The Canon Rebel Xti / EOS 400D as the best SLR for advanced photographer

Sony has released their A100 and Nikon have previewed their D80. Both companies have talked of increasing their market share. In the meantime, there has been no word from the company with the biggest market share. We knew something big was coming from them and it looks like today could be the day.
First up is the highly anticipated 400D. Sources suggest this will replace the 350D and will be called the “Digital Rebel XTi” in the US. The Canon 300D is known as the Rebel over the pond and the 350D is their Rebel XT. None of this is yet official but the spec sheet appears to be a major upgrade to the 350D - larger screen, upgraded buffer and all the usual hype. It looks like it will have a healthy 10.1 MP (on a par with the D80 and A100) and possibly use the acclaimed auto focus system from the 30D. Most interesting for many prosumers is the talk of a two-phase dust removal system. The first phase sounds similar to Sony's - anti static materials plus a vibrating sensor. The second phase is rather cunning and reminiscent of the “dust off” feature in some of Nikon's software. Take a snap of a blank wall so you get just the dust and tell the camera to remove the dust it sees from all future pictures. The EOS 400D is imple, elegant, and much nicer than doing it in post processing as in Nikon Capture. If these details are true then it may leave the Nikon D80 lagging a little, if the entry levels from both Canon and Sony have dust removal because the D80 doesn't.
The Canon EOS 400D / Rebel XTi features
- 10 megapixel CMOS sensor
- Separate low pass filter with ultra-sonic vibration to remove dust
- Anti-static coatings on sensor surface, software based dust mapping / removal
- Nine area Auto Focus sensor (same as EOS 30D)
- Picture Styles, larger range of image parameter adjustment (same as EOS 30D)
- Faster image processing
- Removal of control panel LCD display now uses main LCD monitor
- Proximity sensor below viewfinder eyepiece to disable main LCD during composition
- Camera settings made on main LCD (such as metering, white balance, ISO, AF area etc.)
- Setting adjustment saved with half-press of shutter release
- Continuous shooting buffer up to 27 JPEG and 10 RAW images
- Large 2.5" LCD monitor with 160° viewing angle
- Image magnification available in record review
- Histogram available as brightness (Luminance) or RGB (Red, Green, Blue)
- Traditional Chinese language (in addition to Simplified Chinese)
- Up to 9999 images per folder on storage card
- Lower introductory list price ($100 lower)