Nikon D40 camera with excellent 18-55 kit lens. Check for Amazon's deals on free or discounted accessories. The kit includes a rechargeable battery, charger, and camera neck strap.

These Sandisk MicroMate SDHC card readers are cheap and small and fast. Older SD card readers (including most card readers built in to computers) will not work with the new SDHC memory cards.

The 55-200VR lens adds some telephoto range to your camera. The lens is lightweight and inexpensive, but very capable. The newer VR version of this lens will help to improve the sharpness of your hand-held (no tripod) photos.

If you don't like carrying 2 lenses with you and swapping them for different situations, this compact super-zoom lens will cover most of your photography situations. This lens is great for traveling light without a big camera bag.

Sigma HSM for Nikon lenses will autofocus with the D40. Some of the Sigma lenses are a little cheaper than the genuine Nikon lenses. Sigma does have some focal lengths that Nikon does not. This Sigma 10-20 wide angle zoom is popular with D40 owners.

An external flash is a huge advantage of a SLR cameras vs. most compact cameras. The small SB-400 has twice the range of the built-in flash and also lets you bounce the flash off the ceiling for softer lighting. The SB-400 is Nikon's cheapest Speedlight flash, but it is adequate for most people. The fancier flashes are mostly for people using multiple flashes together.

The remote control is not included with the D40, but it is a cheap and very useful accessory. It is great for self-portraits and also when you have your camera mounted on tripod and don't want to shake it when pressing the shutter button.

This 3rd party battery seems to work just as well as the Nikon-brand battery, but at 1/3 the price.

Tamrac and Lowepro are the most popular brands of quality camera bags. They make a wide variety of styles and sizes, but they are all high-tech looking. If you want something with a softer look, try Crumpler or Domke. They make high quality camera bags in different sizes and colors.

I use this case when I want minimal bulk and moderate protection, e.g., to carry the camera around town on the neck strap or to drop the camera into a backpack with my hiking gear. The D-MIDSIZE case fits the D40 with the 18-55 kit lens. The D-MIDSIZE-ZOOM model fits the D40 the 18-200 zoom. The case fits snuggly with no pockets. The similar Nikon case is too small for the 18-200.

The D40 user manual describes the camera's features in reasonable detail. If you need more basic tutorial information, this little book does a good job with lots of color illustrations.

This is a more complete tutorial book on digital photography. It is much longer and more detailed and more technical than the Kelby book. Many college beginning photography classes use this as their text book.

This is a great book on epic outdoor photography. The book is more inspirational than tutorial with lots of essays on thinking about and tracking down great compositions. If you think your photos are technically competent, but lifeless and not really interesting to others, this book can help you step up to the next level.

Nikon lens caps are great quality. If you lose yours (not hard to do), replacements are inexpensive. 3rd party lens caps don't hold as well and aren't much cheaper. The 52mm cap fits the kit lens.

Macro photos, e.g. super-closeups of insects and flowers, are some of the most exciting photos that you can take with an SLR camera. Unfortunately, the AF Nikon macro lenses sold by Amazon are super-expensive. Instead, I use an old manual Nikkor 55/3.5 lens and it takes photos that are just as nice. You can find used Nikkor macro lenses for around 50 dollars on popular auction web sites.

This tool greatly simplifies macro photography focusing. Macro focusing is mostly accomplished by moving your camera closer or farther from the subject. Mount your camera on the plate, then mount the plate to your tripod head.

The French/Italian Gitzo 2-series carbon tripods are probably the most popular tripods among serious SLR photographers. They are light enough to carry around and stable enough for the vast majority of situations. If you're serious about photography, you'll probably think about paying the high price for these sooner or later.

If you cannot afford a carbon tripod, aluminum tripods with the same size and strength will weigh 1 to 2 pounds more more and cost much less than carbon. Aluminum is more prone to vibration during long exposure shots, though.

This little tripod is surprisingly sturdy. It is just 19" long (folded) and 2 pounds (including head) and easily fits in my small backpack. Despite the size, it is packed with features. It is too wobbly for a heavy lens or long exposure, but minimal weight is often more important for hiking or travel use.

If you change your SLR lenses a lot, you will occasionally get dust inside your camera, especially on the mirror and sensor. This air blower will help you get all the dust out without leaving any residues.