Barbara B.'s Adventures: In search of a new camera

Last year when I got my Canon G10 I had very briefly considered getting a DSLR. They all seemed too big and complicated, with the exception of that Panasonic Lumix G1 which kinda is but isn't really a DSLR. So, I ditched the idea at the time and looked for a camera that is still small, but would provide me more manual control until eventually I'd learn a bit about depth of field, ISO, aperture, and the like. It's complicated stuff to me, but I'm at a point now where I'm again itching for an SLR. The major turn-off continues to be the size of these beasts; my primary use for a camera is when I'm hiking and I know I wouldn't pull it out enough if it has to be stored in a backpack. I need something that can still be reasonably attached to a waist strap without getting in the way. Last week I tried to sumamrize what I want a camera to do that my current G10 doesn't, and the only things I could come up with are long exposures (for star trails and the like) and being able to achieve a shallow depth of field with blurred backgrounds. So, really the G10 still suits me for 99% of the pictures I take, but I guess I want a new toy. I told myself that I can't make an impulse purchase.

Today I went back to The Camera Store, told them I'm not buying anything right now, but got talking to J. for quite some time. I had walked in biased towards a Canon, but walked out having fallen in love with a Nikon. Those were the only two brands I would consider in terms of future upgrades and being able to keep using the same lenses. It was so very, very tempting to buy it along with an 18-200m lens, but I said I'd go home and read the reviews and whatnot first. So, now I'm researching the Nikon D5000.

These are things that I want a camera to have. Check marks indicate that the Nikon D5000 has these; the rest I need to ask the people at the camera store more about it.

✓Bulb mode (for star trails, light painting)
✓Burst mode (taking several photos in quick succession)
✓Shoot RAW + JPG simultaneously
✓Auto focus - no motor in D5000 body, needs to be in lens
Auto focus - effect of auto focus when using live view (so slow it's useless as per dpreview.com)
Auto focus - Contrast auto focus vs. phase detection auto focus
✓18-200mm Lens - does it have image stabilization (IS)? (Yes, same as VR)
✓18-200mm Lens - does it have auto focus (motor)?
✓18-200mm Lens - does it have infinity setting?
Histogram preview while shooting?
✓Image stabilization (same as vibration reduction - Canon vs. Nikon lingo)
✓Sensor dust reduction
✓Swivel screen
✓Active D-lighting
Blurriness. dpreview.com notes that JPGs straight out of the camera aren't very crisp. And that's precisely what I like about the canons - crips images and vibrant colour.