step up to SLR or not?

[Willow1278]

Right, I am under big pressure from the other half to decide what I want for Christmas! One option (suggested by her!) was to make the step up to an SLR. From having a trawl through this and various other sites the obvious options (bearing in mind a reasonable budget) are the Nikon D40 and Canon 350D. At the moment I have a Canon S2IS and I love the 12x zoom and image stability it has, but appreciate the limitations of a non-SLR. The things I most enjoy photographing are motor racing and airshows, with a bit of landscape and general type stuff thrown in. I know a bit about what I'm looking at, but won't pretend I make the most of my current camera as I am sure it has functions I don't use to the full.

So really my question is whether I will find a budget SLR with something like a 200mm lens a significant step up from what I have, or will I find the zoom range too short and quality of lenses not quite the big jump I would hope for?

[tank slapper]

I have an S3IS, which is similar to your camera. I find it immensely frustrating for shooting airshows and motorsport, partly because of the shutter lag and partly because it doesn't have an optical viewfinder. I have had so many shots that were spoiled by some aspect, that I know I would have got with no problem with a reasonable SLR. It is an OK camera, but it is limiting in certain situations which is why I am intending to get an SLR at some point soon.

[tank slapper]

That is true, which is why I intend to stave off upgrade-itis by getting a 5D. It should work for a while... although, that 300 2.8IS is starting to look interesting.

Bugger - it is inevitable.