Rick -
Just remember that cameras are like horsepower.... if you like one there's a better one that's calling your name. And they're just like welders... if you can weld - you can weld with an old junk machine... So the camera won't make you a good photographer.
One of the best review websites is KenRockwell.com
He's no nonsense - and will say "here's all you really need"...
The thing you're not going to know going into this - - is what kind of photography you really like to do... action? Still? Races? Sports? Close-ups?
Most of us doing action shots have to have a better BODY so that we can shoot 6 to 10 frames per second... so that has a higher cost initially but you can't beat it if you're doing action stuff (think of this as holding a machine gun - push the button and start shooting frames). If you're only interested in shooting the sides of cars from the headlight down the body... then you wouldn't need that capability. Then you might want a wide angle lens and a monopod...
So what I'm trying to say is -- buy a decent body/lens.... mess with it -- pay attention to what you "CAN'T" do with it... and fix that in the next purchase. You'll either be hooked or you won't care and don't use it as much as you thought you would.
