They joy with the digital SLR is the instant replay when experimenting with macro, flash, etc. Hope this help.
I've used a big clunky 35mm SLR til now with varying results.
Manual exposure is provided for D - SLR's using a Sea and Sea Nikonos type sync cord.
Mechanically, it is similar to Canon's popular entry-level digital SLR, the Digital Rebel XT.
Like nic said about moving up from an normal canon SLR thats my reasoning for looking at a DSLR.