dropthepuppethead

David thanks for the reprieve. Maybe being an expatriated American living in the Czech Republic had made me even more conscious of this, especially my wife (who is Czech) often corrects me :)

Thomas. Yeah those are the American prices (plus whatever it costs my family to ship it to me with a DEMO not for RESALE customs form on it..ehh hmmm). Where are you located?

You can also call a store in the states..search for someone with a good rep on E-Bay. They might be willing to send it to you "on-the-sly". Worst case scenario you end up paying the customs and tax when it arrives (hence the $1399 price) OR you get a deal.

Instead of worrying about the kit lens, which is only good at the wide angle of the range at f8, I would spend the $50 on the Canon 50mm 1.8. It is expensive but a good little lens, and as a designer you will appreciate the shallow DOF that you can get.

Well wait a second. We aren't talking about just $300. You can get the XTi for $659 right now, and the 30D is about $1150. You can get the XTi and a good lens for the price of the 30D alone.

On both you get the super cool 2.5" display and the 9 pt autofocus. Dust removal..emmm..OK cool, especially on a the cheaper model. But here is the real thing to keep in mind...shutter actuation.

The 30D is rated for 100,000 actuations, whereas the 400D is supposedly (Canon does not publish this) somewhere between 25,000-45,000. My Original Rebel 300D's secondary shutter pin sheared off somewhere around 25,000, and the cost to get it fixed is not worth it.

I too am trying to decided between these two cameras and other than feel they match feature for feature. The 30D feels like a real camera and the XTi feels small, even in my relatively small hands. The ergonimic choise for the XT and the XTi were a mistake.

Creavtively you will not see a difference between the two cameras especially if you are new to photography. So you have to weigh this. My 300D lasted me two years, and now I need to buy a new body. Based on the unofficial shutter actuation rating on the XTi, I could be looking for a new camera again in 2-3 years, whereas the 30D (based on shutter actuation) would last me 3-5 years.

In you mind you might think that this is an easy decision. But think about it. In 2-3 year a camera will be available that is cheaper and better than the 30D, but you still have this capital investment that you made. You pay less for the XTi getting the same creative control, and you don't feel as guilty when you go to buy your next one (or when this one breaks).

Hmmm..I think I just convince myself. Guess I am getting the XTi. Hope that helps.