Yesterday I took some photo's with the Sony Alpha 100 (17-80 lense) and I really LOVED it! I took so many beautiful shots with the standart settings and still some great shots came out. The light, the contrast, the colors…. everything was perfect.

First I planned to but the Sony Alpha 200 (with the 17-80) kit, but the Nikon D40 lens kit turned out cheaper.

So my question is:

Is the Nikon D40 (lens kit) BETTER then the Sony Alpha 100 (with the 17-80)? Because I would like to buy the Nikon D40, but I took some shots with the Sony Alpha 100 and they were awesome!

Thanks!
Thanks for all the answer you all gave me!

And
"So you did not shoot some shots using the D40 with the AF- S 18-55 mm ED lens?"

No. I only did some shots with the Sony Aplha 100.
So, if I buy the D40, I won't regret it?

It is far better than the Sony system, but that is not necessarily the reason to buy the Nikon

The Nikon is the entry level DSLR that is the most popular and puts you in a spot where you can start building on one of the largest camera systems in the world.

http://www.jdpower.com/electronics/ratings/digital-camera-ratings/dslr

So you did not shoot some shots using the D40 with the AF- S 18-55 mm ED lens?

On the practical aspects of choosing a camera, the Nikon system has lenses that will work on most of their cameras bodies … since 1959.

Sony bought the old Minolta line and lenses older than about 20 year old, will not work, whether in manual or auto modes