Originally Posted by Jet

I got my Canon 30D body for $405 and Sigma 18-200mm OS for $300 off of eBay, and couldn't be more pleased with it.

Out of all my searching, the most helpful tip I found was to invest in lenses, not bodies. The reason is because lenses don't often get outdated, while bodies do every 18 months or so--therefore lenses don't depreciate nearly as fast as bodies do. That's one of the reasons I chose Canon--I knew that they would be around, and there seems to be much more demand for Canon lenses. I spent a good amount on a lens--not too much, but enough to get something quality.

Also, I looked at bodies---a lot. Yes, I mainly looked at Nikon and Canon. Nikons, no doubt, are great bodies--but I feel like there are a lot of compromises in the $350 to $450 range--it's too much for a D40 (which doesn't have legacy lens support)--but it is too little for the D80--which is the first really high quality "prosumer" model they have.

On the Canon side, the scene isn't terribly different--except for the 30D. At $400, it's a whole lot less than the D80 at $500--and still has the features that I really care about--dual wheel control and dedicated buttons for easy access to all the main settings, as well as a separate readout on top for the settings. Also, great detail and little noise. That extra $100 is another $100 you can spend on a quality lens--where the money really counts.

Anyway. Just sharing my experience.