Thinking of picking up a new camera (sold my Rebel a while ago), but I'm not a hardcore enthusiast (yet), so I don't need to drop a lot. Budget is under $1000, but if there is something great with a kit lens for $500, that's fine with me.

Any suggestions, or anything coming out soon I should wait for?

 

Nikon D90?

 

Yeah, probably your best bet. I would recommend not skimping on glass, if you have to downgrade the body a bit, so be it.

I love my D70 - perhaps consider something slightly used?

 

D-60, let the camara do most of the work for you

 

Just sold my damn near new looking Canon 30D to a member on 6speed for under $500.

You'd be surprised what's out there for deals. Just make sure to buy from a trustworthy seller.

 

What do your friends have? Get the same gear so you can swap/share lenses.

My friends have Canon, so I'd go for a 30D (around 500$) with either a 10-22mm or a 16-35 f2.8L as an all-around lens.

There again, the 16-35 is 1000$+ on its own ...

 

Used Canon 10/20/30D body with:

Canon 50mm f/1.8 prime
Canon 28-135mm IS

Should run you ~$700-900 depending on what kind of deal you get on the body.

If you don't mind spending a few extra bucks, try and pick up something like a Tokina 12-24 or Canon 10-22 wide, along with a Canon 75-300 IS zoom. Those two instead of the 28-135 would bring your total into the $1000-1300 range, but you'd have more flexibility overall.

 

You sure about the 75-300mm? I may be confusing with another lens, but the comments I've heard were far from positive ...

 

You can get the 40D with a lens and accessories kit for well under 900 now.