G/R, Thanks for the link...we don't have a Costco anywhere near us, here on the mtn, so we don't "belong" to it.

At the risk of dragging this thread out ad infinitum, I have settled on Canon, but
undecided on the species. The 40D gets my eye, even slightly more than the
50D...I was hunting around for more info/opins on the net, vis a vis your comment
in another thread, on the 40 vs 50:
"The 50D has 15MP the 40D has 10MP, but the pixel density is different so some people like the 40D better" ...

Do you have a source or forum that came from?

I am really after the 17-85, as I like/shoot 17/18 mm focal length often.
Thank you. mD