well.. don't judge the cam on how many pixel it has..
you can do wonders with "only" 6MP

you can consider sigma 30mm f/1.4 HSM but not that "cheap"

the question u should ask is not what lens can fit, but most importantly is what lens can auto-focus on D40. just stick with the kit lens & don't worry about lens for now, later on you can add the cheapest VR lens 55-200mm (USD250) when it's available

btw...shashinki got sigma 30mm f/1.4 HSM at RM1.6k

no SB400 is not useless. u can check out kenrockwell's site to have good idea of what it can do - esp bouce flash. it's small but still powerful for bounce. of course the SB600/800 is it's big brother...sure better one. i think D40 + SB400 suit each other really well due to it's compact size. plan on getting one myself

agreed. but not all people like the bulky size (me included) & i suppose that follows with the D40 theme...small but useful

then get the 18-200 lor

the f number on the lens tells you the max aperture you can use (smaller number -> bigger aperture -> take more light -> better option -> more expensive )

VR means Vibration Reduction (optical image stabilisation)

70-200 means you can zoom from 70 to 200. if use on a 1.5x crop DSLR like D40 that means 105~300mm field of view

all those numbers are basically in reference to the 35mm film camera format where 50mm is considered as "normal" view. if u use a 35mm film format (this is the film roll we normally use before digital), then at 50mm you'll get the same view as the eye can see ie same size. that's the "normal" view. so if you are zooming at 100mm, that means you can see 2x the normal size

to make it more complicated, for a typical DLSR, the sensor is smaller than film. so you have to multiply by 1.5x the figures quoted on the lens to get the equivalent view of a 35mm format. so if you put on a 50mm lens on a DSLR, then you'll get a field of view equivalent to 75mm.

from most reviews, the D40's kit lens is very good so compared to your ixus i think you should at least see improvement in sharpness & a definite improvement in high ISO shots.

i think you meant to say no "cheap" 3rd party lens available to aufocus on D40. i am sure you can autofocus with sigma HSM lenses (which is expensive)

ALL sigma lens with HSM written on it will autofocus on D40

i suggest you analyse those photos that you took & see what focal length you used. then you'll know what kind of lens you'd like to use

buy D40 plus external flash. should be better value than D40x alone.

SB400 good enough for normal use. the small size also make u wanna bring it everytime