Help with a DSLR purchase/research

[martini]

This here is my first post. I've been a participant on MTBR for a long time, but as I get more and more interested in Photography, I found myself coming here an' lurking more. I'm getting to the point where the standard digi point/shoot's just aren't cutting it for what I think I can do with a camera. So I've started looking at DSLR's. Things down the road may let me afford one of these sooner than I thought, so I thought I'd ask in here what the real differences will be for me.

Firstly, I'm an amature at best, with an occasional "Damn! I took that?" shot. I'm looking to get better though, and think that a bit more of a sophisticated camera can help me get there. The systems I'm looking are the current fav of the Nikon D70, and the Canon 300d/Rebel. I like the prices I'm finding of the Rebel better, but what would I be giving up from the D70? Durability? Photo quality? Ease of use? I'll be using it in woody/dirty situations, though I won't be draggin it through muck and such, it just won't be in pristine evirons. One of the keys for me at least, in going DSLR are more manual controls. I'm kinda tired of having only a few options, y'know?

And finally a few shots I think are ok. All on the same day too. Was feeling 'on' I guess. Taken w/a crappy Sony DSC-P92.

Edit: ok after some more searching I've found the Pentax *ist DS as well. Similar price range, but very few reviews. I like the smaller size as I'll be carrying this in my pack. Thanks folks.