First time looking at DSLR's...advice please!

[LordAthens]

Yes, that was in reference to Nikons next FX.

I'm holding out for the Pentax 40mp MF myself

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Yes, that was in reference to Nikons next FX.

I'm holding out for the Pentax 40mp MF myself

Oh my - it's bad enough finding storage for 24mp files!!

 

[Phil'sFrontier]

Well, I researched this to death. Visited several stores and got my hands on many models and really analyzed my shooting requirements. I somehow knew that when I got started I couldn't wait...(c'mon..a new toy!) so I dug around and finally narrowed it down to what I felt was the best camera for me.

So today...I pulled the trigger. I got a great deal on a d300s and was able to get some nice glass as well. Now I have to be patient and wait for delivery...I hate waiting! lol.

Thanks for all the advice! You all helped me winnow it down to where it made sense. Now I have just over 3 and a half months to learn this puppy before our June trip.

Will

Awesome the D300s is a killer camera. I have a D80 and love it. I would love to step up to something like the 300!
As if you haven't gotten enough advice from this thread...lol can I suggest checking out iTunes. They have lots of great audio/video podcasts regarding cameras, gear...and all that jazz. Real great for photoshop stuff too.
If you don't have a good program for processing images, I would suggest adobe lightroom. Without a quality program such as that I believe you can't really get everything out of your photos.


anyway have fun....

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Oly/Pentax is completely left out

hyperbole

 

[LordAthens]

Oly/Pentax is completely left out

hyperbole

How do you figure I'm exaggerating anything? You took my quote out of context. I'll reference my original my post

The other issue is you lose out on almost all 3rd party glass. Tokina makes some amazing glass, usually less expensive than the OEM's, that is only available to Canon and Nikon users. The same applies with Tamron. Unless you're shooting Canon, Nikon and in this case, Sony, you miss out on the 18-270mm, which is super sharp, inexpensive and one of the best 'walk around' lenses you can get your hands on. Oly/Pentax is completely left out.

Again, if you want the 18-270 which is an awesome walk-around lens, Oly/Pentax is completely left out, it's only available in Sony/Nikon/Canon mounts.

Tokina makes nothing in their current line for anything but Canon/Nikon. Out of Tamron's lineup, ~1/2 of their glass is available in all mounts, ~3/4 of them Sony/Nikon/Canon only and 1/4 of them Nikon/Canon only.

So again, saying that there is a significantly limited selection of third party lenses from the "other big 2" lens makers, isn't exaggerating any.

Disclaimer: Sigma makes quite a few pieces of glass in all mounts. I did not include them in my post as I tend to stay away from Sigma. While they do have some "super stars" in their lineup, my experience with Sigma glass in general has been pretty poor. Poor quality control, poor design, poor build quality, poor optics, etc. If it's not one thing with them, its another. Again, not to say everything they produce is terrible, it just seems that everything I buy from them is

 

[zackiedawg]

No qualms about the rest of your post, as your comments are painted a bit by your bias for Nikon gear but generally not incorrect. However, I just wanted to correct one small thing:

Tokina makes nothing in their current line for anything but Canon/Nikon.

Tokina's 11-16mm F2.8 is in fact available in Sony mount. There are 29 older Tokina lenses made for Minolta A mount, if they can be found used. The 11-16mm was Tokina's first 'Sony' Alpha mount lens...rumor is that more are following. Tamron and Sigma both have decent support for the mount as you mentioned.

 

[LordAthens]

Tokina's 11-16mm F2.8 is in fact available in Sony mount. There are 29 older Tokina lenses made for Minolta A mount, if they can be found used. The 11-16mm was Tokina's first 'Sony' Alpha mount lens...rumor is that more are following. Tamron and Sigma both have decent support for the mount as you mentioned.

Ah, I stand corrected then. I only follow 'the other guys' enough to keep a rough idea on what's going on with them. According to Tokina's page; http://www.tokinalens.com/products/tokina/atx116prodx-b.html the 11-16 is only produced in Nikon/Canon. That's great to see them "venture" out of their norm. They make great glass that every format should be able to use.

While I shoot Nikon now, I'm always willing to entertain other gear that is better. I'm not brand loyal in anything that I buy, with the exception of memory cards and harddrives. Lexar memory has treated me awesome in all of the years I have been shooting them and I haven't had a dead Western Digital harddrive in over 10 years.

 

[Gianna'sPapa]

I was trying to stay out of this debate, but I have to jump in and defend Sigma. For my Pentax, I own three Sigma lenses, 28-70 f2.8, 70-200 f2.8 and the 100-300 f4. All these lenses are excellent performers. Other than Disney and DGD, motorsports are my favorite subject to photograph. My Sigma lenses do a great job and have been praised by pro motorsports photographers for the images they produce. Did I have a problem with one lens, yes. The customer service was excellent. I shipped the lens to them on a Monday and I had it back at the track on Friday. Pretty impressive turnaround in an emergency situation! I will admit, in the past, there has been rumors of poor quality control, but I have not witnessed it. In addition, I own two Sigma flashes and they are very strong performers. I would have no problem recommending Sigma to anyone. They have been around for a long time and are the largest third party provider of photographic lenses. They must be doing something right.