Hmmm ... Donald is right in what he's saying bowingtomymaster :) ... but if you never used analog cams, i can't see any reason why you should start with that right now. And if you did, one more reason to go digital.

I'm using a digital rebel and i'm happy with her .. as are a lot of other people i know (look into the gals of Kropot or RedundantlyAbundant, Zuulan and many others). The Nikon D70 for sure would be a great choice too .. depends if you're more into wide angle (Nikon) or tele-lenses (Canon). The Nikon is a little bit more expensive - though a little bit better as it seems.

But if you don't want to spend one hell of money (into lenses), you could also consider buying one of the new 8 MP-Cams as the Sony F828, Minolta A2 or that Canon. They can't really compete with any D-SLR with good lenses, but if after buying your D-SLR there's no money for lenses, you won't be happy with that decision too. In that case, think about the Sony or her competitors .. 1000 bucks and that's it.

But if a quick AF is important to you (as it is to me) don't ever forget, that nothing can compete with a SLR (be it Canon or Nikon) with a good lens ... :)

As Antonia already told - analog can be (a lot) cheaper - in the beginning (lenses are the same, but that analog body is 1/4 of its digital brother ... sigh). On the other hand - digitally i try ten times to get that image of that launching swan .. one of em will hopefully be ok, the others will be deleted at no cost. Not the best way to really learn things, but a great way to save money. Would you really try 50 shots of one sunset with an analog cam?

Just my 2ct :)
Tom