well, my personal kit (at the moment) consists of an 18-55mm that came with the camera, and the 55-200mm VR lens.

I get to use a 70-300mm VR lens when I go to the lake sometimes, and I'm trying to get a Nikon 50mm 1.8 AF lens for taking pics with available light (i.e. inside dark rides) - that lens is usually about $150, and is a great traveler (small size) and great lens for portraits.

VR on Nikon cameras is handled by the lens- some other manufacturers move the sensor inside the camera around instead.

OK, take a look at this package.

http://soniccameras.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=4918

It appears to be the same as Costco only $250 cheaper.

But, are those lenses VR?

The Costco one is with the VR versions of both lenses. That is not the VR lenses. They are still excellent lenses, even without VR.

Is VR worth the extra $250?

Personally I don't think so. And definitely not worth it for the smaller lens. You can get the 55-200mm VR for less than that $250 difference.

The Nikon D is amazing. You will love it. So many of us have them now - you're right, we should do a collaborative digital photography effort!

I decided on the D80 deal. It seemed to good to pass up. (Tax write-off too!)

YAY!!

:D