Sticking with the client's brief mate
(For those who don't know Grif is a working pro photographer in a particularly demanding area.)
I'd be very interested in what prices folks can find warranted digital SLR body and useful lens coverage at.
As an enthusiast working to the specified budget I'd go traditional film SLR with a couple of decent quality lenses. Images per buck being the key in this price band.
Regards
Rob
PS Mooney - you did well on that branded memory but it is a lottery out there - write speeds vary hugely amongst generic suppliers.
PPS A lightning run around the second hand sites that came up on a quick and dirty search showed them trying to cling to the 400 mark for Canon.