[thstone]

I use a Nikon D60 with a few different lenses. Its an awesome camera and 10 times better in picture quality than any point and shoot. As you noted, the tradeoff with an SLR is greatly improved picture quality versus portability.

Nikon seems to have quite a few different models (D40, D60, D3000, D5000, etc) in the same price range ($500-$1,000) so you may have to spend some time doing research comparisions between all of the different base models and their lense/accessory bundles.