I bought one of these while on holiday in the US so paid a bit less than I would have in the UK, but the downside (if I ever need it) is that the warranty is not the same. EU buyers get a much better deal, even friom Nikon.

So far I've only taken a couple of hundred shots and most of them have been just whatever's in front of the lens to get used to the controls, but the image quality is great.

It's fulfilled all expectations so far, to the point that it's hard to specify what it does well - it just does it - but it hasn't produced any real down points yet. The only thing that I miss is an on-screen view rather than using the viewfinder (one of the greatest advantages of digital over film) but I gather that is the norm for DSLRs.

The on board image editing/processing options are pretty neat but watch out because I'm sure these will soon eat away your battery power. I have two spare batteries on order (not Nikon's £40 ones).

The menu system is quite intuitive and even a little bit customisable, although I think it's better to stick with the simple option to get used to the camera.

The only other cameras that I considered were the D40X - almost identical but lacking a couple of small features - and the Canon equivelants - nice to use but more expensive for much the same features, and every accesory is dearer.

I'm happy enough with my choice with the only exception being "big boys toys" symdrome that makes me want the next one up, and then the next one up again. That's my problem, not Nikon's.