i want to get into photography and i have been researching all day lol

i have a sony cybershot 7.2mp but i was looking at the rebel xti's all day.

im planning on getting one that just comes with everything that i need to get started or should i wait and get the XSi?

i plan to use it on capturing paintball photos like this:
http://wichita-mayhem.com/index.php?showtopic=482

most of those were taken with my original camera i have now.

i just want some tips thats all. what lens would work best with this type of photography?

or will the lens that comes with the rebel work fine?

thanks

hmm can anyone give me some advice?

Sorry sometimes posts slip through the cracks.

Any DSLR will produce better photos and perform better than your current set up. That quality comes at a price. The zoom range on a DSLR costs far more than the same range on a compact camera. A DSLR is much heavier and the lenses much larger than your compact. The Xti is becoming a bargain right now with the announcement of the Xsi. The Xti is plenty of camera for what you are doing. The Xsi has 2 more MP 12 vs 10, but that's not really important, 10 is plenty. The Xsi can also take .5 more frames per second: 3.5 fps vs 3.0 fps, if this seems important to you, then maybe wait, but I don't think that little bit more speed will make much of a difference to you. The last biggest difference is in the size of the buffer, the Xsi can hold almost twice the jpegs as the Xti, but then can only hold 6 RAW files vs 10 RAW files for the Xti. A 40D or 1 series might be a better choice, but they do cost quite a bit more.

Remember to budget more money for your lenses than you do for your body. The new 18-55 IS kit lens is a good lens, and is a good place to start. I think the Xsi kit comes with that lens, whereas the Xti comes with the old kit lens. If you are going to get an Xti then I recommend getting the body only and buying the 18-55 IS separately. I also highly recommend the Canon 70-200 f/4L which would provide a good range for your shooting style.

alright thank you so much for all of that information, but that lens you recommended is way to much for me lol. maybe later though when i get more into it. i have just been looking on ebay is there any other place you recommend to buy just a xti body and a lens?

Which lens, the 18-55 IS or the 70-200 f/4? If the 18-55 IS is too expensive, I wouldn't recommend getting into the DSLR world. A camera is basically an expensive light box. The more expensive the body the more convenient it is to get the photo, but basically any DSLR can take any photo with the same quality. The added expense comes in speed, weather sealing, ease of use, build, etc. The lens is far more important than the body, in the end you'll end up spending far more on lenses than on your body.

I wouldn't look too hard on eBay, you'd be much better off buying from an internet etailer such as B&H Photo Video, BuyDig, or Adorama. There is a dealer feedback forum here that can help you with who you may want to purchase from. Another good resource is resellerratings.com, they provide dealer feedback also.