I agree with Marvin. Working from a digital file, there is a great deal of room for error, and for my photography skills, that's a good thing! My Epson printer has made it very convenient to generate all sorts of versions of my references and pin them up on the easel. I've tried working directly from a monitor on a number of occasions, but for my aging eyes, a print on paper works better.
Michele, I am not sure what you mean about not being able to spot-meter with the Digital Rebel. They call it 'partial metering', and it uses a small area in the center of the frame to determine exposure. You can take your reading close up as you would with a conventional light meter, then lock it with a button, back off and take your shot. My father pointed that feature out to me; it works in the non-programmed modes. Of course that procedure isn't as convenient as something like being able to select an exposure point in the frame while your shot is properly composed. Is that how the Minolta works?
The programmed modes in the Digital Rebel use "evaluative metering", which looks at the whole frame and what the camera determines to be the main subject and background, and makes an educated guess. If you set the camera for manual exposure, then it uses the center-weighted algorithm and gives you a viewfinder display to tell you if it thinks your currently set exposure is over or under.
I admit that I'm coming at the photography question mostly from the standpoint of a digital artist. So what works for me may not be broadly applicable. I know this stuff is not a priority for most artists with the classical training I lack, and why should it be? I'm a computer geek--what can I say?
I have been editing and manipulating photos for years, so it's second nature to me. Great precision while shooting is not necessary for my purposes. I don't have to get the white balance right or really even choose a decent exposure, as long as I don't OVER-expose and burn out the highlights. All I truly need is enough pixels, reasonable sharpness and (the very expensive and complicated) Photoshop to fix everything else.
Laura