What is as good Canon camera to buy for an amateur photographer?

I am a freshman in high school and I took a photography class, and I really liked it. I want to get into it more and decided to buy a new camera. I want one where I can change the settings and stuff like that. I am debating over the Canon Powershot S5 IS, or the Canon Rebel XT.

help?

Can you afford to spend a few hundred dollars (over a period of time) on lenses? Do you want superior quality and control? Yes? Go with the XT. I'm in high school too, and I own two Canon SLRs (XT and K2). You cannot compare an SLR with a point-and-shoot. SLRs provide you with so much more control and accuracy than simple point-and-shoots. Full manual settings (including focus), hundreds of options for lenses, dozens of filters... Etc.

I have a Cannon Power Shot A 410,and it does a very nice job. I took 177 pictures in Hawaii a couple years ago. Check one out!

olympus gives you more value for your money and especially with the E-510 and the E-3 they are really turning up the quality. the canon rebel xt is 8mp where the E-510 is 10mp with lots more features and isn't much more expensive. here's some reviews

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/olympuse510/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciyWOjrbHKQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8_VFgrTaxk

http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/OlympusE510/verdict.shtml

as for where to buy I got my olympus from a company called cameta camera that sells via ebay as well as their store and the cameras have factory warranty but at much better prices usually.

my first digital camera was an olympus E-300 and it was very easy and intuitive to use and the zuiko lenses were made specifically for digital cameras unlike many digital companies that just adapt their 35mm lenses risking quality issues. One other thing is that where the olympus uses the 4/3 standard, it opens the doors to using the renowned leica lenses that are part of the 4/3 standard as well. The E-510 has live view lcd and image stabilization which the canon does not. it also has a super sonic sensor dust removal system the the rebel doesn't have

Get the DSLR CANON XT.

Rule number 1 about digital cameras:

Tell your friends to keep their mitts off it. They do not give a flying f**k if they break it, or steal it and sell it for drugs.

A DSLR is NOT a party camera. Its not a toy.

The Rat

Do you prefer a SLR camera?

Personally, when I picked up my first SLR, I never went back to regular digital cameras ever again.

My friend just bought a Canon XT. (~$500)

I agree with guy above. Canon K2 (~$200) is good also.

As an amateur photographer you may want to buy a Rebel T2 or K2 and start learning how to be a photographer and then start learning how to be a photographer, maybe take a photography class.

Starting with a 35mm camera is how most amateur photographers start learning how to produce excellent photographs

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007WK8KI/ref=noref?ie=UTF8&s=photo