Canon EOS Rebel XTi (EF-S 18-55mm Lens, Silver)

Pros: It's a great and reasonably affordable learner-pro camera. It takes beautiful pictures.

Cons: The usually-included lens is less than stellar.

Summary: The thing you have to remember when you buy a DSLR camera in the semi-pro range is that while the camera body is important, the best camera in the world won't do crap without good lenses. And Canon makes the best lenses by a long shot. You can upgrade from camera to camera and their lenses will work for all of them and do a great job. Nikon lenses are good, but not *this* good. Canon is the choice for pros. Don't believe me? Watch some sporting events and keep an eye on the photographers on the sidelines. Every last one of them seems to have the distinctive red ring of a Canon lens, but I've never ever seen the red spot under the shutter release that Nikons have.