Recommended DSLRs

No, I don't have the film SLR. Talking about lenses, how do you start with it? Would the lens included in the kit offer you quite good flexibility?

The one that came with my camera is the Canon 18-55mm one. It's a pretty good beginner lens, and takes quite good photos. I've had a friends 80-200 on it, and with it on, it takes amazing photos.

I believe that the Nikon has a slightly better lens in the kit then the Canon does (that was the case when I bought mine), but I liked the Canon's picture quality a little more. It was only slightly better, but I did like it more. And I figured I can always upgrade the lens easier then upgrading the camera;)

Yeah you are right about the lens, the 400D has that 18 to something mm. Thanks for the comments!

Thanks for the extensive comparisons, I'm just thinking a lot though if it would be price over megapixels. I love to have the Canon 400D but I'm not pretty sure if the pixel difference with the D40 would be worth the price difference. Can you provide more insights?

A 6MP camera will provide some great shots and make good enlargements available. My Canon is a 6MP and it does well. I am hoping to upgrade in the near future, but 6MP would most likely do you well for learning.

As for lenses, the starter lens with most cameras is an 20-70mm, which is a good lens to start with. You may want a longer zoom lens someday, but for starters, the kit lens will most likely do you well.

One more thing; media card. Make sure you get at least a 1GB card. Even with a 6MP camera, it will only hold about 270 shots. Believe me, you don't want to worry about running out of space on your card when you're having fun shooting.

You can look at some of the shots I've taken with my 6MP Canon.

http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery.mhtml?id=69096

Yeah thanks for reminding me about the memory card. I think it doesn't come with most of the kits and you have shell out another hundred for that. Do you know any shopping site that you could recommend?

Whoa! I've got two 1GB CF cards and didn't shell out more than $20 for either. I got one at Staples and one on eBay. With all the latest advances, they are dirt cheap. Just look for sales.

eBay is a good place, but you have to watch the shipping costs and have in mind a maximum you are willing to bid to. I also use a site, http://www.adorama.com for a lot of my shopping. Their prices are fairly good, but with any store, you just have to watch them. There are a lot of sites out there that offer different packages, kits, if you look for them you can get the camera and lens you want at the price you want. Amazon, Yahoo Shopping, are just a few places you could check.

Thanks for these tips! They would sure help me a lot.

Nikon is also coming out with the D40x, which is 10 megapixels and will be $700.

What is the exact model? 350D or 400D? How much was it?

I have no idea what model. 6.8 megapixels, when I bought it, it was about 800 bucks.

The original digital Rebel is the 300D. You can get them on eBay now for about $400. That's where I got mine.

I think the 300D runs at 6.8 megapixels, the 350D at 8 and the 400D at 10.1. And the 400D now costs around 800 bucks. Would you recommend getting the 400D? I mean is the megapixel difference worth the price?

For me, I started with the 300D, knowing I'm going to upgrade sometime. It was about getting something quick and cheap. The 300D is a 6MP and takes good shots. I have found times when I'd like to have the extra 2 or 4 MPs. The 400D also has a much better rear screen. If you can afford the extra $400, go for it. If you just want something to get your feet wet, that will take good shots while you save for the more upscale one, the 300D or 350D won't disappoint.

Do you have a link for this? I'd like to see what this looks like. Would it work on any other Canon camera?

Thanks for the extra pointers! I'll keep this in mind once I have my camera.

You can go to www.amazon.com enter "battery grip for Canon XT" or any other model you want, in the search and it'll find all options for you.
The XT & XTi uses different grips than the Canon D series.

I encourage you to do that. I had Canon S1 IS and changed it with Canon S3 IS. The difference and quality is amazing. I am in middle of preparation to buy Canon Eos400D, but still keep my S3 camera.

The cheapest deals I have found so far for a Canon 400D is from USAphotonation.com. Have you visited their site? Their cameras are way low in prices as compared to others. Do you think this is a legitimate site?