great gear...and the good thing about good gear is you can usually get a good price for it if you decide to part with it....especially when it comes to the lenses you mentioned. Body and lighting will lose a bit more, but not so bad. No matter what, if this is what you want to do with your money, and photography makes you happy....then it's money well spent. Many of us are very concerned about money and this and that, but in the end, if you're not spending your money on clothing/food/shelter, what better thing to use it for than for somethign that makes you happy and can be considered art. GO FOR IT! also, you can always buy used (I buy almost everything used) and save quite a few bucks. The rebates are nice but they take a LONG time and sometimes don't ever come (canon is notorious for it's horrible rebate program). Plus, buying used supports other camera junkies on these forums. Watch the buy/sell page here and on fredmiranda.com and you're bound to find some great bargains.