New to DSLR's

Hi Guys,

I've been having a read on this website and found a lot of the information really helpful and informative

I'm slowly making the change from film SLR to digital and am stuck with which way to go.

I'm looking at the 40D and the 5D - the only thing that makes me not jump for the 5D is the cost of it sadly.

I was wondering if anyone would be able to help me out with which one would be best to use, I enjoy taking photos of horse competitions (cross country in particular), animals and kids (just fun shots i'm not into this professionally but I do find it fun and relaxing and enjoying taking photos that other people like to look at).

At the moment I use a Pentax mz60 with a 28 - 90 and a 100 - 300 lenses, I understand that I could go with a Pentax digital and use the same lenses but then my husband would be without a camera and he has no great desire to go digital just yet.

The other reason is I've been extremely impressed with the quality of photos I've seen on this website and also what I have taken on my baby digi which is a Canon Powershot A550.

If anyone has any books they can recommend for a newbie and digital photography as well that would be greatly appreciated (one that doesn't confuse too much with the technical aspects would be wonderful lol).

Sorry for the long post and thanking you all in advance for your help,

Coriena

Welcome to the board. For books I recommend this one. And this one.

Welcome. In addtion to the books mentioned above you might take a look at the following websites. There is a mix of general photographic information and info specific to digital so there's some of all of it if you need it. I'll also throw in some hardware information sites.

Tutorials/info: http://www.cambridgein​colour.com/tutorials.h​tm ; dofmaster.com; http://luminous-landscape.com/tutorial​s/
Cameras: dpreview.com
Lenses: the-digital-picture.com

Welcome!
Nothing I've read in your post makes me think that you would not be totally satisfied with the 40D, and the additional cost for the 5D is not warranted, in my opinion. However, I think you would have less "transition shock" if you moved to the full frame 5D, as the viewfinder will be as big and bright as you are used to from 35 mm SLRs. In comparison, the 40D viewfinder will seem dull and cramped, but you will adjust. Also, going to the 5D will mean that lens focal lengths will have the same meaning in terms of wide angle/telephoto that you are used too; but again, it is not too hard to adjust. Visit a store and have a squint through a 40D - see what you think.
Also consider a second-hand 20D or 30D. Image quality will be on a par with the 40D and 5D, in general, and you'd have more in the budget for lenses.

Welcome to POTN! Get your wallet ready, cuz it's gonna be empty.

jdizzle wrote in post #3886511
Welcome to POTN! Get your wallet ready, cuz it's gonna be empty.

I ride horses as another hobby so my purse is quite used to being empty

Also thanks for the replies guys muchly appreciated

Since your new to digital, I believe the 40D will give you all that you need. It seems to be a great new camera and has all the features that will take you months to learn. My first DSLR was the XT and I'm glad I didn't have any more camera.