It's unfortunate that people assume the standard 18-55 lens is poor quality.
For the price the 18-55 is quite a good lens as many reviewers have commented. The E300 has received very poor reviews (Noise and colour balance problems) and has a smaller sensor that most other DSLR's. Steve, the Canon 350D has an 8mp sensor (as opposed to 6mp for the Pentax), more options and the sensor is lower noise than the Pentax. I tried a Pentax before buying my 20D and was disappointed in the performance, particularly in shadow detail, but as h0ughy has shown, they do produce great pics. If anyone is seriously considering buying a DSLR It's a good idea to read a few reviews.
http://www.digitalcamera-hq.com/
http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/cameraList.php
http://www.dpreview.com/
http://www.steves-digicams.com/hardware_reviews.html
If you're curious about lenses this site has good info.
http://www.bobatkins.com/photography...00dlenses.html