I disagree. One who doesn't like to swim in a sea doesn't mean that one is not a good swimmer. You are insulting the OP.

TS, b4 you sell off your new gear, make sure u bring your S3 to shoot again. You may not find dslr better than pns when you 1st migrate, but you may find your pns worse than dslr when you go back to s3... Especially speed, clearity of viewfinder..etc.

That's a lot of replies and I appreciate the viewpoints.

The main reason why I got the DSLR is I recognized that the S3's got certain limitations during certain situations and shots, and I had hoped that the DSLR will be able to address/overcome these limitations.

Some of you have pointed out that I do not know much about cameras or photography. That would be not far from the truth. I'd say that I've learnt just enough to let me play around with manual mode to take some shots which I couldn't have taken using "auto" modes.

The beauty of the prosumer is that it retains a level of automation that takes a load of trouble/worry off the photographer => Undesirable for pros, but desirable for normal people who don't know what in the world is white balance, bulb exposure... etc. (much less how to control/tweak them).

The sudden need to tweak and play with so many values/buttons is overwhelming.... hence the frustration.

Anyway, I've bought the D40x... no turning back now. Might as well learn to be a better photographer... hoping that you guys can provide some tips and help/change in perspective and viewpoint.

Still have more noob questions from me, thanks for bearing up so far. This is in reply to Scorgio's post :

1) Accurate optical viewfinder - S3 doesn't. Whatever you see on your electronic viewfinder or LCD is actually a delayed liveview.

When I adjust shuttle speed/apperture/iso, the changes are reflected directly on the S3 LCD. Thus I know if I've got the ISO too low or adjusted the shuttle speed too fast and can compensate before taking the shot. I tried varying this on the D40x... there are no changes visible on the viewfinder. Many of my shots end up too dark/too bright and I have to take several (trial and error) before finally getting one right.

Do you guys have a certain sixth sense or experience that tells you what shuttle/iso/apperture to use for what occasion?

2) Image quality - The sensor size of a dSLR is much bigger than S3. Thus the ability to capture a wider range of colors & tones.

This doesn't really matter for me right now since my objective is primarily to capture photos for 4R and just enjoyment. Correct me if I'm wrong but I doubt the differences can be so great that it's noticable with the naked eye (unless you post two identical photos by prosumer & D40 side by side).

3) Burst mode - The slowest of the dSLR selling in the market today can do 3fps, S3 is 1.5fps/2.3fps (based on dpreview.com).

This is for fast shots/sports/continuous shooting I presume? Not really used atm for group photos, posed-photoshoots and scenery.

4) Hotshoe - The S3 don't have it thus can't mount an external flash. And thus can't shoot beyond 20ft in low light condition.

Night shots are really bad for the S3. How much is an external flash btw?

5) AF speed - The worst SLR can AF in less than 0.5 sec. While S3 usually takes 0.5-1 sec to lock on.

I don't notice the difference.

6) Shutter range - SLR is 30 - 1/4000 sec. While S3 is 15 - 1/3200 sec.

At 1/4000 or even 1/3200 sec unless the background is very bright otherwise the photo will turn out dark anyways so hardly/seldom use.

7) Instant response - SLR power up almost instantly (0.2 sec average), S3 around 1-2 sec.

An improvement of course, but I find the 1-2 sec sufficient since it takes me that long to bring up the camera and start looking at the subject anyways.

8) Shutter lag - entry level SLR is 80-90ms. S3 , I don't know.

I don't take sport/fast photos so I don't know.
Again, thanks to those who have replied constructively.

can zoom in while exposing ? which model ?

btw, that was my lucky shot.. i didnt expect it..  

was testing the D300 the other day, the focusing when in liveview was damn slow.

anyway want to look big? get a huge hood!  it's light but adds the impression!