I went to Costco last night and the cheapest DSLR was for $1100. Others were around $1300-$1450, so the D5200 on Amazon seems like the best choice for me, for now.
Interestingly, I know all about the theory. For the first part of my career I worked as a Photolithography Engineer in the Semiconductor industry. Those 'cameras' (Steppers) were extremely sophisticated, but I never had to manually adjust anything. Everything was programmed. We did a lot of focus-exposure matrices, and resolution studies to print submicron circuits on wafers. I think the theory can be used if I could understand how to manually adjust all those features. I am definitely going to attend that one-day photography class.
Interestingly, I know all about the theory. For the first part of my career I worked as a Photolithography Engineer in the Semiconductor industry. Those 'cameras' (Steppers) were extremely sophisticated, but I never had to manually adjust anything. Everything was programmed. We did a lot of focus-exposure matrices, and resolution studies to print submicron circuits on wafers. I think the theory can be used if I could understand how to manually adjust all those features. I am definitely going to attend that one-day photography class.