He sent me a review to a Canon 40D (still a prosumer model, just the one that came out prior to the 60D) and asked me to read it and call him. I did and after I told him that I liked what I saw, he said that he would send me his "old" Canon 40D that he hasn't used in a year (he upgraded to the Canon 7D, which is a step up even from the prosumer models) if I wanted it, as an early Christmas present.
Of course I said yes, and it arrived yesterday. Along with the camera, which is in mint condition and still sells on Amazon for $900 with no lens, he sent me four batteries (at $50 a pop) and a battery grip that attaches to the camera and holds 2 batteries ($160). He also had a charger that would charge two batteries at a time but he couldn't find it and said he'd send it later when he finds it.
I kind of chuckled when I talked to him last night because he actually apologized... for not charging all four batteries before he sent it. I told him that considering the magnitude of the present I wasn't concerned about charging my own batteries.
And for anyone who's curious, here's the camera I had been using, and here's what he sent me. For airshows especially the 40D is going to be awesome; my XSi shoots 3.5 pictures per second in multi-exposure, while my 40D shoots 6.5. It sounds like a little machine gun when it fires.
I can't wait to get this out next airshow season... I'm going to five next year; one in Rhoad Island, one in Washington DC, one in Rochester, one in Binghamton (hopefully; they haven't officially announced it yet) and one in Virginia.
My dad is incredible.