I'm a new guy to photography too. When i noticed that my P&S was no longer giving me what i wanted out of my photos i stepped up the entry level D40. I read review after review after review from all sorts of places.

For one, i didn't know if this was going to be a long time hobby for me so price was a concern.

#2. I'm new to the game - the D40 is very forgiving.

#3. I manually focus almost %50 of the time, a lot of my stuff is still objects.

#4. The focus motor is not really an issue since many of the new nikon lenses have it built in already.

#5. Did i mention price? Local camera store had a good sale, $399 for the body and lens kit.

Overall, i'm happy with my choice. I didn't break the bank, and it takes really excellent shots. I'm still learning how to use it properly and get things exposed correctly, but even then, it still takes very nice pictures.