Thanks Guys,
Dennis you're making me pine for the ol' Mewlon 180 with those shots
Ok it looks like the 40D is worth serious consideration (just what I need, more choice

) and that Live Mode is a good thing
Apart from taking pictures of things far away I like taking pictures of things that are very close (e.g. coins, beads etc). Does the standard lens/body kit come with any form of Macro mode either optical or digital?
cheers,
Rob