Digital SLR Camera recommendations please?

[Pavlovthecat]

I want to take professional looking photos. I am going to use some of the photos on my blog, but also want better quality photos than my current snapshot digital camera is giving me, especially night photos, distance shots, very close up shots. We live near Dartmoor and the sea and sometimes the views are phenomenal, and my camera is crap.

I don't have a huge amount to spend, so want some guidance on what to buy/what to avoid please, spending up to around £400, cheaper if possible.

I bought the canon entry level dsr a few years back for the same reason as you. The equivalent now is the 1000 for £3.99.
The only thing is they are big and therefore I still take my point and shoot to certain places. It may be worth you checking out the bridge cameras too which are a mix between the 2. If you still want a SLR Nikon, Pentax and canon all do starter ones within your budget. Look in the Argos for the names and then just google re owes to choose the best one.

My wife got the Canon EOS D400 for around that price some years back and she's very pleased with it. The EOS D3100 and the 1100D are both around £300 including 18-55mm lens on Amazon at the moment. I haven't compared the two.

The 1000 seems to only be available as a used model. I'm guessing the 1100 has superseded the 1000?

Perhaps a bridge camera would suit you better, a lot more versatile than an SLR with a much bigger optical zoom range than a standard SLR which generally only come with a cheap and basic portrait lens, you will not get a lot of value in a £400 SLR compared to a Bridge camera costing between £300-£400.