Opinions On The Sony A330L?

[DogGoneGood]

First and foremost, I spent a good deal of time using the search function of the forum for this particular question.

I found a *couple* threads with a few minor details, but other than that, it doesn't seem to be much else mentioned of this particular camera.

On to the question.

I had my mind almost made up on a Canon Rebel XSi, despite the price still being a bit out of my price range. Money is low, but I really want to upgrade to a nice starter DSLR, and get out of my Fuji S6000.

However, I stumbled this morning upon the Sony A330L. I've search and googled and searched some more and most of what I found seemed to be pretty good reviews on it. I also found someone that had a Flickr account displaying photo's taken with the 18-55mm kit lens, and I was impressed. They seemed nice and clear.

Since I am very new to DSLR's, and very uneducated in all the details of what is what, I'd like to know from those familiar with DSLR's here, if the Sony A330L is a good camera to start with.

I'm sure it doesn't compare to the Rebel XSi, however the price is also a lot cheaper, by almost $200, from the place I would be getting it from. For someone on a tight budget, that's a lot. However, I won't waste my money if the consensus turns out that it's literally a pile of crap or something.

Oh, also again: I'm looking to take mainly action shots of my dogs playing, some photo's of wildlife like birds (and I know I'll need a telephoto for this), and some typical macro shots like flowers and insects.

Opinions on it?