I think you are the guy who keeps this web-site on the rails Ollie, in which case you must have a technical frame of mind; you will probably learn fast and won't want to be wasting money having found an over-simple 1st DSLR not quite what you want.

The D80 although possibly over-the-top as a learner model, has individual controls for each and every setting, as have the Canon 30D upwards/forwards. You can still use a kiddie's program for a few days, but it is worth avoiding those horrible controls where you have to have a thumb on an extra button to convert a control knurl from changing f to changing speed as on the 350D. I am sure Duncan can fill in comparison on K10.

The big decision to make right 1st time is which lens fit you are going to have for all time and I think you can only pick that up if you find yourself consistently liking pics on galleries and find they are ..... However, again the D80 18-135 kit lens postpones that as you only throw away £40 if you change to Canon or Pana after.

Nikon also has the additional benefit for me, a PS hater, of having a very capable beginning to end post-processing system fine-tuned to the camera; but the 'end' is short of many fancy effects; if you are going to want to do a lot of image combining and manipulating then you end up in PS/CS anyway