Choosing a dslr nikon d40 vs d80?

[PhotoHobbyist]

Budget

* What budget have you allocated for buying this camera? Please be as specific as possible.
From $500 to $1000.
Size

* What size camera are you looking for? Or does size not matter at all to you?
35mm DSLR camera.
Features

How many megapixels will suffice for you?
Minimum of 6 megapixels.
* What optical zoom will you need? (None, Standard = 3x-4x, Ultrazoom = 10x-12x, Other - Specify)
None. I do plan to buy additional lens.
* How important is “image quality” to you? (Rate using a scale of 1-10)
8-9
Do you care for manual controls?
Yes, manual control is needed occasionally.
General Usage

* What will you generally use the camera for?
Vacation/general shots, landscape photography, and low light (concerts, fireworks, theater, castle). Will not do astrophotography.
* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not?
No. May occasionally need to crop off the edges to get rid of some intrusive objects from the scene.
Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos?
About 25 to 40% of the time....
Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos?
Rarely, if ever.
Miscellaneous

Are there particular brands you like or hate?
Obviously, I'm looking at the Nikon brand. I may be willing to consider Cannon XTi if there is an overwhelming good reason for it. I'm little biased against Cannon due to my not being happy with their support of multi-function printer and its software is really annoying. :(
I have a Minolta Maxxum STSI camera (we didn't use it anymore after obtaining a point and shoot digital camera) and a couple of lens/filters but I'm very hesitant to go to Sony A200. I think I'll be better off with the "big" boys.
Are there particular models you already have in mind?
I'm looking at the Nikon D40 and the D80. I'm tempted to go with D40 for good value but it seems that D80 got better battery life. For the "immediate" future, my wife and I are going to Scotland for 2 weeks. I could get an extra battery pack if needed.
(If applicable) Do you need any of the following special features? (Wide Angle, Image Stabilization, Weatherproof, Hotshoe, Rotating LCD)
No, other than I'm a fan of John Shaw's Landscape Photography book.:)

[K1W1]

As you seem to be tending towards Nikon I suggest that you re port this in the Nikon DSLR forum because what you are really after are differences between two Nikons not differences between two makes.

Both the D40 and D80 are at an End Of Life stage. The D40 has effectively been replaced by the D60 and the D80 will shortly be replaced (shortly being in the next 6 months at the latest).

Both are great cameras and will take terrific photos now and into the future.

The D40 is physically smaller and has a smaller feature set. If you plan to expand your photographic skills it may limit you long term.
The D80 fits into the "advanced amateur" category. It has a great feature set and plenty of room for photographic growth, it is physically larger and heavier.

If you do not intend to get overly serious about photography a D40 and some good glass would be a viable route at a lesser cost. If photography interests you as a hobby then I would recomend the D80.

Either way you must go to a camera shot and actually hold the cameras (both cameras) in your hands as well as the Canon. Any camera that does not feel comfortable to you to hold will not get used by you regardless of how good it is. These days there is no such thing as a bad camera and the important thing is how well YOU feel about holding and using any particular model.

[Rooz]

i'd think about the olympus e510 and k200d aswell.

[Beowulff]

Maybe look at the Pentax K100D Super with the (surprisingly good value-for-money) Pentax AL 18—55 kit lens as well.

Check it out HERE (http://www.digitalcamerareview.com/default.asp?newsID=3182&review=pentax+k100d+super).

Cheers :)

[PhotoHobbyist]

Thanks for the replies!

I checked out the Pentax camera - do Pentax stand behind their camera? I do have 2 Pentax eyepieces for my telescopes - boy, they are awesome... Would I expect the same high quality for the camera?

I'm just starting to check out on Olympus Evolt. It looks promising so far. We have an Olympus point and shoot digital camera and it works well for us. I'll have to see if there are enough selection of lenses to choose from. Is it reasonable to expect that the 14-42mm lens able to do landscape photography well? I'll have to check there is an Olympus-compatible lens that may be equivalent to Nikon 50mm 1.8 lens?