Good recommendations here. I did a bit of research and found the Canons to be good cameras (lots of manual features not available on similar cameras from other manufacturers etc.) and eventually decided to buy an A70 as a good copromise between cost and features.
Then I found an interesting website that other Canadians might be interseted in:
Red Flag Deals
Lots of people finding some quite incredible deals (on just about everything) and posting them for all to take advantage of (while they last). Anyway, I found a good deal on an A70 from Future Shop, refurbished for CDN$299 with the help of that site. Can't beat that in Canada as far as I've seen. I'm still waiting for it to arrive so I'm not sure how good a deal it was (refurbished, not new) but it comes with a 1 year warranty so at least I'm safe for that time.
I think this deal is no longer available (I ordered mine last week) but similar deals pop up there quite frequently.
In Canada we're at a bit of a disavantage compared to our friends in the US. We don't have a multitude of on-line dealers selling these things for almost cost. By the time these same deals get up here with duty, taxes and shipping charges they're not such good deals anymore. But, with the above website, we can at least help each other to take advantage of the great deals when they pop up.
Anyway, if you're looking to save some money this is a good way to do it. If not then get out and support your local camera dealers. Quite often the service you get at these places far outweighs the money you save from on-line retailers.
Just my CDN$0.02
