I have had my Canon 40D for about 5 months now and it has been working great. I had a Canon XT before and this is so much nicer. The best part in my opinion is the 3 inch screen. On the XT, the 1.8 inch screen was a little too small and you can’t tell sometimes if the picture turned out blurry. I also like the lens cleaning function which is also on the Canon XTi which cleans the lens sensor everytime you turn it on and off. On my Canon XT, after returning from Burning Man, there was definitely dust on there that I had to clean up. The feel of the 20/30/40D bodies is also nicer and feels sturdier. I like the control of the circular spinning selector thing next to the display as opposed to just using buttons on the XT. Changing the aperture and shutter speed are faster and more convenient. Changing the ISO and white balance is also pretty easy similar to the 20/30 bodies. The live view is a unique functionality on the 40D but the problem with the live view is that you need to use manual focus as it does not autofocus. This works great if you are using a tripod or connecting the camera to an external display. For normal people, I think the Canon XT/XTi are awesome cameras and for people who are a little more into photography, the 40D is an even better camera.