Thanks for the compliments man. Ill try to explain what I know from learning from others in my experience.

Either way you go, you should start out with an entry D-SLR. Either a Nikon D50 or RebelXt is a great choice. Both cameras have their ups and downs, and you can check out both if you read the reviews at dpreview.

One thing you have to remember is camera bodys go, but lenses last forever. So if you make one purchase and you purchase a wide array of lenses for that body brand, then you should stick with it. I decided personally to go with Nikon. Why? Because Ive always heard good things about Nikon. Not saying the opposite of Canon, just how my photography preferences went. And from my personal experience I dont regret it. My first purchase was a Nikon D50 and still to this day I still have it as a back up. Its a great camera that is easy to setup quickly and quick to navigate various menus. About a month ago I invested in a Nikon D200, almost three times the cost of a D50, but I absolutely love it. American Photo put it side by side with the Canon30D and it beat it. However, some say the D200 is better paired up with the 5D, but of course the 5D cost much more. If you get an XT or D50 you wont be dissapointed with either, and youll learn to love either one of them as a tool. However the D50 is a camera youll grow out of and the D200 is a camera youll go into. The Canons have the L lenses and the Nikons have the ED glass. The Canon has IS and the Nikon has VR. A lot of the stuff is similiar so in the end its up to you. Go to the store and dont be afraid to ask and try out a camera, see which one is right for you. If you want, you can try some of my stuff out sometime if you wanna meet up.


George