ok, so i think I am almost ready to buy a "real" camera, and need a bit of guidance. Essentially I am looking for something to do pictures of the kids. I don't take my kids in to be photographed, and I want real quality pictures that would look as good as a framed 8x10 on the wall as they do in an album. Something that you could look at and feel like it was on par qualitywise with a professional shot.

I want crisp. I want to be able to manipulate the photos-- I know a fair amount about photo manipulation in photoshop, and would love to be able to play with images. The other side of the coin is, I know nothign about SLR cameras. I have always always always wanted to learn, and might even be able to make time for a class if it is absolutely necessary. I know a fair amount about composition (from some art and design classes in college), so I am not starting entirely from scratch--- just learning about lenses and settings and the like are a little scary to me.

Lastly, I don't have 1500 dollars to drop right now-- I might could make 7-800 happen, less would be great though-- say 300-500 would be perfect (we got cash from my FIL for cmas, but I need to make sure the bills are paid before I will know exactly how much I have to spend). I DO want something I can use for 5 years or so though-- I want something that will grow with me, kwim?
So what cameras should I look at? I have browed both the slr and the "slr-like". Can anyone explain in detail the difference, and why one would be better than the other for me?

I am not sure what an "SLR-like" camera is, LOL! But I can certainly talk about digital SLRs.

Some advantages of an SLR are:
-you can swap out lenses so you can use the right lens for the right job
-it has a bigger sensor so it's easier to get shallow depth of field (blurry background while the subject is in focus)
-you can shoot in manual mode so you have total control over your images
-depending on your camera, at higher ISOs the noise is much less

Some disadvantages of an SLR are:
-you can swap out lenses (so you have to buy the right lenses for the right job!)
-the bigger sensor means your depth of field might be TOO shallow in certain situations
-you really have to learn the manual controls to get the best pictures

I found my first digital SLR to be very intimidating -- I couldn't just put it on aperture-priority mode and get great pictures the way I could with my consumer camera. It takes a lot more work and understanding of exposure to get decent pictures. But once you do have that understanding, you can get MUCH sharper and better-exposed pictures!

If you are not really INTO photography I wouldn't recommend spending the money. I'd keep the camera you have now and have fun with practicing with natural light and posing and just having fun taking pictures.

If you still want an SLR after reading all this, in your price range I would recommend a used Canon Digital Rebel or Nikon D70 as long as you had a trusted source for buying it from. They are great cameras but are definitely prone to technical problems that you have to watch out for if buying preowned. Don't bother with the kit lens -- if you are taking kid pictures, the under $100 50mm f/1.8 is all you'd need!

thanks for the reply :) I actually almost have to buy a camera right now-- I had a nicer digital, Liam dropped it on carpet and the zoom button popped off. We took it in to be repaired...9 months ago. The guy skipped town, and we are assuming hocked all of the cameras, so we are currently using my MIL"S (mil died in april) . It was a cheapie to start wit-- a 2MP easyshare. Basically we bought it for her to see if we could shift her to a digital format. Anyway, the pictures from it are awful. the delay is terrible. I have probably only taken 75 pictures since simon was born-- i hate it that badly.

ok, looks like the baby is going to fuss-- slr like include http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/fujifilms9000/

there is also canon powershot S2, Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ20, Nikon Coolpix 8400, and several similar

btw, noise seems to be one of the biggest complaints with the mock slr's.

Me personally .. I LOVE my Casio .. Although.. mine is getting older and i would really like to get a newer one .. it works well .. and i take TONS of pictures with it and movies .. i have blown up the pic in my aviator ( over there <-) to regular paper size and put a poem on it and printed it out using out printer and it looks really good .. of course its one of the nice photo quality printers.

Its a QV-2900ux.. so the movies are only a few seconds .. but this thing has been dropped i don't want to think about how many times .. and even had the girls spill soda on it .. and it is still kicking.. when we get a new one i want to have this one cleaned by a professional and then let the girls use it .. or use it as a second camera for when we go to events and take pics.

The next Camera i get will be an Casio EX-P505 ... http://www.casio.com/products/Cameras/Exilim_Pro/EX-P505/ ... for $ 349.99