Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT (with 18mm-to-55mm lens, Black)

Pros: Great image quality, low noise, lots of lense options

Cons: Some button arrange moment, control quirks and kit lense

Summary: This is absolute the best dSLR for the price range of under $1000. Its image quality is as good as the Canon 20D, if you can forgo some of the more advanced features in 20D (more custom functions, higher ISO boost, etc), the money saved by buying the Rebel XT will net you a very good quality lense!! Go for the Tamron 28-75mm for a great deal on a sharp lense and a L glass for a telephoto if you can swing it, togeterh with the kit lense then you will have the most of shooting range covered!! Image quality is superb, very good saturation/contrast. With DIGIC II, you've got the best noise performance on the market, almost bar none!!
A few little quibbles about the camera is the access to some frequently changed options (ISO setting, meter mode, WB) is a bit awkward. Could use a custom ajustable color temperature setting. And the soft focus of the kit lense, I knew it was probably a mistake to pick up the kit lense but I did anyway, and my instinct was proven correct. The kit lense is soft and have some chromatic aberation issues, but usable. A canon USM wide angle zoom would really be what's needed to bring quality to the image. But the 18-55 kit lense is probably a 6 on a scale of 10, it's got decent angle of view, but the lense is slow and soft!! AF on the kit lense is fast, and the lense is LIGHT!!