Can we start with the nikon vs canon wars yet?
Like the fact that canon's' cmos sensors have always outperformed nikon's CCDs in low light and high-ISO?
Anyway, Ian, you have a great camera, and congrats on jumping to SLR. The included kit lenses are never that great, but the nice thing is you can change that later without buying a new camera every year like you have been stuck doing. A lens with a lower f rating lets in more light--that's the other number that most people ignore. On a zoom f 1.8 is rare and expensive, and the most expensive might be 1.4 (yours is 3.5 at 18 and 5.6 at 200). Of course that also means they get physically bigger, so everything is a trade-off.
No matter what you choose, it should be a big improvement over the point-and-shoots that you have had in the past.
