I have the Canon Rebel XT and it's wonderful. The body is so much more lightweight than a traditional SLR. The auto setting is great, and is what I use most, but you can do all kinds of arty, low-light things with it too and it's wonderful. I especially like that I can focus on incredibly close things. I couldn't get with a foot of anything with my Sony Cybershot.
I have to take photos of houses all of the time as part of my job as a real estate agent, and this camera really delivers. It takes great snapshots of my soon-to-be four year old too!