It never ends!!!

Hmmm...let's crunch numbers:

40D - $1299
50 f/1.8 - $69

Total - $1368

30D (used) - $800 (roughly)
50 f/1.4 - $285

Total - $1085

To me, going the 30D + 50 f/1.4 is the better choice. The 30D is a solid performer and the 50 f/1.4 is a phenomenal lens. With the leftover money, you could get a CF card and maybe extra towards a 430EX.

Bodies come and go but good glass lasts almost a lifetime. Go with the glass. You can always upgrade to a 40D later.

Good luck

In my opinion it is way too early in the production cycle to buy the 40D. Does not seem like a good move. I would get the 30D and the lens. And with the money you save get her a flash. She will appreciate that much more than the extra bells and whistles that the 40D may give her.

People say glass lasts a lifetime, but from the upgrade-itis that goes on here and with other glass addicts, I'm not so sure about that.

40D and whatever else you can afford.

Get the 40d with the kit lens 28-135. Thats a deal of a lens for just a couple hundreds more dollars. This kit will allow a wide range of photography.
Forget the 30D, there is newer technology in the 40D thats worth having. And if shes not a pro it maybe the last camera she buys (or gets as a gift)
OR
Give her a card telling her she getting a new Canon and let her help decide what works best for her.

40d and the nifty, not an option you listed but the nifty is like 75 bucks and solid.

Enough of this 40D nonsense. A 30D with a decent lens is better than a 40D and a cheap lens cause you ran out of cash. Get her a 30D and you can tell her you have matching cameras (girls love that sorta thing) and a lens that you don't have (a 28-135 IS since you said she likes portraits) and you two can switch between the two.

V8Rumble wrote in post #4237008
Enough of this 40D nonsense. A 30D with a decent lens is better than a 40D and a cheap lens cause you ran out of cash. Get her a 30D and you can tell her you have matching cameras (girls love that sorta thing) and a lens that you don't have (a 28-135 IS since you said she likes portraits) and you two can switch between the two.

You can probably get a 40D w/ 28-135 for less than a 30D w/28-135 these days.

Get her a 40D and get a relative to buy her a 50f1.8 That way she can play on Chrimbo day. Don't forget to charge the battery!

I know I am going to sound like the Grinch now, but this is one of the reasons to hate Christmas and the like. People fretting and getting upset, practically putting themselves in the poorhouse for a gift and then still worried about it going wrong or someone being disappointed. It strikes me as rather sad.

I doubt she'll be disappointed with whatever you give her, but I still say that something that works out of the box on the day would be best.

Give her a 40D - the 30 will date fast now that the standard pixel count has gone up.

Especially as you are giving her such a nice 'kit' lens to go with it!

Nothing says 'I love you' like a Canon.