does anyone know anything about DSLR's? (perticularly Sony A390)

ok some simple things to know about DSLR - it stands for Digital Single Lens Reflex. they work by having a mirror that reflex the image entering the lens to the eye piece. When you take a photo the lens moves up exposing the light sensitive chip (CCD or CMOS) which is what takes the image and saves it.

Unlike other digital cameras, there is little lag in taking a photo, they are great for taking photos of sporting games, or anything that moves very fast. Also, to get the best results you should ALWAYS use the eye piece, some DSLRs do not show the image that you are about to take on the screen, however more of them are being marketed to the home user who like to see that, for best results always use the eye piece, there is no lag and what you see in the eyepiece, is usually what you get, with maybe a fraction of a second lag for the lens to move out of the way and the chip to take the shot.

DSLRs generally have a lot of settings on them, if you know a lot about photography, you can go and change the settings to take really amazing photos.

Some DSLRs are marketed as also taking video, dont be fooled, the videos usually suck, at least what I have been told, although much advancements have been made since I have heard it, but the camera you mention does not have video. If you want to take videos, get a camcorder.

Also unlike other digital cameras which are mostly solid state, DSLRs have a lot more moving parts and are more prone to being broke, so you will want to have a good case to put them in, always remove the lens and place the body cap on the body of the camera to protect the insides and also both sides of the lens cap on. That is of course if you get one with the removable lens, which is what you should get if you do go with an SLR.

There are a lot of cheep DSLR cameras out there now, dont get one, if you do get an DSLR spend at least 600 for the body and lens.

Also keep in mind a DSLR will be more bulky then a regular digital camera, and will be heavier.

I will admit it has been awhile since i have been looking at DSLR cameras, however i have used both Cannon and Nikon both seem like great brands, i do not have any experience with a SONY, however after reading some reviews on the camera, it sounds good for the price, however i would save up and get something a little nicer, remember, you can buy a cheep camera now, or a nice camera later.

A general tip, when in Rome, do what the Romans do... When buying a professional grade camera, as most DSLRs are, get what the professionals get, well that may be out of your price tag, but listen to what they say. In all honesty, i have not heard of one professional that uses a SONY camera, not sure if there is some thing there, but i know they use Cannons and Nikons...

Hope this helps...

I have used the digital rebel t2i and it works well.

I really want to move to DSLR's but the problem is that the price you pay now is mostly a starting price. When you run into the limitation of the lens, flash and other parts of the camera, you will quickly find your self spending a lot of money on another lens, external flash, and many other accessories.

PS never buy a any camera with out first looking up some reviews and sample images of using the cameras entire ISO so you can get an idea of the images you will get with the camera given the environment you plan to use the camera in. eg, suppose you are doing a lot of indoor photography (much of it being with out flash), then you better make sure your camera can give decent quality at an ISO of 400-800, (you may also need to get a faster lens)

Other than rolling shutter, many current DSLR's give extremely good video quality compared to a similarly priced camcorder.

get a canon eos reble t2i those come with a 18-55 mm vr zoom lens and is only 850 or something like that i forgot to mention it has 18 megapixles for stills