Tell me how to spend my $1000 on a Digital Camera.

http://reviews.cnet.com/4323-6530_7-6509048.html?tag=txt

I like C Net's reviews. Here are some of what they consider the better cameras, together with their "take" on them.

http://science.howstuffworks.com/camera.htm

This article goes into a simple explanation of the difference in camera lenses.

Thanks, Man.
That was really helpful; but I still want more opinions from other people.

A digital SLR camera is a 2-piece deal; the camera body and the lens (not counting other accessories). Canon, Minolta, Nikon, Olympus, Pentax, and Sigma, all 1st-Line, reputable vendors, each offer Digital SLR rigs in your price range. While any of them will perform exceptionally well, what it comes down to is which one will perform best for you. The only way to figure that out is research; look for as many reviews as you can find. When considering reviews, weight professional, or "Editor" reviews more heavily than "user" reviews, except in the comparatively rare circumstance of a true "enthusiast/pro-am" publication; many, many general user reviews, for just about anything, and regardless whether pro or con, demonstrate the user writing the review either doesn't know what he/she is talking about or hasn't read the item's instruction manual - frequently both.

If you figure on spending a grand, a decent SLR body and a couple lenses will give you plenty of flexibility, room to grow, and put you in a position to do some outstanding photography. A good choice for lenses would be the recommended/included "starter" lens sold with many SLR bodies (typically, that will be somehing in the range of around 18-55mm zoom - roughly equivalent, in terms of 35mm film camera lenses, to a 28mm-90mm zoom, or from moderate wide angle through near-telephot - this would be referred to as a "3X" lens, as its longest focal length is more or less three times its shortest) and a second lense in roughly the 55mm-200mm range (equivalent to about the same as a 90mm-320mm zoom on a 35mm camera). If your budget can stand it, an outboard flash is a great thing to have, also.

Technically, the term "magnification" refers to the ratio of the imaged object's actual size to the size of the projected image at the imaging point, which for film cameras would be the film plane, in digital cameras would be the image sensor. Again, in strict technical terms, a lens capable at its closest focusing distance of projecting a 1-for-1 or greater image of the imaged object onto the imaging plane, reproducing the imaged object at or larger than life-sized at the image capture position is referred to as a true "Macro" lens.


In regard to "zoom magnification" or "lens maginfication", the nominal "normal" focal length for any format is considered to be a lens with a focal length equal to the diagonal of the frame size at the image capture plane - the film plane for film cameras, the image sensor plane for digital cameras. A "Normal" or "Standard" focal length is that which provides approximately a 45° angle of view, close to, and pretty much the same perspective as, what a human sees when looking directly at something. Anything with a wider angle of view is considered a "wide angle" lens, anything with a narrower angle of view is considered a "telephoto" lens. Comparing digital to conventional 35mm film cameras, the image sensor of a digital camera typically is smaller (22.7mmx15.1mm) than a 35mm film frame (24mmx35mm), and is positioned relative to the lens somewhat differently than is the case with 35mm film cameras. This results in a "close-enough conversion factor" of 1 to 1.6; a 30mm lens on a digital camera will have roughly the same angle of view and apparent perspective as would a 50mm lens on a 35mm camera, for instance. With a 35mm camera, a 300mm lens would be a "6 magnification" lens, 6 times "normal" (though 50mm is just a convention for the 35mm film format "normal" lens, actual "mathematic" normal would be about 43mm - but nevermind), a 180mm lens on a digital camera would yield roughly the same "6X magnification", 8° angle of view, and apparent perspective as would a 300mm lens on a 36mm camera.

When you step up to digital SLR, you have the very significant advantage of being able, if you stay within the same family, to add capability and function through acquiring a more advanced camera body which will utilize the lenses and accessories you already own ... I have both film and digital cameras of several brands, but many lenses and accessories of one particular brand I purchased back as early as the '60s will function (albeit often without automation) perfectly well with that brand's current digital SLR bodies.

That was so helpful.
That was really very helpful...I feel a lot better about spend that $1000 after getting that bit of education. ThanX!