Haha ok so I TOO just read this entire 37 page thread and I THINK I know what camera I want but the person posting about it was about 2 years ago.  Sooo my question is, is the 
Canon Rebel XTi still a great camera to go with or has it upgraded to something better since then?  I'm also thinking about the 
Nikon D5000 as well?  I definitely want the 50 mm zoom lens for the blurred background effect as not only am I photographing my pup, I also need it to photograph food for my blog 

  I have SOO much anxiety on choosing a camera as it's such an investment and I don't want to spend more on a camera that isn't as great as something else I could spend my money on (if that makes sense) 
 
  
Any thoughts would be great!  I'm still trying to do all the research on how to take the "perfect" picture, but as this thread shows, it takes A LOT of practice, but this has been so helpful!!  I'm looking forward to my new obsession 
