I was planning on skipping the kit lense and buying me lenses seperately. Good suggestion on the 20D new in-box. If I could find one I would certainly take it over the 30D...the larger display is not very important to me. I am also seriously considering the XTi....decisions, decisions. Thanks all for your input.
There are three (that I can recall) differences of significance between the 20D and the 30D:
- Larger LCD
- Choice of 3 or 5 fps burst mode
- One third ISO stops
The only one of those that's of any real value to me is the last (and if Canon really wanted to, they could release a firmware update for the 20D to do it ... cheapskates ...). The price to upgrade to a 30D is sufficiently high that I'll be holding on to the 20D for some time to come.
On the 400D (aka XTi) - if you can get the 20D, I'd very strongly recommend you do so, rather than the 400D. Maybe it's just me, but I prefer the larger body, and I'm sure it'll be sturdier, too. Must see if I can hold the 400D in my hands one of these days; I think a co-worker bought one recently ... where'd I put that big, heavy lens ...
Lenses for the 20D or 400D - if you can afford it, I'd suggest sticking to EF lenses, rather than EF-S, so you have the flexibility to upgrade to a full frame body down the road if you want to. If that doesn't concern you, the EF-S 17-85mm is probably the best bang for buck; the 17-55 is also an excellent lens (note: that's 17, not 18 - the 18 is the kit lens.) You could also look at the 24- and 28- zoom lenses, but you may find that they're not quite wide enough on the crop bodies. In any case -- good luck!