Nikon N80 SLR Camera

Besides digital, the hottest category in photography today is SLR or single lens reflex cameras. The reason is simple. Novices like me are getting tired of pocket point and shoot cameras and want to step up to a camera that delivers better results. Camera makers have answered the call by creating fully automatic SLR cameras that take the complexity out of picture taking.
Take for example Nikon's new N80. For the photo hobbyist and pro, this SLR offers all the manual features you can conjure up, but for neophytes like me, its automatic mode makes me feel and my results look like I know what the hell I'm doing.

The N80 features include:

• An intuitive operation system based on Nikon's Pro level SLR cameras.
• A light metering system with features such as 3D Matrix metering which gives photographers greater flexibility to create more types of pictures.
• Fast autofocus to 2.5 frames per second with Focus Tracking and Lock On which allows you to capture all those moments that happen quickly.
• It also has 18 built-in custom settings so you can create your own combination of camera functions.

It sells for $798 with a Nikkor 28-80 F3.5-5 6D/AF Zoom lens. www.nikonusa.com