I'm so NOT even an accomplished amateur in this area, so if anything my post will at least keep this bumped up on the new thread listings...
we've got a nikon d40x... chose this in part because my wife wanted the extra pixels, even though I explained they don't do any good if you cannot frame and take the picture right... anyway, it was a compromise. The "problem" with this camera, to some, is that the autofocus mechanism is in the lens, not the camera, which means people who have lots of older glass would have to manually focus if they used this camera, and the lenses with AF built in are heavier and more expensive. Personally, I think something like the D60 is a great camera, from what I've read and people I've talked to... and you could likely get one discounted at a local photog store. Anyway, we compared the 60 to the 40x and here's a few links I had saved...
a review site I really like for the nikons is:
Nikon D60
I've got several of his pages saved and I like his approach... you might spend some time on his site...
also id saved...
Nikon D60 Digital SLR Compared to D40x and D40
back to lenses, we did buy the kit lens 18-55mm... but in less than a year we bought the 18-200mm AF lens with built in vibration reduction (VR), which rocks. Not so much an issue at close distances, but when you are really zoomed out there the stabilization lets you get some pics without a tripod. At this point, even through this lens is bigger bulkier than the 18-55mm, we leave it attached all the time.
and I know the first site I linked, the ken rockwell site, he has a page where he just gushed over this lens, stating it replaced all but his macro, fish eye, and maybe another lens. In retrospect, I wish we'd just have splurged for the bigger lens up front and not bought the kit lens. It gets no use.
I talked to three different pro photographers before buying and they said id be spoiled with this lens... but again... nothing like going into a good, locally owned store and talking to them about you specific needs...
here's his review of that lens.
Nikon 18-200mm
*edited in after posting* I don't think I've been able to get as close as he mentions with this lens for macro, but I'm an idiot and he knows what he's doing, so maybe that's the problem.
hoepfully other experienced, knowledgeable members will chime in here.