here is my 2 cents as a wanna-be "pro" photographer.
As a Canon guy, i can say you will not be un-happy with a Canon. i personally usually shoot with my Canon 1D Mark II, and i would suggest it to anyone, but thats probably a little out of your price range. i also use a Rebel XT for all of my underwater photography. it is a very good camera, and i have heard even better things about the Rebel XTi, which is 10MP and has neat features like a self-cleaning sensor (big bonus). The rebels are a good bit smaller than the 30d, 5d and 1d series, which can be a good thing because they weight less too. they all take CF cards (the 1d series also take sd) which is pretty much the norm nowadays. I would highly suggest getting one of the rebel series.
Take a look over at
www.photography-on-the.net/forum/, and check out the buy/sell section (you may need to register to see those sections), as you can find some great deals on used cameras. whether you buy a new or used camera body is up to you (i have no problem buying used though), and do not be afraid to buy used lenses. you will save yourself a few hundred bucks.
if you do want to buy new, check out
www.bhphoto.com and enter the search code "psnov" and then sort your items by canon brand. this is a discount code which can save you a bit of money. with the code you can get a silver XTi with the 18-55 kit lens for $735 (black is $750), or if ou dont mind going with the XT, you can get it with the lens for $590.
no matter which camera you end up buying, if you do decide to buy elsewhere online, i cannot stress enough how important it is to go to
www.resellerrating.com to check out the shop. there are thousands of grey market, screw you around type shops. good luck, and feel free to email or pm me if you have any questions about certain gear!
