I currently own Olympus c-5050 zoom

[rhoraq]

I currently own Olympus c-5050 zoom. I am new to photography, but am getting into portrait photography professionally and was interested in upgrading to a dslr camera that can give me that excellent sharp/focused image with the blurry background & that can also give me just a sharp image of anything for that matter. But I was told that this camera I currently own will not really give me what I need. Can anyone give me any suggestions as what to get? I'm also looking for something that is around $400-600 range. And while I'm here do you think a Sony A 350 can give me the quality I need professionally?

[Raigoki]

is it bokeh you wanted?
all DSLR can provide that. depends upon the lens you have.
it's quite hard/different on getting a bokeh on an olympus Kit lens though.
Sony will do just fine, as other DSLR will do either. and if you're really on a budget, you might want to consider Nikon D40.

[rhoraq]

I'm not sure if i know what Bokeh is. I'm basically looking for a shallow depth of field..i think. I'm still learning. I just see these pictures and they are so sharp and in such an amazing focus. But I know the Olympus wasn't doing what I need or would like. I was looking at the Nikon D40 and I was also looking at the D60.

[Raigoki]

is there an aperture priority settings for your current camera?
i've researched for the c5050, and it has f/1.8 opening. quite nice for portraiture.
however, your camera might not deliver photos you wanted if it doesn't have aperture priority mode. (and if you want to print large format like an A4 size)

basically, any DSLR (and some EVIL Cameras) can provide you nice portrait photos. (with blurred background as you say.) what you need is a lens that's suitable to that.
a prime lens (eg. Zuiko 50mm F/2.0 for olympus or any prime lens with wide aperture opening. ) might just do the trick.

[rhoraq]

Yes there is an aperture setting. I played around with it yesterday and so far couldn't tell much. Does it matter if it's in thirds? Now the lense I do have for it is Olympus 0.8x Wide Conversion Lens 55mm, what can this help me with?

[rhoraq]

And thank you so much for your help!