advice

[payn817]

I'd suggest going to a store and taking some cameras in hand. Get the one that feels good to you. I personally (just my opinion) don't see the real need for "pro" cameras unsless you are shooting sports, or certain weather situations, such as in a rainforest, or need more than 6mp res. Most of the entry levels have just about everything you would need, and if it doesn't, there's likely a workaround.

So, I would look at entry-level or one step up, and get some good glass with the extra money you have. Bad glass on a "pro" system still won't necessarily beat top glass on an entry level...

Just my $.02, go ahead gearheads, and beat me! I love it!!

[another view]

There's a new 30D coming out, so the 20D should come down in price - maybe to the range in your budget. For books, John Shaw has some good ones like this one. I haven't had it for awhile and can't remember about how it goes over basics, but it is a very good book. Here's another good one on exposure. It may seem like a boring topic to read a book on, but it's really important to learn as much as you can about it so you can get the results that you want.

If you want shallow depth of field, you'll really need to look at an SLR type camera. Compact cameras with smaller sensors use shorter focal length lenses for the same angle of view. For example, a 28-85mm equivalent on a 35mm camera might really be about a 7-21mm lens. Using a 7-21mm lens at apertures of even around f4 or f5.6 will give you tons of DOF. With an SLR, you can get a fast lens of a longer focal length - such as a 50mm f1.8 which is very inexpensive.