I would actually recommend a s3 IS it is half the price of the s5IS only 2mp less and no flash hotshoe (I doubt you will get flash and if you need it you can find work arounds using triggers on brackets.) it is 250 dollars and a good enterance into advanced photography, it is also capable of taking 2.5fps and can take unlimited length bursts if you have a fast enough card (I have done 150picture bursts before on a 2gb extreme 3 card at the highest quality) if you are sticking with the stock lense perhaps a slr isnt the best choice because of limited range on stock lense.
Ive also had some bad experiences with sony cameras and image quality, I would assume the slrs would be better but like previous people said, in camera IS is a gimmick of sorts because it isnt optimized for each lens like in lens IS sure the two advanced cameras I recommended have it but the IS is made for the lens and you can tell it that you are using a certain teleconverter and it will adapt to that too.
