which entry level DSLR?

Hey,

i am new to the forums and i want to take up some photography as a hobby. I am currently visiting Korea and the DSLR's are cheaper here and you can bargain like crazy.

so far i have these i am looking at:

Nikon D40 with lens for $550
Canon Kiss Digital X (aka Rebel XTi) for $650 with lens, 2gb card, extra battery and flash
Sony Alpha 700 for $750 with lens

Which one of these or others would you guys recommend?

And which lens is the best for generic photo taking that can zoom etc but not too big..

Thanks in advance ; >

All these cameras are so darn good that it makes little difference which you choose.

I would suggest that Canon and Nikon have a much larger selection of additional lenses if you are thinking about upgrading later.

I'm gunna try to steer you away from the nikon. It's a nice camera, but for the money, the other two are better. Just the AF motor is worth it, in my opinion, not to mention the extra 4 mpx. Also Sony has more lenses than most people think, because the minolta (sony) A mount has been around thirty years.

Have you considered these?

olympus e510 two lens kit

olympus e420 two lens kit

I didn't price shop - I just went to amazon because I knew they'd have good descriptions. I know you can find them cheaper. You'll get the same "other systems have more lenses" lecture about olympus, but they do have a lens for every focal length, so it is a moot point. The e4xx series are the world's smallest DSLRs, and the kit lenses smoke the kit lenses of any other company. The E5xx series has image stabilization like the sony - which is a really nice feature.

GET THE A700. It is LEAGUES beyond the other 2, the D40 is nikons barely entry line, the Rebel is Canon's OLD entry level, the A700 is sonys top dog (not entry level by any means) - it competes with the Nikon D300 and the Canon 5D. It is absolutely no competition between the 3 you mentioned...

I am however skeptical, maybe you meant to say A200 or A300.... In which case I would still go with either of those sony's. A more fair comparison would be the Sony A100 to the Rebel XTi, at which point the Nikon is still beaten out. The a700 is certainly not "entry level", and $750 is half of what its actually going for.