I am a professional wedding photographer, and have been for years. Before that, I paid my bills by being a camera salesman (sales-woman, actually..) and I'd like to clarify a few things.
For starters, NOTHING is wrong with digital slr's. I personally shoot with a canon 5d mark II. Way back when dslr came out, many people didn't want to make the switch because the sensor inside the camera was no where near as wide as a 35mm camera. (for example, a 35mm "mocked" a human eye because it had such a wide view, while the dslr was equivalent to looking into a box. It was a much smaller range, but the instant gratification of seeing the photo right after was a huge selling point.) now, they make sensors so wide, film is almost unnessacery. The one huge plus to film has been matched with it's rival.
Second of all, for everyone who says that it's not the camera, it's the photographer who makes the picture, I'd like to say that's an open ended discussion. I could shoot a wedding with my high end dslr, and get MUCH better pictures quality wise than aunt Sally with her point and shoot. However, I shoot everything manually, so I absolutely agree with the person who said it's pointless to pay $5000 for a camera when you don't know how to use it. Start off with a low end slr, like a canon xti. I heard they are pretty cheap now. That way, you can start off using it as a point and shoot, and when you are comfortable with it, you can grow with the camera and learn all the settings.
Also, for anyone who asks the question: "which is better, canon or nikon?", it all depends on what you are shooting. Sports, children, and other fast moving photos are better handled with a nikon. Canon is ideal for portraits, landscape, etc. Or, if you are like me, you grew up with a professional photographer father who drilled in your head that canon was the only good brand out there 😉
hope this helps!
