im a canon nut. i use my trusty canon rebel. never once have i had one of my pics turn out bad! but just a suggestion!

Nikon D40
Canon Rebel XT

Both awesome and under or around $400 i have seen them both for $350

I would definitively recommend a Digital Rebel that you can afford or go one step above and get the Canon 50D.
I begun with Rebel XT and have shot over 30,000 with it and still like my camera…but now is my backup camera

I started with a Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi, and I have found no flaws so far. I have used it for over a year and it is an extremely great tool to use in your situation. This camera has transformed my photography skills, and made me such a better photographer than I was before!

I am a Canon fan. I have a Canon 50D. But I have friends who started with the Canon Rebel which can be found at your local Wal-Mart.

Nikon is good

A tough question my friend. Well if you wish to go the slr ( single lens reflex ) route.
Due to my bias the Canon Eos Rebel xt ( 350D ) Body around 350 $ – ( froogle.com ) is my reccomendation or a nikon of same category

For the lense the either the canon 50mm 2.5f prime or the sigma 50 mm 2.8f around 250 $ ( shopzilla) should get you fairly close to the desired 1:1 macro. Though I would prefer something higher such as the 100mm or 105 from canon and sigma respectively.
Unfortunately the total comes out to more than 500$ for the xt & 50mm.

The 12x super zooms can also perform quite reasonably if you couple it with a tripod and zooming in along with manual focus.

Personally, I used the Sony DSC H2 to shoot “macros”. It’s threaded to mount lense adaptors and it’s competent. Of course it is not as good as using an slr with a dedicated macro lense by a long long shot.

Best of luck

SLR or DSLR with a macro lens or a zoom lens with macro capabilities along with a sturdy tripod.

Hi!

If you want some real good photography, you should consider a quality lens..
Look around at for a cheap new one!

Love Kim

SLR

There are two types of cameras u can look for in this price range..

DSLR Like Camera (Around 350$)
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Fujifilm S9600
Canon SX100
Canon G9

Entry Level DSLR Camera (Around 500$ body without lens)
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Nikon D40
Nikon D40X
Canon 350D