I run a Rebel XTi and a 7D, both of which are Canon crop bodies. The newer Rebels pack a lot of features that were considered high end just a few years back. If you are unsure of how much you want to get into this, that would be my recommendation.

Bodies are expensive and don't retain much value over the years. Quality lenses are even more expensive, but retain value quite a bit. If you decided you didn't care for the hobby, you could get more of your money back with a cheap body and high end lenses then the other way around.

A lot of my gun peers who got into photography the same time I did went with Nikon. In general, Nikon bodies seem to have more features than the comparable Canon body, and the lenses are somewhat cheaper. Canon has a rep for quality glass (L series).

If you like photography, be prepared to spend far, far more in gear than your camera costs. I have a top-of-the-line ballhead* (mounts camera to tripod) that is $550, and requires a corresponding bracket which added another $125 to each camera I use it with. I have a cheap tripod at $180, with the lighter, stronger, and more compact ones going for $600+. Couple that with the cost of lenses commonly north of $1K, and hundreds of dollars in filters, remote timers, flash brackets, etc..., and it is more expensive than NFA.

I really like this stuff, and I put time and money into it. I bought books, attended classes, take photography tours, and belong to photography forums. I enjoy spending an hour at the computer processing shots of my kids, etc... But it's time consuming and a lot of stuff to lug around. Since I often want to be part of family events instead of just documenting them, I mostly use a Canon S95, which is a high-end point and shoot with full manual control and takes photos in RAW format. It does 90% of what my DSLRs do, and fits in my pocket. When I do quick-and-dirty faux product photography for the internet, it is usually what I reach for as well.

*My entry level tripod can do this:


Which is useful for low angle work like getting reflections:


This is one of the reasons DSLR tripods are so much more expensive then video tripods.