I see today that the Canon Digital Rebel XT (my camera) and the 20D are both on sale at considerably reduced prices at the Dell Home Store. The XT is available for about $700 and the 20D is available for $1125. Both are body-only and these prices require coupons.

In the past, I’ve seen Dell offer low prices like this when a product is first introduced (to grab the initial sales perhaps, but not in this case), when a product is going to replaced by something newer (it could happen), or just because.

I considered the Rebel XT and the 20D before I upgraded by digital camera earlier this year. I could have gotten either but for my purposes, the XT turned out to be a better choice than the 20D. The smaller and lighter body are a definite advantage since I often use the camera while hiking or backpacking. Not incidentally, the XT fits into a smaller case as well. (I use the Tamrac Zoom 14.) If the 20D took better pictures I might have made a different decision, but the image quality of the XT is essentially identical to that of the 20D. The 20D does have a more flexible and powerful interface, or so I hear, but this isn’t a big deal for the kinds of photography I usually do.

The Canon EF-S 17mm-85mm IS lens works well with this camera and is usually all I need. (Not that I couldn’t think of ways to spend a lot of money on additional lenses if given the opportunity. ;-)

Now, if the price on the just-announced Canon 5D (12.8 megapixel, full-frame, and about the size and weight of the 20D) would just drop by an equivalent amount…
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