Going to make the switch to DSLR, help!

The 30D will give a lot more room to grow as a photographer than the XS/1000D.

IMHO there really hasnt been huge technology leaps since the 30D was released - additions from it to the 50D are limited to the following:

Higher pixel count - not an issue unless printing over A3
FPS - 1.5 frames per second quicker
3"LCD - 2.5 " in the 30D
ISO range - expanded from 3200 to 12800 (2 stops)
Intergrated cleaning system - vibrates the internal filter to dislodge dust.
Microadjustment for lenses.

All in all, not a huge list of improvements given the age difference! But even the 30D will be a huge advance on the XS/1000D.

Well, to give you guys an update - my parents agreed for my christmas present that they'd go half and half with me on a Rebel XSi, not an XTi, I figured that I might as well because half of a camera is better than no DSLR at all.

I must say, there are a TON of settings compared to my T70 - this is going to take some getting used to.

I have to admit though - this is going to be awesome learning to shoot on a digital now.. Absolutely love the built in flash and how well it works.

Got a perfect picture of my cat attacking the Santa Claus we have at the top of the stairs.. He wanted the ball on the tip of his hat. :P

http://www.norcalcrx.o​rg/images/canon/IMG_00​23.JPG

Congratulations on your new kit!

It will take some getting used to but it is definately worth learning.

Some pieces of advice: RTM (read the manual), have fun, RTM, read other photography books, shoot RAW (its worth it for the latitude on rescueing your mistakes!). Oh did i say read the manual?

congratulations and welcome to the world of lens lust. that fifty everyone thinks is nifty goes for less than a hundred, but I think the deal of the day for you would be a used 100 macro someone is off loading to raise funds for the new 'L' version...it might just spark dads interest in Macro again and he sounds like a good guy to have onboard.

Karl Johnston wrote in post #9119323
Camera bodies depreciate very fast, but not as fast as lenses...lights tend to stay relatively the same and are pretty much invaluable, in fact I should stop looking at these forums so I'm not tempted to buy as many lenses

Wait a second...if you bought an $8k 1D body, it would have commanded $1k on the used market last year...go find any lens that depreciated like a stone in water!