I'd suggest the D3200 at $700. You may even want to keep it after upgrading since the body is a bit smaller and over a half pound less. If you want to really keep the cost down, you can get a brand new D3100 for about $550.

golf007sd said:
With a user name: notimportant...i think your best bet is to not get a DSLR to begging with...after all it is "not important." Get yourself a point and shot and when you are serious and know they type of photography you are going to be doing...then come back to us and we will give you better advice.

+1

I would go for a J1/V1, or a nice high end compact if it is really not that important. You do not need a DSLR to make good images of family or travel photos. Flip side is, if you are looking at a D7000 and you think a D3200 would be fine, than you probably don't need the D7000 at this point and get the D3200 and use it for a few years until you figure out what type of stuff you want to use it for.

There is a very large difference between the D7000 and a D3200 that goes way beyond the sensor. The sensor is just 1/100th of a camera.

As for glass - I would just start with the Kit lenses and see what you like to shoot the most and then focus on buying better glass based on that. You probably won't know that until you actually shoot for quite some time.

The more important question is why wait for a year? Even if you wait for the D7100 (or whatever it's called) to be released, it will likely be a few months before you shoot your first image, and even then it's "old" technology because Nikon already has a replacement in the pipeline. I read a lot about waiting for the "next" thing to come out because it's so important to have the very latest, even if it's only new for a very short time.
In the meantime, the originator of this thread went (presumably) without a camera for a year, reading people like us speculate about what some future camera may offer. Think of all the great shots that were missed. Buy a camera today. Shoot for as long as it meets your needs. Then buy another one when you have new needs or your old camera breaks. If you're shooting for fun (which I assume is the case), this is not an investment. Investments pay off. This is an expenditure on a fun hobby that in the long run is probably cheaper than drugs or mistresses. :)

notimportant said:
I've wanted the d7000 for about a year now and have been researching it, which lenses to buy etc. Now that I have saved up for it, there's rumors of an upgrade. I have no problem waiting, but I have noteworthy and special vacations/events that I would love to have a camera for. So I'm willing to spend the money on a cheaper dslr in the meantime, build up my lenses that I want, then just sell it once the d7000 upgrade comes out and I already have my lenses. I was looking at the d3100 and the d5100, and maybe the d3200. I am a firm believer my investment is my lenses, so honestly I need help just deciding which body to get. I am aware that I will most likely lose money when I resell them, but want to know which one might be easier to re-sell or which one would be good to have in the meantime that will give me the best for the money. Thanks!

With a user name: notimportant...i think your best bet is to not get a DSLR to begging with...after all it is "not important." Get yourself a point and shot and when you are serious and know they type of photography you are going to be doing...then come back to us and we will give you better advice.

You could just get the d7000 without planning to replace it, the new 24mpx sensor is not exactly better than the one in the d7000, high Iso is about the same, dynamic range is worse. I don't think there will a whole lot of improvements overall. (unless u shoot video) If you want to go cheap, buy a d40 with a high shutter count on ebay, even if it dies on you it's not that big of a deal and it's perfectly capable of taking decent pictures and probably can be had for like 200-250usd. (correction there is one up for grabs right now for 150$)

sevencrossing said:
If the only object is not lose money, look for a dated secondhand camera such as the D70

if you want somthing that going to easy to sell get a D7000

I think a used D200, D70s, maybe a D90 would be better investments for the "resale" idea. These will have taken a big hit already, so when you buy it the resale will be only a couple hundred less.

As to the lens collection....my thoughts are 16-35mm f/4.0 VR, 24-120mm f/4.0 VR, 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII. If you want a primary, the 50mm f/1.4 is the standard. Or wider or longer...either way the new "G" lenses seem to be where it is at for Nikon.

d7000 is 2 years old; and with the D400 or D600 coming it is probably going to lose a lot of value in coming weeks/months

The D3200 is the newest so it might not lose too much value by upgrade time and it doesn't cost much to start with. But it seems the more expensive the body is initially the better they hold their value. My thought on getting a d7000 is you really aren't going to need to upgrade. To me it is a waste to upgrade with just a single update...2 seems more worth while.

If the only object is not lose money, look for a dated secondhand camera such as the D70

if you want somthing that going to easy to sell get a D7000

I've wanted the d7000 for about a year now and have been researching it, which lenses to buy etc. Now that I have saved up for it, there's rumors of an upgrade. I have no problem waiting, but I have noteworthy and special vacations/events that I would love to have a camera for. So I'm willing to spend the money on a cheaper dslr in the meantime, build up my lenses that I want, then just sell it once the d7000 upgrade comes out and I already have my lenses. I was looking at the d3100 and the d5100, and maybe the d3200. I am a firm believer my investment is my lenses, so honestly I need help just deciding which body to get. I am aware that I will most likely lose money when I resell them, but want to know which one might be easier to re-sell or which one would be good to have in the meantime that will give me the best for the money. Thanks!