I've been using a compact digital camera for my fishing pics, but have recently been thinking about upgrading to a digital SLR.
Can anyone recommend a good entry level digital SLR - would consider new but preferably used to reduce cost.

I've had a look at this one on fleabay

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-CANON-EOS-...d=p3286.c0.m14

But wondered what cheaper alternatives might be available.

Most lenses that come standard with cameras are 18-55mm focal length - what does this mean in lay mans terms.
What focal length lense should I be looking at to take close ups of flies, insects etc.

Mike

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Nikon d60, nice machine to start off with,

The Cannon is a nice camera but the Nikon are much more intutitive to use I have a had a D40X for about three years now and it takes decent images. You can probably pick one of these up secondhand for around £250 - £300.

As for close up photography of flies and the like it all depends on how serious you want to get the high end Macro lenses will set you back £700 - £800 but you can probably pick up a fairly decent one second hand fron £150 - £400.

One word of advice don't get into it to seriously as it costs as much as fishing

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A quick word of warning if you're considering buying second hand - All DSLRs have a limited life span. The exposure mechanism can only be used a certain amount of times so a well used camera, even if in perfect condition may not be a good deal as it'll be "high mileage".

Personally I'd go for the D60.

Also, you need to bear in mind the 'crop factor' of enter~mid level dSLR's. On all Nikon (except high end full frame range) you'll need to muliply the focal length of the lens by 1.5 so if you have an 18~55mm lens, you actually are using a 27~82.5mm lens. This is OK if you want to zoom in on your subject but not if you want to shoot wide angle landscapes,, for this you'll need a DX lens which is made for DSLR's.
For a macro lens (which means you are shooting a subject at a ratio of 1:1) there are a quite a lot of lenses available. Some zoom lenses have a macro focusing on them or you can buy a fixed focal length lens such as 60mm, 105mm or 180mm. With a 60mm, you'll need to be closer to the subject whilst a with a 180mm, you can be further away. So if you are shooting hand tied flies at home, mounted in a vice, a 60mm would be fine but if you are shooting insects on flowers, I think you'll need either a 105 or 180mm. Don't forget about the crop factor though! 60mm becomes a 90mm, 105mm becomes a 157.5mm and a 180mm becomes a 270mm. You'll also need a good tripod or monopod to keep the camera steady for most macro work.

As the others have mentioned, D60 is a great camera.

Have a look on here for more in depth help and advice:

http://www.dpreview.com/

HTH!

FbS

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Three good cameras around £300 are the Canon Rebel, sony Alpha and nikon D40. I've got the D40, but if I could've spent some more I would have gone for the D60 or D80

second hand nikon d50 would be a nice buy if you can pick up one thats in good condition. Great beginners camera, has an autofocus motor so you can use some of the older lens that you can pick up on ebay. I leave a 50mm macro lens on the camera, good fast lens for taking portraits and closeups of flies. Its not an overly expensive setup so i don't have to worry about it as much as newer expensive model. still takes great pictures.

I have a canon EOS D400, cheeper than Nikon D80 and so to are the lenses. It is also lighter and comes with sensor cleaning. Something that the Nikons don't have until you hit the D90 and upwards. The D90 is around £600-£700 for the body.
Both the Canon and Nikon have Macro facility built in.
A cheeper alternative to macro lenses are macro filters than fit on the end of the lense. I have a set of these for my 35mm camera and have some great results.

I have a Nikon D40 which I really like. Looked into it for a while and couldn't find better for the money.
This guy's site is very informative on cameras in layman's terms and he really rates the D40, more so than the D40x and D60. http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d40.htm

Olympus E420, a fantastic little DSLR was £600 can now be had for well under £300 and even cheaper used as new model has just been released.