I HAVE to buy a new camera...NIKON CHICKS any thoughts?

I HAVE to buy a new camera...thoughts from both nikon and canon users

Okay long story short, the battery in my rebel xt sparked and melted somehow and literally destroyed my camera.I had an extended warrenty (that is NOT being honored cause the company went out of business..I feel sad mad and ripped off) but I do have a point and shoot camera that I am greatful to have during this time...

I have been saving for a new fancy lens and now will be using that money to buy a new camera...I have been wanting to make a switch to the Nikon d80 (i used a friends and just liked it better), but until recent events had just decided to hold off on it, cause I already had a nice camera. Anyway what I am wanting to do is just buy the body and lens seperatly
I would like a great walk around lens and the 50 mm 1.8 ( I had a 1.4 but didn't like how much it cropped the image)
Can you all give me any insight here? I am by no means a photography expert I just know some basics, and have been learing over the past 2 years...

Well, I have the D80. I decided on that vs the D40 because of the potential for lens compatibility issues with the D40. It's not that big a deal for a lot of people, but I didn't want to deal with it so I went with the D80. I LOVE it.
If you didn't like the 50mm 1.4, then you're not gonna like the 1.8. It's the same lens, it just has the capability to shoot slightly more wide open and let in even more light, making it great for lowlight situations. As far as I know, there's no difference in cropping in a 1.4 vs a 1.8.
What do you mean by a "walk around lens"? Do you mean a wide angle zoom? Where you can shoot wide open for landscapes, or zoom in for close ups?

Okay Thanks so much for the insight on the 50mm lens. I did really like it I just wished the crop were a bit larger or wide...

by walk around I mean everyday. I do want something light and that has good bohek..but that I can do my everyday stuff with...I have never found that with my canon.

Canon is not out of the question for me either...but I just liked the nikon.

With Canon and Nikon, that's what it really comes down to is personal preference. What feels right in your hand. If the Nikon felt better to you, and it makes sense to make the switch, you'll probably be happier in the long run. Yes, I'm a Nikon gal through and through, LOL, but I'd be saying the same thing if a Canon just felt better to you while you're using it.

As for lenses, I bought this one a couple months ago and I LOVE it.

Nikon 16-85

One of the toughest parts of switching to digital for me was not being able to shoot as wide as I like. My favourite lens for my old manual Nikons is my 20mm. When the above lens came out I was thrilled because it gave me the perfect daily lens. My old 28-105 was too limiting to my style of shooting. Others I was considering either weren't quite right, or were considerably more expensive and I could never quite decide. There's a lot of 18-whatever lenses out there, but it's amazing the extra angle you get with those 2 more mm at the bottom end. The second I put this on my camera, I was back in love with shooting again. Soooo happy with it!

I have the Nikon D40 and I slobber over the D300 on a daily basis. I wanted to have more cash to spend on an extra lenses so that's why I picked it over the D80, but there's a catch 22. Col is right, with D40 you have to get AF-S (or AF-I might work, I can't remember) lenses or they will not auto focus. The camera doesn't have a built in motor to make it do that, so the lens needs its own motor thingy- hence you are limited to AF-S in your lenses, if that makes sense. D40 is great for the price and it also has a higher sync speed than many other Nikons (like the D80, D60, etc)- it's up to 1/500 (good to keep in mind if you will be using external flashes, but most of the time you won't need such a high sync speed from what I have read). Hope I am making some sense. You can go to Ken Rockwell's site for all the reviews and specs, and he is much easier to understand than me LOL. It all depends on your budget and what your priorities are for your photography.

I have a D80. If I were buying new right now, I would look into the D90, because of the video capabilities. The lens I have on most of the time is the Nikon 18-200, because I got tired of changing lenses with an active toddler. I want to be able to take photos whether she's 2 feet from me or at the other end of the yard.