If you haven't already gone to a local Best Buy or other camera shop I would start off by going to one and handling the Canon, Nikon, Sony, Pentax, etc bodies and playing with the controls and menus to see which ones seem most natural to you. I like Canon gear but don't care for their rebel line because it feels a bit small in my hands and prefer the wheel control on the back of their midrange series bodies. If you're pretty sure you would like the Rebel and want to keep initial costs down I would probably go for the T1i with the EF-S 18-55 f/3.5-5.6 IS lens. This is a good starter lens with a wide to midrange zoom and an image stabilizer that will come in handy when you want to take lower light shots of your kids. It is not an actual macro lens but it could still be used to take pictures of your fish and corals. Here is a link to the kit at B&H (a well regarded camera seller) http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...T1i_500D_.html

I would consider adding a Canon 430EX or 580 EX Mk II flash, once you learn how to use a flash it can really improve your images.

There are a lot of tripods out there, I have an aluminum Bogen Manfrotto 3021B with 488RC2 Ballhead and it works really well for me, but it would be heavy for someone who does a lot of walking with it i.e. backpacking, hiking, etc. Carbon Fiber tripods are much lighter but more $$$. If you're going to use one, I wouldn't recommend scrimping on a tripod, you'll probably end up buying a good one down the road anyway and you'll be potentially putting some expensive gear on top of it so you want it to be stable both so you can get good photos and so that nothing drops.


Other items that could be bought at the same time as your camera or later after you have a better idea of what you most need for what you're shooting:

If you want a true Macro lens I would look at the Canon 100mm f/2.8 (approx $520 new), Sigma 105 f/2.8 macro (approx $480 new)or Tamron 90 f/2.8 macro (currently has rebate that makes it $410 new after rebate). They are all good.

For the action, portrait and outdoor shots a Canon 85 f/1.8 ($380 new), 70-200 f/4 L (Currently on sale for $594 new) are both very nice lenses with decent reach that aren't overly expensive.

This is a Canon site designed for helping people to get started with their new DSLRs but taking a look at it now might help with your buying decisions. The concepts could be applied to any of the other manufacturers as well: http://web.canon.jp/imaging/enjoydslr/index.html

This tool can give you an idea of what different focal lengths look like: http://www.tamron.com/lenses/learnin...comparison.php

Camera gear can get quite expensive, I chose to get more into photography a few years ago because I wanted to do a better job of capturing images of my kids growing up. The money I have spent on camera gear did cause me to greatly decrease my reefkeeping budget but I haven't regretted it a bit. Another thing to keep in mind is that GOOD camera gear - especially lenses and flashes hold their value pretty well. If you invest in a nice lens and it doesn't work well for your shooting style you can sell it and use the proceeds to buy something else that works better for you. If you choose to buy used from the start you might be able to sell it with no loss at all.

I hope this helps, I can talk about this stuff all day, just let me know if you have any other questions.