I agree with above said. However digital will allow you to experiment at no cost. That to me is priceless. Also remember how green digital is. Does anyone have any clue how much film and chemicals wasted on undesirable pics. I know in US we dump about 1/4 of all books printed because of non digital printing technologies that require large quantities. I would have recommended Nikon as well unless you have a lot invested in Cannon lenses. I also recommend you to check out http://www.steves-digicams.com/ in addition to http://www.dpreview.com/ regards back,