i would recomend the rebel as well. If you look on this site
www.dpreview.com they have reviews of both cameras. I would definatly choose the dreb over the sony no competition. You might also want to look at the nikon D70. Its a little more exspensive but has a few features that the dreb does not and has a better package lense than the dreb. Just to throw in a nother option. As for a lense, either company you go for whether it be nikon or canon(ive counted sony out not that great of a camera for the money) get for canon the 70-200 F4L or the Sigma 70-200EX F2.8. Both lenses are very fast and produce very good pictures. You also have to keep in mind the crop factor where the dreb is 1.6x and the D70 is 1.5x so the 70-200 would seem like it is 112-320. Both cameras are going to be fairly quick so you probably wont need to worry about that. Just the little things.