sony A350? Pentax K20D? Canon Xsi?
I Need a new Digital SLR. I have to have Live view and need it to be affordable. I play around with photography and want to get more serious, however just wing it right now. My camera knowledge is very limited and the more i read about all these the more confused as to which is the best. Which one will give me quality, funtionality, Live view and the best for the money?
Canon is one of the two camera companies who produce the cameras and lenses the pros use (the other is Nikon)
I am curious. Why do you "need" live view? Are you planning on attaching your camera to a telescope or microscope? If you are planing to use the DSLR as you would a P&S camera, you will find that holding an over two pound camera at arm's length will introduce huge amount of camera movement and in low light using that technique you will have NO steady shots. Better to use the viewfinder against your face, left hand on the lens and the right holding the camera with your finger on the shutter release. That is the way we have been shooting using SLR's for decades and DSLR's since the early 2000's
If you have a compelling reason for Live View then buy the Canon. If not ….
http://www.jdpower.com/electronics/ratings/digital-camera-ratings/dslr
Live view is really overrated, as with the XSi, you'll have to manual focus your lenses. The Pentax K20d mostly fails at high ISO, so the only reason I see getting this camera is for in-body stabilization. That, or if you have a lot of older Pentax lenses. The Sony is a good camera, however, you might find yourself in a rut since Sony is marketing more towards the professionals. This means as far as lenses go, they'll be more expensive and less general purpose. And overall, image quality seems to be over saturated and too grainy at high ISO speeds.
Out of the three, I'd suggest the Canon XSi. Has the best features for the price. Another option might be the Nikon D60 or even the D80.