So, the new Canon xsi arrrived. I also got the 100 mm macro lens and have just been playing aorund in the yard with flowers and my kids, etc. So, really I haven't lost anything important. Here is what I did:

took pictures (hadn't formatted the card)
formatted the card in the camera, took pictures--unreadable
formatted the card in the computer, took pictures. Downloaded those few pictures.
Put card back in camera and took some more play pictures--UNREADABLE

So what do I do? I never had this problem with the old Canon CF card. It is a 2 GB card so I don't necessarily want to wait until it is full to download, nor do I want to worry in Italy that pictures I am taking won't be readable. Any ideas? Grrr. The bright side is I leave next week so I have some time to hopefully work out these glitches.

I don't know about the Canon xsi but I suspect you may have a bad SD card. We have never had a problem with our Canon SD400 camera and the SD cards. Did your camera come with a smaller capacity card you can try?

Bill

I got a 2 pack card, 2 GB each. I fiddled with the other card yesterday and it doesn't seem to have any problems. When I get some time I will also try again with the other/potentially problematic one. But thanks! I will keep you posted.