[PontiusPirate]

So, we're updating.
Last night we placed an order for:
*Nikon D300 (WWWWWOOOOOO!)
*Nikon D80
*Nikkor 15-135mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II AF-S DX Zoom
*Nikkor 70mm - 300mm f/4-5.6G ED AF-S DX VR
*Nikkor 20mm f/2.8D Ultra Wide Angle AF Lens
*Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX "DG" AF Telephoto Macro Lens
*Lensbabies Lensbaby Original 50mm Special Effect Lens

Yup.

If anyone's interested in buying a Nikon D50 with 2 lenses, bag, etc. PM me.

[Rainer.]

Dude. That'd make me excited. REALLY excited.

[Art]

Oh my! Congratulations.

[PontiusPirate]

Thanks. Thanks.
I'm pretty excited about the lens baby....has anyone use one of these?

Hooray for Home Equity!

[redbaron]

nice setup. definitely save your pennies for the 70-200 f/2.8 vr, and then look for something wide like the 18-55 f/2.8 or the signma 18-55(??) that's similar, but much cheaper.

The camera is vastly more capable with fast glass, as i'm sure you already know. I have several friends who are shooting d300's now.

Are you going to get the grip so that you can take full advantage of the burst rates?

[Ordinary Sarah]

Oooh, I've heard about Lensbabies. I really want one. You'll have to show us what it can do!!

[ApparentlyNothing]

I've used a lensbaby 2.0. The guy I worked for this summer let me borrow it for like a week. I didn't have very many things to shoot with it though. There's a pretty big learning curve trying to get focus right, since it's all manual, plus the way you focus is really different, squeezing it in like an accordian or pushing it out rather than turning it. Also, you have a fixed aperture that you can change by dropping in different sized "rings" over the lens. Maybe a bit of a hassle if you were on the go and needed to change aperture quick, but otherwise not too big of a deal. It's not much of an "on the go" lens anyways. But, the kinda shots you can get with it are incredible once you get the hang of it and find a good subject for it.

Congrats on all the new gear though! Just think, if you had dropped the money on the D3 instead, that would basically be all that you would have been able to get. And the D300 is a great camera, so I think it was definitely worth it to get lenses instead. There was a brief period of time when I almost considered getting a Canon 5D instead of a 40D, but went with the 40D in order to get some lenses too. Camera bodies are always getting replaced... lenses can last a lifetime.

[PontiusPirate]

You gave me good advice, Jon. After all that, we still didn't hit the $5000 that the D3 body alone would've been.
As for the Lensbaby, I figured it wouldn't be an "on the go" lens. I've just always wanted to use one, and we had extra money. It'll be fun to mess with and figure out.

[PontiusPirate]

GGGGGGGGGGGGGGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!
It's here!!!!!!
Too much excitement for one person.
Seriously.


I will post more after I unpack/try everything out....so.....in like a week.

[Rainer.]

AHH! I think I would asplod.