We are jumping on SLR band wagon and I have some questions that I don't think were asked yet

So I am getting my birthday present 3 months early but we can't decide on the following:

1.) Between the Nikon D40, D40x and Canon Rebel XTi.
When I went to look at them the Nikon and Canon looked exatly the same except it seemed that the menu features were easier to get to on the Nikon.

2.) Do I need the 55-200mm lense right away or do you think I can wait a year to buy it (kids are still small, the sales guy said I would use it more when they are probably a little bigger and really playing outside and into sports)?

3.) Should we get the warrenty that they offer? They have a 5 yr, 3 yr and 2 yr plan. The longest you can have is 5 yrs and it is not renewable after that but you can get the 3 or 2 and add the difference to make it into a 5 yr when the contract expires. To me it seems like a really good plan. If they can't fix it then they give you a new camera and it is not a one time deal. If you keep breaking it they keep fixing it and giving you a new one. He said some people never have to use the warrenty and others have used it a few times.

Re: We are jumping on SLR band wagon and I have some questions that I don't think were asked yet

I could be wrong but off the top of my head I think the only big dfference between the Nikon D40 and the D40X is the megapixels. I think the D40X has like 10 and the D40 has 4 or 6 or something like that. The more megapixels, the better (if you're going to be blowing up any pictures, that is). My D70S has I think 6 and that works out fine.

I have a 75-300mm lens that I use ALL the time. And the kids may not be the only things that you'll be taking pictures of, right? So I would go ahead and get that lens.

I don't have a warranty, but if you think it's worth it, then it couldn't hurt.

Re: We are jumping on SLR band wagon and I have some questions that I don't think were asked yet

I JUST got the D40 and my dad had done tons of research and basically what he told me was that the only difference between the D40 and the D40x was that (as the other poster said) the D40x is better if you plan on blowing up your pictures, say, to poster size. The megapixels are the only difference. You should be fine with D40.

So far I love mine!

Re: We are jumping on SLR band wagon and I have some questions that I don't think were asked yet

I don't think you can go wrong with any of those cameras. I have a Canon Rebel and we got that over the Nikon because we already had several Canon lenses that we are able to use. I have a 75-300mm lens that I've been using a lot lately, but the big drawback is that the lens is huge so it's not easy to just throw in your bag. If you go with the Canon there is an AMAZING lens that Canon makes that you can get for about $75 that will take awesome pictures. This is hands down my favorite lens and also the cheapest that I own. It's a 50mm/f1.8 lens. It's especially great for baby pics because with the f stop set to 1.8 it lets a lot of light in so you don't have to use the flash. I HATE baby pics with a flash so I try to avoid using it at all times. Also with the wide aperture it gives you great depth of field so the background will be blurred. Best of all since the lens is so cheap you don't have to feel bad about buying it!

I can't really help you with the warranty. We've had our camera for a few years already and have never had a problem.