First of all sorry
I recently returned from a 2 week vacation with my family. We visited Bangkok, Penang, and Jakarta. During this trip I purchased a Sony Alpha 300 (figured 10Mp was plenty). Prior to my purchase I read a review in Digital Photo (UK mag) and the Sony Alpha 350 (14.2 Mp)) won compared to the Nikon EOS 450D (12.2 Mp). They basically said the Nikon 450D was an upgraded 400. What sold me on the Sony was the mention of the better Menu Function lay out and TILT (up/dwn) display...nice.
I have always been interested in Photography and wished I had purchased a D-SLR sooner. I was amazed at the photos I was able to take with my new Sony Alpha. Using the Menus and Controls, it was easy to experiment with different settings. I only had to use the instruction manual a few times. The one thing I noticed was taking pics WITHOUT a flash was so much better. The image and colors looked so natural. This was easy to do using the no flash setting on the dial or the ISO button (Auto, 100, 200, 400 or 800). If you are moving up to a mid-range D-SLR look at the Sony Alpha 300 or 350.
I''ll be posting a few pics...