Yeah, I'd hate to add up all the hours spent reading dpreview.com lens forums trying to find the general consensus on lenses. The only one I could come up with is that _everyone_ thinks the lenses they have are the best choice (an obvious conclusion, now that I think about it).

Great forums there, if you haven't visited them. Lots & lots of traffic with some really good input.

I have to say that I agree with you about the feel of the Rebel. My friend has one and I got a chance to use his when I visited him a few weeks back. Even compared to my old A2E film back, which is plastic, it felt really small & inconsequential. I know the sensor's the same, but I'd be worried taking it about, I often take mine on hikes. He'd already worn the silver surface off near the grip due to about a month's heavy use (~2k photos) in India.

-Zeke