Can you suggest a good digital "starter camera?"

i see alot of these cameras on ebay going for about $500, what do u think?

Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi 10.1 Megapixel EF-S 18-55 lens

18-55 lens is for wide angle shots (up close) not particularly good for longer distance shots. Under 28mm you also tend to get distortion around the edges. A 24-105 or 28-300 would be more versatile.

The xti is an excellent buy, good value. I use mine with my older EF lenses from my AF film days. You might want to consider those lenses. Another good buy in the same price range is the Nikon D40x but with this one you have to use the newer digital lenses for full interface. Spend your money on the lenses. The digital bodies don't hold their value like the old film bodies did but good glass stays good glass. I use a 35-70 2.8D lens on my d80. It takes sharp pictures now just at it did 12 years ago on my N90s and ten years from now it will take great pictures on my Nikon d160.

I just recently got the Samsung S73 for under $100 with a 2GB memory card for $20. For being a cheaper model camera, I must say that I am happy with it. Its 7.2 mega pixel and also has a decent zoom to it so I think it would be a good starter camera.

Thanks for the help, i ended up buying this camera (Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi 10.1 Megapixel EF-S 18-55 lens)its a little more than i wanted to spend, but hopfully i can get a couple of years out of it and upgrade to a better lens when I figure out how to get the most out of this one.