Best, most user-friendly SLR Digital Camera for beginning photographer?

Well, let me start out by saying that I have a Digital Rebel XT. I studied long and hard and tried to find every review I could before I made my decision. I kept coming back to the fact that the Rebel seemed to be the winner in terms of quality of picture.

As far as my opinion goes I will tell you that if you are looking for a high end point-and-shoot then the Rebel maybe more than you need. It IS a GREAT point-and-shoot but its strengths lie in the fact that it has many many options for those who want a lot of manual control too. You can really take this camera a long way towards some of the higher end pro-sumer cams. That is not to say that it is but a lot of professionals carry this camera as a back-up.

In answer to your question, I can't give you a specific alternative other than to say there are a lot of great cameras that don't have as many features as the Rebel XT but that would be just great too. You have to ask yourself if you just want to take great lookin' pics or if you really want to take on more of what photography can give you. The Rebel XT is a great starting place if you want the option to take control once you have the hang of it.

One less-expensive way to do the learning is to either buy a film-based camera (the lenses will probably work with the digital as well as long as you buy from the same manufacturer), or just buy a point-and-shoot. A good point-and-shoot will have the same manual functionality as you'll have with a DSLR. You should also be able to get filters for the camera as well. I actually purchased a Nikon 995 first to learn about digital manipulation and when I outgrew the capabilities I picked up the Canon Digital Rebel about 6 months after it came out.

I'd recommend the Rebel though the Nikon D50/70's look good too.

i considered getting the canon powershot g6 before i got the rebel xt.

Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-T1 Digital Camera

i have two, one for me and one for my brother. it is absolutely awesone. plus it takes movies. big screen. very easy to use. retails 550.00. got mine on ebay for 185.00. in excellent condition. i use it to take pics of stuff im selling and family ... very very easy. can transfer images to computer. hope this helps.