The D300 is a semi-pro (consumer grade pro) body. If you have the money to blow, then it's an amazing camera, but it's a bit overkill for the beginning photographer. I started with a D60 first. You might want to see if you can snag a leftover D90, or look into it's replacement (D3000 I think).

The D300 relies heavily on the photographers ability to shoot manually. It doesn't have a fully automatic mode, so you must know how to adjust your aperture, shutter speed, etc. I also think shooting with a DSLR absolutely requires the ability to shoot in RAW, and a program that you can process the RAW files on (Lightroom, Aperture (Mac), CS$, etc).

What do you want to achieve? What will you be photographing? Do you want to take snap shots, or try to get into the creative aspect of photography? I recommend buying Scott Kelby's series if you haven't already read them. GREAT read for starting photography and learning the basics.

I disagree. You don't want to use the 18-200 for professional shots, but it is a great walk-around lens with great optics. It's great for vacations where you don't want to damage/lose/lug around $5k in lenses. There is a time and place for fast glass, but portability is not one of them, and I don't see any point in spending thousands of dollars on glass when you are just beginning since you will have no knowledge of how to use it to it's full potential. Many pro's use the 18-200 for their vacationing lens.

He is a beginner photographer, he has no need for $10K in equipment...