[Kushism_girl]

You ALL have been extremely helpful! Thank you SO VERY MUCH for your input. I can do my research, now that I have some direction to go off of....

Originally Posted by stanley

It REALLY depends on how much you want to spend--- and what you REALLY intend to do with the camera.

INTENTION: Take nice photos of flowers, where you can see some great detail. Also, something that I can take around on trips, shoot some nice memories.... by no means professional, but better than my little canon pocket-sized digital :)

Things that you should consider---

megapixels--- 10 or 12 is plenty, for bud porn, dont go much below 6.
JUST TO CLARIFY: at least 6 megapixels or more, 12 being virtually unnecessary for my intended use? (I love how you said Bud Porn)

macro mode: how close will the lens sharply focus?
self timer: lets you set off the camera with no camera shake for close-up bud pix
tripod socket---yup a tripod is handy--especially the little table top ones for bud pix...
"hot shoe" for attaching an external flash
what kind of memory cards does it use?? stick with either CF or SD memory cards.
What's better?

Originally Posted by monday

Canon Rebel XTi is a good "halfway pro".

Just remember that it is more about the lens than the megapixels. NASA's mars rover has a 1 megapixel camera, but its awesome lens and hardware make up for it.
What should I take into consideration when selecting the lens??