Camera Suggestion?

[Clever]

I'm new here and not sure if this is the appropriate section to post this but I'm having a bit of a dilemma.

I'm new to photography and want to get into it as a hobby, nothing really serious, just something to do during my free time/when I travel.

I have a couple of old 35mm SLRs that my grandmother gave to me after my grandfather passed, but I wanted to get a DSLR to get some practice on so I'm not wasting a ton of money on film, but I digress.

I was originally looking at the Canon Rebel T2i, but my friends that are into photography all have Nikons, so swapping lenses with them couldn't happen.

Then I came across the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2 and am kind of swaying towards that because I was impressed by some of the reviews for the price of the camera.

Is the G2 worth buying? Does anyone have experience with this camera? Otherwise, I may just buy the D5000.

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[Light Artisan]

What kind of film SLR's are they? If they are Nikon you might be able to use the lenses (if there are any) on a new Nikon.

 

[Clever]

One is a Pentax k1000, the other is a Canon (not sure of the model, haven't pulled it out in a while)

 

[sobolik]

In theory if you want to be in the same position someday "my grandmother gave to me" Then buy an DSLR. But then again it is an electronic device so that is out the window in reality as far as the camera body goes. The lenses may get passed down however.

Your "I'm new to photography and want to get into it as a hobby, nothing really serious, just something to do during my free time/when I travel." suggests to advise you to buy anything you want if the first paragraph does not apply. If you think that you may want longevity then get a DSLR system.

The K1000 has trained near 3 million people in it's day. If it works give it a go and learn. It is also a great back woods away from electricity option. You can dump it out of a boat and dry it out. It will probably still work and the film produce photos.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentax_K1000