I am about to buy a Rebel XT from a friend for $650. Good deal yes?
I'm a complete beginner like Beet was...what do you all suggest as my first lense for everyday shooting all-purpose shooting?

 

oops, I meant CLpower, not beet

 

One that doesn't have an extraneous "e".

Seriously though, what's your budget?

 

$500 at the most.
It's ok if we let this thread die, I just read the WHOLE CLpower DSLR thread and I think it's going to come down to either the 17-85 IS or the 28-200...

 

The 17-85 IS is a great walk-around lens and the IS is quite handy. If your budget is $500, look no further.

Down the road, you can easily add to your lens lineup if you desire. Other complementary lenses would be the 10-22 EF-S and the 70-200 f4L or 70-300 f4-5.6 IS.

 

The 70-200 F4L lens is by far, probably one of the best bang for the buck Canon L series telephoto lens you can buy.

I'm likewise a big fan of the 17-40 F4L lens as well. Combined, however, you are over $1,200 for both pieces of glass.

Don't forget the multiplication factor of 1.6x due to the imager on your XT so any lens you buy, multiply by 1.6 and you will have the correct value of the lens.

 

Every forum I've been looking on says the TAMRON SP AF 28-75MM F/2.8 is the best bang for your buck on a main lens. I am ordering one this week and then I would get a 70-200mm F/2.8L ($1100) or an F/4L ($600)

 

I'm getting the Tamron 28-75 f/2..8 as well as a EF70-300IS as my two all purpose lenses. In addition I ended up getting a couple primes as my first two.

 

The tamron is a great standard zoom on a FF body, but it's kind of long on a APS-C (45-120mm equiv.). I know I'd definitely want either a 10-22 or 17-40 to complement it. My 17-40 spends most of it's life on the wide end, and often I still want something wider.

 

I love my 17-85IS


in all honesty, the kit lens can be picked up for $50, it's a great lens for the price