Probably subjective I know but what's good either now or just around the corner?
Something cheap. Sony probably, they are the most feature-laden for the least money. Or whatever feels/looks nice and is on special offer 🙂
What do you want to do with it?
Take technically perfect (as the designer deems perfect) photographs.
Or learn how to take photographs?
What's your definition of good?
Based on bias, I would go for Canon. They have a good range of features, prices and lenses.
Others will recommend Nikon.
What's your budget?
Up to about £500 including a lens
d5000
Loved my Canon 350D and wish I didn't sell it! Very easy to use and all the controls make sense. A 350D body and a couple of lenses can be had for quite cheap on ebay now. Don't be put off by the "low" megapixel rating unless you're planning on doing massive photos for print.
Have tried to get on with Nikon but I don't really like how they work (menu/control system really). Apparently their kit lenses are better and the AF a bit faster.
I'm just getting back into photography and using my sisters old Canon film slr which takes great photos. Film makes me feel so "niche" 😆 (it's also a hell of a lot cheaper to start with, but more frustrating as you get no instant feedback on whether your shots are any good)
Here's the selection in the £400-£500 bracket on Warehouse Express
Any of these would probably be a good choice but it's important to have a play around with them because the feel of a camera is an important factor which you can't discern from the factsheets. I have a Sony a350 which I think is excellent (though not great at higher ISO) and it feels just right in my hand. I also use a Canon EOS450 at work which I dislike because of the handgrip - it's a perfectly good camera but I just don't get on with it.
Also have a look on http://www.dpreview.com/
Also go and have a play in a shop to see how they feel. I personally couldn't use the tiny canons as I'm used to the larger EOS20d. I agree that you shouldn't simply be sold a camera on the number of megapixels.
My EOS20d has ony 8Mpixels and it hasn't caused me a problem yet.
Finally think that the lens is probably going to be more important than the camera.
You'd be crazy to not wait for the Nikon d3100 IMO.
Can we make this a sticky? 🙂
This has been a much asked question, on other fora too?
From my reading of it what you actually need at this stage is a Fuji Finepix S5000. These are beoming difficult to get a hold of, especially as the model you need is the modified one with the broken catch on the battery case. Have a good look around, you might be able to get one second-hand.
Try putting a wanted ad here, expect to pay about £150
"Which DSLR?"
"You don't [b]want[/b] a DSLR!"
"I want the truth"...