Canon Digital Rebel XT 8MP Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 Lens (Black)

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... Read more

Overview:

Current equipment (recently purchased)

Canon Digital Rebel XT (EOS 350D)w/Lens Kit
Canon Digital Rebel XT "Starter Kit" w/Bag, extra battery, haze filter. Do NOT confuse this with the Digital Rebel (non-XT)starter kit, which is also for sale.
Canon 420 EX Flash
SanDisk CF Type II (1 GB)
Canon Semi-hard Case (EH-18L)
Canon Remote Controller (RC-1)

Experience:

Currently 34 years old, began taking pictures at age 10 with non-SLR type cameras. Previous cameras include Canon AE-1 Film SLR, Sony Mavica MVC-FD90, Sony Mavica MVC-CD250 and Sony Mavica MVC-CD400. I'd estimate that I've taken 10,000 pictures with film cameras over the years (non-SLR, AE-1, A-1 and F-1, the A-1 and F-1 being bodies owned by my father, who is a well regarded semi-professional photographer and former instructor at the local Community College on film photography)and an additional 10,000 pictures with various digital cameras... Read more

I spent three hours yesterday playing with the brand-new Canon Digital Rebel XT digital SLR camera, and man, was I impressed.

I hadn't been too impressed with the original Digital Rebel, except for its revolutionarily low price (for a d-SLR), because it was slow and felt slimsy. The new DR XT is quite different. Even though it's 3 ounces lighter than the original DR -- mostly due to the use of a smaller battery; see below -- its smaller form factor actually makes it feel more solid and "real". In other word, unlike the original DR, this one feels professional, not toy-like at all.

By now you probably already know Canon makes some of the best digital cameras in the world. Even though I'm a Nikon shooter when it comes to d-SLR (sorry, loyal Canon shooters!), I own a couple Canon compact digital cameras and love them, too. The DR XT's image quality is once again excellent. I took a few indoor shots with the camera, both with and without flash, and then the... Read more