best macro camera

I would like to know which would be the best camera to get for macro photography. I am a newbie so am really lost. I want a camera that allows me to plug into a USB port on my computer to view and save the photos (instead of having to take out the card with each photo), the ability to hook up to remote flash (I will be using a light tent), takes a minimum of 12 megapixel photos, and is the cheapest camera with the above features. I have heard from everybody that the lens is the most important thing so the less I have to pay for a camera the more I have to spend on the lens and other stuff. I think I should be able to find something between $300 - $900. It can be new or used. I would think there have been discussions about this already but could not find much in my search.
Patrick

XSi

What kinds of subjects will you be shooting? You might want to consider a Canon G series as well.

I would go with a used rebel and the canon 100mm macro lens

Almost any DSLR camera can be used as a macro. The lens is what makes the difference between a good macro and a bad. The only time I can see the camera making a major portion of the decision is when you have to decide how large a print you want to make. A dedicaed macro lens will give you extremely detailed images when compared to a zoom with macro.

In the first post, you put that you need a minimum of 12 megapixels.

Realize that lots-O-megapixels does not mean better pictures. As a general rule, you only need more megapixels if you're going to be making large prints. For almost all web content, the megapixel count of the camera is absolutely meaningless; you're just going to resize it for screen viewing anyway.

The lens, the lighting, and the photographer are way more important than the megapixel count.

Thanks for all the tips. I will be using the camera to take photos of the decals on antique sewing machines - those dating back to the mid to late 1900's. I will then be enlarging them by about 800%+ to repair them with Photoshop. I will be selling the reproduced and restored decals to antique SM collectors. That's why I need the big megapixels. I had been told by a sales clerk that the Xsi would be a good choice so am now leaning toward that. I would really like the Rebel with 18 megapixel, but after seeing a photo done with a 12 megapixel (for which I paid $100 for the one shot), I think the 12 will work.

xarqi wrote in post #11995675
XSi

yup, XSi

Depending on the size of the decals your shooting you may not need a macro lens. A 50mm 1.8 stopped down with proper lighting can give you plenty of detail pretty cheap compared to a dedicated macro lens. A macro lens may be waisted unless you are shooting something rather small or want to get only a portion at a time.

If you do require more macro type images a 50mm 1.8 with some Kenko tubes would work well also for pretty cheap.