Rebel XT

I was a little upset with myself for purchasing the XT before realizing the ergonomics were so poor. This was despite reading reviews on dpreview and Steve's Digicams and trying the it in a store and using a friend's. I'd seen a few posts saying it was inadequate for people with large hands. I have small hands and still find that it requires an uncomfortable pinched grip which strains the wrist instead of using the arm muscles. It is much more unwieldy than my old Nikon 8008 which is heavier. I've tried a few different ways of holding it.
The exposure compensation is difficult to set and read. The compensation button must be depressed while using the dial. This button doesn't give good feedback for when it is engaged so many of my changes don't work. These changes can either be seen in the LCD (which means taking your eye off the shot) or the viewfinder but the display in the viewfinder isn't linked to anything besides shutter press. So you must either take your eye away from the shot or bounce your index finger between the shutter button and the exposure dial.

Lens Tamron 28-75/2.8
The lens focus ring cover a small distance- maybe a fourth of a rotation. This seems to be working well for me because I don't get lost like I did with my old zoom. This may be an inappropriate comparison as this one covers a smaller multiple.
The depth-of-field preview isn't compatible with the lens. I returned this lens but I believe that this statement is wrong.