I should say first off that I'm very much a beginner. I've been researching cameras for the past couple of months, and I've narrowed it down to the Canon 40D. This will be my first SLR camera, and now that I know what I want, I just need to figure out where to buy it from. I'm finding this decision to be more difficult than it should be. I'm finding the price is ranging from $449 to $1299 on the internet for the body only. The local camera shop has it at $1299 as well. Why is that? This price range is crazy. How can some dealers sale this camera for $1299 when there's so many other dealers selling it for so much less. It would seem as though the $449 is a no brainer, but with such a broad price discrepancy, I can't help but wonder, what's wrong with these cameras? How is the $449 camera different from the $1299? Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.