Another "which dslr should I get" thread.

[dstolman]

First off, I'm starting to get into photography, specifically that of downhill skateboarding and longboarding. Right now all my pictures are taken with a Canon point and shoot, then edited in gimp.
To see some of my mediocre work, check out Skatography and feel free to give me criticism/feedback.

Now to my question. I have searched, but as someone very new to the slr game, I confused by all the information out there, and have tried to absorb as much as I can.

Right now I know I want a relatively cheap body that I can get used. I've read reviews and it seems as though Nikon, Canon, and Sony are the way to go. The most important thing for me right now is to get something that has a large ISO and shutter speed range. As for right now I will probably only want an 18-55mm lens to get started. So if someone could give me a list of cameras to look into so I don't drown in this sea of information, that would be very helpful, as well as anything else I should research before making this purchase.

Also if you feel as though there is a thread or two that answer all my questions, I'd like a link. I apologize if you feel like I haven't done enough research myself.

[TheMoons678]

I've shot skateboarding and the feature that was more important to me than ISO performance was burst frame rate and an telephoto zoom along with a wide angle. From the looks of your long boarding pics you're not shooting in really tough lighting.

Canon, I've heard, has good AF systems and I might look into them if I shot sports exclusively. If you go Nikon, I'd think about the D200 as a good entry point. It has a tough body that will take impact, has more of a pro feeling with a quick response and I believe shoots faster (5 fps?) than the d90 (4.5 fps). 3 fps is too slow for skateboarding; you can't get a full trick (approach, jump, peak, landing), and many entry level bodies shoot around 3 fps burst.

On Craigslist lately I see them go for 350-450.