Great great grrreat camera! Save your money on the Rebel XTi and purchase the XT, so you can invest in some nice lenses, filters, etc. A nicer lens will get you a lot farther than a slightly larger LCD screen and 2 megapixels will. Honestly, unless you are looking to blow up you pictures to a full poster size, there is no need for more MP as they don't determine the sharpness of your photos; they determine how large you can blow your prints up while not distorting them.As for the LCD screen, whether you have a 1.8 or a 2.5 inch, the screen is so small that every photo will look sharp until you put it on your faithful computer screen; when the real truth comes out. So regardless of 1.8 or 2.5, you still need to zoom in on every photo on the screen to check for sharpness.This camera does shoot in RAW as well which is always a nice plus.The size of this camera has been a concern for some. I have large hands, as I'm 6'4, and with the added battery pack grip, it fits my hands perfectly. The battery pack is a huge plus anyway for those all day hikes/photo shoots when you don't want to keep changing the battery every few hours.The features/options on this camera are enough to keep every amateur photo enthusiast entertained for years to come, as well as those considering the entry to professional work.As for the kit lens, I haven't used it or seen it in action, but if you are on a budget, the reviews I've read assure me that it will cover all of your needs until you are able to invest in a more expensive lens. (The L series of glass being by far the best way to go when you are looking to make that serious jump).I currently shoot with the Canon 28-135mm IS Standard Zoom lens, which is a great walk around lens in my opinion. I have written a review for that lens as well as the Sigma 10-20mm wide angle lens I recently purchased. The Sigma lens is the first time I've strayed away from Canon Products, but I haven't regretted the purchase for a moment.As for this camera; great camera for a great price.

This camera is amazing! It is my fourth digital camera in the last 8 years. First I had an Olympus 1.3MP (D320L) that took great pictures, but had poor resolution for printing and literally ate my batteries! However, I traveled around the world with it and was perfect! Also, it was pretty fast compared to the two digital cameras that I bought after. Then I bought a Nikon CoolPix 775, 2.1 MP. I was kind of dissapointed because my previous camera took better and more colorful pictures. Also, this camera took very bad pictures with flash, many faces came out just white. However, the battery lasted much longer and the resolution was OK for printing, so I kept it for a while. My third camera was a Sony DSCP150, a powerful 7.2 MP camera, in which you could see the blurriest pictures ever! It was terrible! Also, it was so slow, even with Sony Memory Stick cards, that if you tried to catch a baby making a funny face, probably you would get him gone to highschool or married! I had it for a few months and the decided to buy the Canon Rebel XT... the best choice I've made in these 8 years! The camera is just perfect, great pictures, great resolution, can be as automatic as you want, but also with the flexibility of a SLR camera. Also, not less important, the software that comes with the camera is useful and easy to use, nothig to do with the terrible "picture manager" of Sony, the worst software ever! I'm very happy with this camera. For those that are concerned about the size, compared to a pocket camera, I can only say that the extra size is nothing compared to the great feeling that you will have taking pictures with this camera!

The XT is amazing. The battery comes partly charged so you can immedietly start using the camera (thank you Canon!) I've already shot about 200 pictures with it and the battery hasn't died yet.I can't give you a comparison between the XT and the 20D as I haven't owned a 20D, I can tell you a few things you may wish to know before buying.This camera, is TINY. Extremely tiny. I'm a woman in my early twenties and I have small hands. The camera fits just right in my hands, but honestly, I don't see how someone with bigger hands would be 100% comfortable holding this. If my hands were any larger, they would be slipping off the bottom.I had tried holding a 20D at a camera shop once and it felt too large in my hands to grip. The camera size is perfect for me, but just beware if you have larger hands. You may want to look into the battery grip, or test out holding the camera at a store before you order it. See the picture I uploaded above to get a size relation and how the camera fits in my hands.For anyone who is migrating to this camera from a standard point and shoot digital camera, you cannot frame the image you are about to take using the LCD screen on the back. You must look through the viewfinder. The LCD screen is soley for menu use and preview mode after the picture has been taken, nothing more.Something I've noticed is the camera makes a ratteling sound when moved around. I couldn't figure out what the heck it was, and then I finally reazlized it's the hinges from the pop-up flash. It sounds like they are loose when the flash is closed. I went to Best Buy and looked at their display model, and yep, it has the same problem. Well, it's not really a *problem* but frankly something ratteling around like that sounds cheaply made to me. My Canon film SLR doesn't make that sound.I use a 420EX Speedlite flash with my SLRs so the popup flash doesn't concern me, but it was something I noticed and thought I would share.I love that Canon gave the option to have a black finish over a silver one.The startup time is instantaneous which is absolutely wonderful.The burst mode is excellent with 3 fps.It's extremely quiet.The image quality is excellent. You can get photo quality prints at 20x30, and even then I bet you could push it further.I really can't elaborate more then what other reviews have said. If you are looking for a step into the digital SLR world, this is the ticket. Or you can even check out the newly reduced original Digital Rebel, but for the extra hundred bucks or so, I would just get the XT. You will not be sorry.Two upgrades I would make right away: Get a Speedlite flash and the Canon 28-135mm lens.Also, I don't know why people are submitting bad reviews grading Amazon on shipping for the Rebel XT. When I preordered the XT from Amazon (not from another 3rd party), it said it would be released March 20th. I got my Rebel XT in the mail yesterday (the 22nd) which if you ask me, is pretty darn good. Want something right away? Then walk into a store and buy it instead of ordering from the internet.