The minute the 40D was available this camera body dropped almost $300 in price. THe feel and quality of this camera is on par with the 40D...only thing missing is the additional 4 MP and the Live View feature. The 40D offers 12MP, but the 30Ds 8.2 are more than enough. Bottom line: great Pro-sumer DSLR for the money in my opinion. I'm very happy.

Super fast lens and quality for a fantastic price. Can't beat this lens. It feels so solid and balanced when shooting...and this is a big lens. A tripod ring would be nice as part of the package. I've used the IS version, but I didn't see enough of a difference to justify the extra $500 bucks.

Wide angles are sharp. My favorite walk around lens.

The center of a digital photographer's gear...almost as important as the camera itself. If you're traveling and shooting, get an extra battery. I also went with 3 GB ram...believe it or not you'll see a huge difference. Toss in a USB card reader and your set...or just plug straight in from the 30D (it comes with some amazing software, too).

This is a nice extra to keep handy. Takes some getting used to, but it's been a godsend with some fine editing in Photoshop.

I can't say enough about this flash. So versatile ! A bit bulky and eats batteries, but a must have. Get a filter, or be ready to rig up some white sheets and a rubber band to get a much softer light. This does take some time to figure out the finer features, but a programmable flash will give you some incredible shot effects once you get the hang of it.

I was surprised how much I use this device. Every cool night shot and super-long exposure shot depends on this. Don't skip this if you want to get creative and beyond snapshots.