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Aargh. I wrote a very long post and lost it in family Christmas chaos before I submitted it.
I'd advise you to consider one of two systems: Nikon DSLR or Micro Four Thirds (Olympus/Panasonic). They'll both give you excellent images, but Micro Four Thirds has a wider variety of affordable prime lenses. In general, Canon DSLR's, while competent enough, are better at video work; Nikon has better sensors and a wider variety of affordable and excellent prime lenses.
You want to spend as much of your budget on lenses as possible; lenses are the things that really let you do stuff. All modern cameras will take excellent images, and extra features are more conveniences than things that will truly improve your work. Really, when you're picking a camera body, you're picking which set of lenses you will be able to use on it.
Here's a quick primer on lenses: they've got two numbers you should pay attention to, focal length and maximum aperture.
Focal length is, basically, how wideangle or telephoto a lens is. 35mm on Nikon (or Canon) or 25mm on Micro Four Thirds roughly corresponds to the way the eye sees the world; bigger numbers are more telephoto, smaller numbers are more wideangle. Zoom lenses are lenses that can change their focal length; for instance, Nikon likes to include an 18-55mm lens with their cameras.
Maximum aperture is the amount of light a lens can gather. It's measured in f/numbers; lower numbers gather more light. Wider apertures do two things: they gather more light, letting you shoot in lower light conditions with less grain, and they give you a narrower depth of focus. Sometimes this is annoying, but often it can be used in dramatic ways to throw a background out of focus for things like portraits.
Lenses that don't zoom ("prime lenses") tend to have wider maximum apertures. For instance, the Nikon 18-55 that comes with their cameras is f/3.5 at the wide end and f/5.6 at the long end, but there is also a Nikon 35mm f/1.8 that gathers far more light. (It's $150 or so; if you go Nikon, you probably want to get this lens. It's excellent.)
My advice would be to get a used Nikon or Micro Four Thirds camera body along with its kit lens. If you go Micro Four Thirds, be aware that some of the bodies available don't have viewfinders; you probably want a viewfinder. If you can find a used E-M5 or E-M10 (Olympus) for $500 or so, this is excellent; the E-M5 is an older high-end camera body that is just excellent in a great many ways. For Nikons, look for a D5100, D7000, D3200, or D3300. (The D3100 might also have a modern sensor; I'm not sure. I can find out later if you find a good deal on one). On the Nikons, the first digit of the model number is the "tier", where D3xxx is entry-level, D5xxx is mid-tier, and D7xxx is high-tier. They'll all take the same images, though: the higher tier cameras are a bit bigger and have more buttons for direct access to things so you don't need to use the menus as much. From your description, I'd look at the D5100 first and see if you can get a good deal on one.
Shoot with the kit lens for a few weeks, getting to know your camera and figuring out what other lens you want. Do you want to shoot in lower light with less depth of field, or want absolute maximum pin sharpness [this is less important than you might think]? You want a prime lens. On Nikons, the main options are a 35 f/1.8, 50 f/1.8, or 85 f/1.8 (a little pricier). On Micro Four Thirds, you can choose between a Panasonic 14 f/2.5 or 20 f/1.7, or Olympus 25 f/2.8 or 45 f/1.8. (All of these are excellent.) Choose the focal length based on what you like to shoot. For portraits you want the longer end of this range (50 or 85 on Nikon, or Olympus 45, which is the best portrait lens I have ever used).
Do you want to shoot wildlife? You probably want a longer focal length telephoto lens. Nikon makes 55-300 f/5.6 or 70-300 f/5.6 zoom lenses, or a 55-200 for a bit less money. On Micro Four Thirds, your options are an Olympus 40-150 (really not a bad lens) or Panasonic 100-300; keep in mind that the same focal length is about 30% more "zoomy" on Micro Four Thirds due to the smaller sensor. (Some people will tell you that smaller sensors give you lower image quality. It really doesn't make much difference at all.)
There are lots of options out there. Both of these systems will also let you use ancient manual focus lenses, many of which are quite good optically. Modern Nikons can use any Nikon lens ever made, while Micro Four Thirds cameras can use basically *any* lens ever made with an inexpensive adapter.
Some good sites you can poke at are:
www.dpreview.com (camera reviews)
www.slrgear.com (lens reviews -- it's easy to get overwhelmed by the choices)
www.fredmiranda.com (buy and sell forum)
or you can ask me here if you have any questions about something.
Aargh. I wrote a very long post and lost it in family Christmas chaos before I submitted it.
I'd advise you to consider one of two systems: Nikon DSLR or Micro Four Thirds (Olympus/Panasonic). They'll both give you excellent images, but Micro Four Thirds has a wider variety of affordable prime lenses. In general, Canon DSLR's, while competent enough, are better at video work; Nikon has better sensors and a wider variety of affordable and excellent prime lenses.
You want to spend as much of your budget on lenses as possible; lenses are the things that really let you do stuff. All modern cameras will take excellent images, and extra features are more conveniences than things that will truly improve your work. Really, when you're picking a camera body, you're picking which set of lenses you will be able to use on it.
Here's a quick primer on lenses: they've got two numbers you should pay attention to, focal length and maximum aperture.
Focal length is, basically, how wideangle or telephoto a lens is. 35mm on Nikon (or Canon) or 25mm on Micro Four Thirds roughly corresponds to the way the eye sees the world; bigger numbers are more telephoto, smaller numbers are more wideangle. Zoom lenses are lenses that can change their focal length; for instance, Nikon likes to include an 18-55mm lens with their cameras.
Maximum aperture is the amount of light a lens can gather. It's measured in f/numbers; lower numbers gather more light. Wider apertures do two things: they gather more light, letting you shoot in lower light conditions with less grain, and they give you a narrower depth of focus. Sometimes this is annoying, but often it can be used in dramatic ways to throw a background out of focus for things like portraits.
Lenses that don't zoom ("prime lenses") tend to have wider maximum apertures. For instance, the Nikon 18-55 that comes with their cameras is f/3.5 at the wide end and f/5.6 at the long end, but there is also a Nikon 35mm f/1.8 that gathers far more light. (It's $150 or so; if you go Nikon, you probably want to get this lens. It's excellent.)
My advice would be to get a used Nikon or Micro Four Thirds camera body along with its kit lens. If you go Micro Four Thirds, be aware that some of the bodies available don't have viewfinders; you probably want a viewfinder. If you can find a used E-M5 or E-M10 (Olympus) for $500 or so, this is excellent; the E-M5 is an older high-end camera body that is just excellent in a great many ways. For Nikons, look for a D5100, D7000, D3200, or D3300. (The D3100 might also have a modern sensor; I'm not sure. I can find out later if you find a good deal on one). On the Nikons, the first digit of the model number is the "tier", where D3xxx is entry-level, D5xxx is mid-tier, and D7xxx is high-tier. They'll all take the same images, though: the higher tier cameras are a bit bigger and have more buttons for direct access to things so you don't need to use the menus as much. From your description, I'd look at the D5100 first and see if you can get a good deal on one.
Shoot with the kit lens for a few weeks, getting to know your camera and figuring out what other lens you want. Do you want to shoot in lower light with less depth of field, or want absolute maximum pin sharpness [this is less important than you might think]? You want a prime lens. On Nikons, the main options are a 35 f/1.8, 50 f/1.8, or 85 f/1.8 (a little pricier). On Micro Four Thirds, you can choose between a Panasonic 14 f/2.5 or 20 f/1.7, or Olympus 25 f/2.8 or 45 f/1.8. (All of these are excellent.) Choose the focal length based on what you like to shoot. For portraits you want the longer end of this range (50 or 85 on Nikon, or Olympus 45, which is the best portrait lens I have ever used).
Do you want to shoot wildlife? You probably want a longer focal length telephoto lens. Nikon makes 55-300 f/5.6 or 70-300 f/5.6 zoom lenses, or a 55-200 for a bit less money. On Micro Four Thirds, your options are an Olympus 40-150 (really not a bad lens) or Panasonic 100-300; keep in mind that the same focal length is about 30% more "zoomy" on Micro Four Thirds due to the smaller sensor. (Some people will tell you that smaller sensors give you lower image quality. It really doesn't make much difference at all.)
There are lots of options out there. Both of these systems will also let you use ancient manual focus lenses, many of which are quite good optically. Modern Nikons can use any Nikon lens ever made, while Micro Four Thirds cameras can use basically *any* lens ever made with an inexpensive adapter.
Some good sites you can poke at are:
www.dpreview.com (camera reviews)
www.slrgear.com (lens reviews -- it's easy to get overwhelmed by the choices)
www.fredmiranda.com (buy and sell forum)
or you can ask me here if you have any questions about something.
