Newbie

[Agata]

I am new to digital photography and never used anything better than a Canon PowerShot A95. I would like to start using something more serious now and need to know what I should look for. I need something that will last me a while and would be good for macro shots. Also, if there are any suggestions on good books to invest in that would help me learn about this new hobby would be great. :P
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0608/06082416canoneos400drebelxti.asp
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0708/07082010canoneos40d.asp

[smc1377]

Both of those cameras will work well. But macro shots, or any kind of shots for that matter, mostly depend on the lens you buy. When it comes to DSLR's, the lens is almost always the part that most determines your capabilities and limitations.

[Saralonde]

How much money is in your budget? If you want to do macro, you'll need to include room in it for a macro lens.
As for books, try Understanding Exposure (http://digital-photography-school.com/blog/understanding-exposure-by-brian-peterson-a-reader-review/), The Digital Photography Book (http://digital-photography-school.com/blog/the-digital-photography-book-by-scott-kelby-review/), and Complete Digital Photography (http://digital-photography-school.com/blog/complete-digital-photography-by-ben-long-book-review/).
There is also a free course at Morguefile (http://www.morguefile.com/archive/classroom.php).

[RexK_Cozumel]

Like everyone else has said already it is the lens that will limit you as far as the type of photography you are talking about. In reality the only big difference between camera bodies is stuff like FPS (frames per second) megapixels (only important if you are doing a lot of editing/cropping and or printing large prints) focusing points/groups (Really not important if you are doing macro work as you will find that manual focus is the way to go for macro)

The brands of cameras I think will be more important because you will find it difficult to find lenses on some brands. The safe bet is to go with one of the big two. Canon or Nikon. Depending on your buget I would look at the D80/Xti or if you are looking for a cheaper pairing D40/D50(used)/D70(used)/Xt. I think the other camera bodies (D200/D300/30D/40D) are going to be a waste of money in your situation since the major differences between those cameras and the entry level DSLRs lies mainly in the image buffer/FPS/focus points all things that you will not be concerned with shooting macro. It would be much better to get one of the entry level DSLRs and spending the money that you save on a nice macro lens and maybe another lens or two so you can do some other types of shooting other than macro.

[JAHphoto]

Either of those cameras would be great, but the 40D's only real atvantage over the XTi is the FPS and buffer, which are only really important in sports or wildlife photography. The 40D is also bigger, and I would suggest going to a camera store and holding each one in your hands to see which one has a better feel for you.

As far as macro.. thats all in the lens. Both of those cameras are available with a kit lens, which are good quality for the extra you pay to get the kit lens, but none of them have strong macro capabilities (the 40D can have a 28-135, which is a semi macro lens, not true macro)
Both sigma and canon make good macro lenses for those two cameras, from 50mm to 180mm - so it depends if you want a cheaper macro lens that you have to get very close to the subject to use, or a more expensive one that lets you be futher away (a bonus when shooting bugs or something that will move if you get close.) I'm personally looking into a Sigma 150mm macro.. good quality, lets me get kinda far away, but retains the faster f/2.8, where the 180mm goes to f/3.5, meaning you cant get as much background blur if you want it, and there has to be more light on your subject.

[Agata]

Thank you all for your thoughts and advice.

My budget will be about $1,200 and I'll wait until after Christmas for some sales *crosses fingers*. I've also got good feedback on Nikon so I'll start checking on that too. :-)

[JAHphoto]

For around $1200 you could grab a XTi with the kit lens and a 100mm macro (a nice one), if ya shop around online for a good price. (Ocassionally I see the XTi for pretty cheap online, I think theres someone out there selling it for $600 with the kit lens..)

And yeah, Nikon is very good as well, I'm sure you could find a Nikon setup to fit you

[Agata]

Cool thanks! :-D