depends what you are shooting.

D90 is actually better if you want to step away from D40. It has auto-focus with all AF lenses, unlike D40, D40x and D60 that only auto-focus with the AF-S lenses. D90 has Gen-2 chip that processes image better.

So either go with D40 or D90. I am a Nikon guy, so I don't know about Pentax or Canon. All I can say is, Nikon is good enough to make me stay with it. The grip is ergonomics. It also has a full array of lenses.

Pei, if you have D60, you might want to try the 70-300 AF-S. If you have other bodies, you can try the older lenses AF 28-200mm. Nikon has a few of those. Or the older AF 70-300mm G.

Check eBay for an array of deals for old but good and cheap lenses.