let's review dslr cameras!

as we seen in my ranting and venting post, my parents aren't buying me a canon rebel for christmas, but since i want a dslr more than basically anything right now, i'm buying one myself.

since this is my first dslr camera, i would rather not spent any more than say, 700-800$ ish. plus we have ebay! which has camera stores and great bundles for awesome possum dealz.
no less than 8 megapixels, plox. preferably around 10.

i was already looking at a nikon d40x

Spoiler:

which is basically a nikon d40, just moar mp.
if i were to get a nikon, i would want a d60, but there aren't enough mp in one of those. daaaamn.

however, i'm already waaay used to shooting with canon rebels.

Spoiler:

this is the camera i originally wanted, but i dunno.

i'm way open to new options.
has anyone used either an olympus or a sony?
or either of the cameras above?
i need reviews here to help me decide.
thanks chickas!

ps, if this is in the wrong place, please move it.

heyyy ladyface, i have the sony A350 dslr and i absolutely love it!! i would highly recommend

when i was first looking at dslr's, i went to this place called jessops and asked an assistant to show me everything that was around $800, so basically he gave me a play with the nikons and the canons and olympuses and the sonys. i didnt like the canons at all - the lenses turned really weird and the nikons felt a bit cheap and weird plasticy (obv they're all make out of plastic but it was like... extra plasticy!) so i was kinda disappointed in them. the SA seemed a bit put out and kept trying to convince me that they made the best lenses etc but im not sure thats entirely true anymore!

anyways he let me have a play with the sony cameras and i found them much nicer and more user friendly, they also have screens on the back (they pull out and tilt too. but its super sturdy so you wont have to worry about it pulling away, thats like impossible lol) that you can use like a digital camera viewfinder if youre in a really weird awkward place or want to take a pic from an angle that you cant exactly see from. im not sure this is gonna be useful to everyone but i switch between the two quite a lot and its wicked for taking macros!
that was one of the main things that swayed me but also cause it was 14 megapixels - lol im a megapixel whore but my last digicammy was 10 and i couldnt go less than that! plus the quality of the pictures is disgustingly good!! seriously! straight out of the camera they need no photoshopping at all unless you want to drastically change the levels, saturation, etc so its really reliable.

umm the controls are really easy to use! it comes with a nice manual which ive read like once, but it explains what all the random buttons do and how to achieve certain effects like spot focussing and stuff. and if you register with sony they send you emails with quick tips and tutorial help every so often to get more out the cam, but really the manual is enough.

errrmmm with the lens its the same as about a 3x optical zoom on a digi cam which is actually bigger than most of the canons and nikons standard lenses. so thats another huge plus that you wont need to buy another lens straight away because the standard sucks. plus when its completely zoomed out it has quite a nice wide angle quality to it - like it can see more than you think it can from looking through the viewfinder if that makes sense! but anyways i think if you need to buy new lenses the sony ones cost a bit less and the quality is really good.

im not sure what else to say right now cause i have written ttoonnsss but hopefully thats helpful!! ask any questions or whatever if you want and i can take pics of my dslr if you wanna look at it and the buttons and stuff!

pic -

Spoiler:

thank you SO MUCH for all of that ava!

there's a sony camera store in the mall, so i'll definitely check it out when i go there!!
that was a really helpful review!
i will def be looking into a sony, esp. if i don't need to edit the photos all that much!