SLR camera with autofocus and zoom lens?

Ko.Fe. said:

But pictures taken with plastic Rebel and zoom lens brought me back to film.
The only disadvantage is - pricey batteries.

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If you add one of the accessory grips, the package is larger, but you get to use AA batteries.

Bobkins said:

no, don't use bulk
yes, dust and scratches are my problems

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Without wishing to be too snippy, until you get your processing sorted it doesn't matter what camera you're using, all your negatives will look like they've been left on a dancefloor for an evening.

That said, bear in mind SLRs are using 15-30 year old technology, and a slow zoom lens will only add to autofocus woes. A well set up manual film camera is as quick as anything out there, but I sometimes use a Canon 3000n with 40mm pancake lens. It's pretty quick and sharp, but next to useless with a zoom in all but brilliant light, and not fast even then. The main reason I use it is it fits in a pocket.