It was prompted by the fact that we've now booked tickets to Europe for September and I wasn't going to accept using the shitty Olympus 5MP P&S from years ago to document this trip!
The reason I bought the XS is because Tom said he'd give me his XTi kit lens, for free and there was a guy on CL selling an XS for a decent price w/ warranty card and receipt and all. Not bad.
I looked long and hard at other models from Nikon to Pentax to Olympus to Sony but I basically ended up with the feeling that any of these models would probably work out well for me. The free lens from Tom sealed the deal above anything else I could get at a store or even as a package, used.
I've been wanting a camera for a while. Me happy!
I'll let you guys know how it works out. Tom will be bringing the lens with him to Portland so I'll have it in almost exactly one week. After that, I'll be the new Mr. Tibbs on the phorum. Just you watch, just you watch...
Shoot a TON of pics, and do it in manual. That was the best advice I got. Because I shot stuff in manual at first it forced me to learn, and still does. Now that I am using fully manual lenses I'm learning even more. It's frustrating at first, but I think it made me a better photographer (like that was hard!). 
