Ever since Sam posted his Nikon D50 on Craigslist I've had the bug to get into SLR photography.

I need to justify this somehow; I do it by claiming it's to photograph the new baby since the last photos were poorly lit. Other than indoor photography, I'm also into outdoor photography; so my subjects are typically landscapes or family. My Canon S2 IS is great, but I'd like something that is more sensitive to low-light conditions without flash, has support for indirect flash when needed, a stronger flash for outdoor portraits, and has a wider-angle lens. I'm not going to find that in P&S territory, so DSLR it is.

A lot of the reviews I've read say that the Nikon D40 is a great starter camera (despite others trying to convince me to start with the D70). I'd like something that has a good sensor and is lightweight and it seems to fit the bill well.

At the same time, I need to have something that's convenient to carry, so I plan on getting a Canon SD870IS. This will probably help Tiffany take some more photos too since she's a little intimidated by even my S2 IS; the buttons are laid out very well on this camera and the UI is very intuitive, so I hope it's intimidation factor is quite low.

Additional things I plan on getting to make it easier to get my camera around:

- Kata DR-467 backpack - for carrying my laptop, camera, and camcorder to family functions and my camera on hikes - Nikon SB-400 Speedlight Flash for bouncing the flash indoors and stronger front-lighting outdoors

I still have my Crumpler 4 Million Dollar Home bag which will be nice for carrying just the SLR around.

I expect my Canon S2 IS to go up on Craigslist shortly after I place this order, get your reservations in now if interested.