I am the proud owner of a brand new <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&amp;keywords=Nikon%20D200&amp;tag=studio33desig-20&amp;index=photo&amp;linkCode=ur2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325">Nikon D200</a><img style="border: medium none  ! important; margin: 0px ! important;" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=studio33desig-20&amp;l=ur2&amp;o=1" border="0" alt="" width="1" height="1" /> SLR camera. I have been a photographer since I was in high school, and have enjoyed using all of my Nikon cameras (the N2000 - my first 'real camera' and more recently the N80). But, I have to tell you that my latest purchase has been soooooo worth the investment...(and believe me it was an investment!) The Nikon D200 is truly a solid camera. It has all the bells and whistles you would expect from a top of the line 10 megapixel digital SLR camera - loads of variations on camera settings, built in flash, long battery life, excellent image quality, etc. I will say that since I have it coupled with a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&amp;keywords=Nikon%20AF%202.8%2028-70mm&amp;tag=studio33desig-20&amp;index=photo&amp;linkCode=ur2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325">Nikon AF 2.8 28-70mm</a><img style="border: medium none  ! important; margin: 0px ! important;" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=studio33desig-20&amp;l=ur2&amp;o=1" border="0" alt="" width="1" height="1" /> zoom lens, it is pretty heavy to tote around. But the quality of the photographs I've been getting out of it far 'outweighs' the heftiness of the camera. Another thing I love about it is that there is absolutely no lag time between when you press the shutter and when the picture is taken. I had previously used the Nikon Coolpix 800 - a very early digital model - and that was a great frustration of mine...constantly missing 'the moment' due to the camera's lag time.

For anyone serious about getting in to digital photography, I highly recommend the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&amp;keywords=Nikon%20D200&amp;tag=studio33desig-20&amp;index=photo&amp;linkCode=ur2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325">Nikon D200</a><img style="border: medium none  ! important; margin: 0px ! important;" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=studio33desig-20&amp;l=ur2&amp;o=1" border="0" alt="" width="1" height="1" />. Take the time to read over the lengthy guide book and take out your camera and experiment with all of the different settings. I also suggest you work with it in 'Manual Mode' so you can get a better feel for all of the different aperture, shutter, ISO, white balance settings it offers. You can do double-exposures and interval timed shots, too - which not all digital SLRs are capable of.

This is a great camera!