What camera would you recommend to..

[MidnightLark]

Someone who has only owned point and shoots?

Hi :) I've only ever had a sony mavica (dinosaur) back in the day, and an olympus stylus. My Stylus is a good little camera, but I'm wanting to try my hand at professional photography-specifically portraits and weddings.

I love photographing people. I've done a little for fun, and there are some samples at www.midnightlark.bravehost.com

The only professional photography I've done is on 35mm (Nikon D70) and it was youth sports photography for a company called The Sports Section, or TSS for short. Well, I just quit that job yesterday. I have a full time job, and I'd like to work on my own schedule.

So, that said, what would you recommend for someone wanting to start free-lance semi-pro to pro portrait work. Probably outdoor, although I may get a light kit if things pick up and work from home.

Thanks.

[crazeazn]

You mean N70 dontcha? Since you shot film with nikon logically a nikon DSLR would be a good choice. Be sure and play with the cameras + feel how they are in your hands + controls etc.. If you had point & shoots with manual controls (and you used them) then switching to a DSLR wont be an issue either. A D70 i think would be a great choice.

[PeteQ]

If you have been using a Nikon I would suggest you check out the D200. For the money, its a great value. Puts out nice images and offers enough resolution to cover most of the subjects you mentioned shooting. There are a lot of folks here using them, myself included. Take a look around and you'll see some fine examples of what it can do with the right lens and operator.

[MidnightLark]

D'oh! haha, I probably do mean N70. It's not my camera, so I didn't pay that much attention. :P They had a few different Nikons.

Thanks for the suggestions! Pete, how many megapixels is the D200?

[PeteQ]

Here's a link to the Nikon website with all the specs. Search the forums here also and you'll see lot's of good examples of what it can do and many discussions on it's pros and cons. D200