Bujji,


Welcome! I am really new to digital photography as well and while I definitely don't have the experience that the others do, I hope that I can help little. If I were chosing between the 1000D and the 550D I would chose the 550D. You really get more bang for your buck.I can't speak from experince becauseI have the 450D but I really love it. I want to step up to the 7D but like you have already heard, I am getting better glass before I make the jump. On that note, I would also recommend not getting the package deals. I got a kit dealthat came with 2 lensesand while the lenses were OK from what I have already learned I probably would have been better off buying just the body and getting the lens seperate. I started with the 18-55mm IS and it was adequate, until I made the jump to the 17-55MM IS/USM and now I see that there is a huge difference. As far as experience, I have read a couple of books (and asked a lot of questions here) but that only really teaches the basics. What I am finding out now is that the best way to learn is to take lots of pictures. Take one scene or shot that you like and try it a bunch of different ways. Use different shutter speeds, different aperatures and see what changes each time. This way you can practice framing your shot and see what effect each change has so that you will know what setting to change and how to change it when you need to. That is just my advice, hope it helps some.


Good Luck,


Matt