new to photography (info needed)

[db338]

Hi
I am new to photography going to take my first class on it this September. The teacher recommends a SLR and the most important feature is the ability to set exposure manually as well as automatically. Also ability to set focus to manual or automatic. I am looking to buy used, but don't know what models to look at that have the above features. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[RichardTaylor]

Welcome to the forums.

All consumer DSLRs will do what you want.

Some will be easier to use than others.
Ie: you may need to go into a menu to change to manual focus or operate more than one control to change a setting when using manual exposure.

What sort of camera is the instructor using?
If you are using a similar one than that will makes things a little easier when teaching & learning.

As a Canon user the entry level cameras (Rebels) are fine, however the midrange models (like the 30/40/50D) have a lot better erganomics.