Which DSLR Should I Buy?

I am thinking of getting a DSLR. Which one should I buy?

I am looking for something quite cheep because I agree with Ken Rockwell that in most cases more features and pixels in DSLRs do not tend to improve people pictures. He does offer some good suggestions but I need to also consider several other factors:

1. I currently own 2 Nikon lenses. A 50mm 1.8 Prime and a relatively old zoom lens. Both require a motor in the body of the camera for autofocus. (which limits me to a D80 or higher, the D5000 will not work) It may well be better for me to replace these lenses but for now my budget is limited.
2. I don't mind Nikon and Canon but I also appreciate many factors of other companies like Pentax etc. (I also have access to several older Pentax lenses, though they are currently waiting for me in another country)
3. I am interested in used cameras as much as new, such as a used D90 etc.

Any suggestions or useful comments would be really appreciated. 

The image is a Leica S2, the DSLR I want but can not afford. 

Posted via email from Mark Whiting's posterous

Art Lebedev - designers who admit to working

via artlebedev.com

I really love Art Lebedev studios. Not because they are the best, nor because they are the most interesting or the company with most valuable perspectives. What I love about them is the playful connection with consumer design, something that very few consumer product design companies seem to have. However there is more that makes them a valuable company. They regularly report on process and on conclusions about design in a rather interesting context.

In this image we see a new product called Fleximus they have designed as a kind of flexible camera. On it's website they provide a design brief, which is wonderfully simple "Problem: Design a flexible camera," and they also provide a link to their process which is arguably more interesting than the product its self. Conveniently they go further than simply telling you how they did it and have a rather nice selection of progress images. In this way Art Lebedev is a model design house.

Another effort of significant value is one of their blogs, Mandership. This blog is seldom updated but when it is, they speak of great conclusions or suggestions about doing design. Quite a great think I say.

What do you think of this company?

Posted via web from Mark Whiting's posterous

Great Cameras for a Change

The trend these days seems to be to make everything badly and remove the point of elegance and design from things like cameras and everything else. Humm that is a negative outlook, perhaps I don't actually think that. Anyway. Today with the help of Medgadget I came across this fabulous site including cameras of purpose driven design. They are all designed around event and built to carry stories. They use a variety of materials and methods but are all simply lovely. I think.

I need one.