I started the research with my Facebook friends and got some solid advice (thank you!!!). I knew the price point I wanted to stay near and I knew the type of features that interested me. After a few trips to Best Buy and some major Amazon stalking, I narrowed it down to 2 models - the Canon EOS Rebel SL1 and the Nikon D5200. They are both very comparable from the specs right down to the price so what it ultimately came down to was how it felt when I was holding it. The Nikon was great, but much bulkier than the Canon. The Canon model is a new one and is one of the smallest SLR camera's out there. It also has a touch screen which was a nice added bonus. Between the feel and the great bulk deal that Best Buy was offering (300mm lens, case, 16GB SD card and lens cleaner), it was a no brainer. Canon came out on top.
So here I am. A novice at photography holding a mega-camera in my hands. Luckily, Canon makes it very easy for a newbie like me to jump right in and take some awesome photos. They have a variety of pre-set "modes" to capture just about anything from portraits to kids in motion to night scenes. They also have a few modes that allow you to choose what you want. Of course, I have no idea what I'm doing so I'm sticking with the pre-set modes for now. With just a few clicks, I got some great shots. What a difference!
It's amazing how crisper (word?) James looks with the new camera vs. the old. And that was just a test shot. Here are some more test shots taken while at Grandma and Grandpa's house last weekend:
The fact that I was able to get that action shot of Lucy licking James without any blur is amazing. Not to knock my old camera, but no way that would have have happened. Now that I have this new amazing piece of equipment, the number of photos I take is going to increase ten fold - which is huge since I was already taking a ridiculous amount of pictures. Thank God for the Apple Time Capsule and it's 2TB of memory!
So thank you for all the great advice Facebook friends - so far very pleased with my choice!
