Big boy camera

[Sheep]

No offense taken, but you're going by hearsay. If you're near a Ritz camera I'd try both and then decide. I've owned D70, D70s and D300 and IMHO Canon wins, while Fuji has the better colors overall.

No offense, but the colours you get out of the body mean absolutely nothing.

SheepStar

 

[Sheep]

I hate Ken Rockwell, but his site does has decent information. He didn't invented America as pretends he did

For low light - you want: Faster Lens aka smaller F number - F2.4 is better than F4.5

Also Image stabilization is also nice to have

And a really sensitive sensor, that spares Megapixels to increase photosites size.

SheepStar

 

[Soccerkid830]

I think jumping into a D90 would not be a bad idea. Just read like a madman and get yourself familiar. A local photography course would do you a world of good if you really don't understand what's going on and why. I took one after I had already figured it out on my own, and ended up being the teachers aid (She was prego, it was my fault).

Sheepstar

I am actually needing one more class in the Spring semester to remain at full-time student status for scholarships and junk so I've been looking for some photography class. Would be a nice change of pace from the chem eng classes I already have. Thanks for all the other tips though as well!

 

[afterlife2]

No offense, but the colours you get out of the body mean absolutely nothing.

SheepStar

What? I guess awful colors are the best? Explain. To me it matters I like natural and nothing over photoChopped.

 

[Sheep]

What? I guess awful colors are the best? Explain. To me it matters I like natural and nothing over photoChopped.

The colour difference that Fuji had over the Nikons could be made up for with post processing. The feature set, glass options, and other features a Nikon(good one, that's comparable) has can't.

SheepStar

 

[Cygnus]

I just bought my first DSLR, a t3i last weekend..my mom is a huge photography nut, and has always used Canons, as has everyone else in my immediate family, so I'm used to them, and have never had any wrong doing from their products.

 

[afterlife2]

I am actually needing one more class in the Spring semester to remain at full-time student status for scholarships and junk so I've been looking for some photography class. Would be a nice change of pace from the chem eng classes I already have. Thanks for all the other tips though as well!

Here are a couple of Lee Frost books. He's my favorite writer on photography and he explains everything well. Just buy them used, I did:

http://www.amazon.com/Photography-Teach-Yourself-Frost-Lee/dp/0071435050/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1348874834&sr=1-2&keywords=lee+frost+beginners

The Complete Guide to Night and Low-Light Photography: Lee Frost: 9780715309452: Amazon.com: Books

The Creative Photography Handbook: A Sourcebook of Techniques and Ideas: Lee Frost: 9780715315378: Amazon.com: Books

These are a must have:
Understanding Exposure,3rd Edition: How to Shoot Great Photographs with Any Camera: Bryan Peterson: 9780817439392: Amazon.com: Books

The Camera (Ansel Adams Photography,Book 1): Ansel Adams,Robert Baker: 9780821221846: Amazon.com: Books