Wish you great fun with your new baby!
Could you be so kind and reveal the spell you used to persuade your wife to buy you a camera?
I would live to use it on my wife for a lens or two!

You have great wife KG, my doesn't buy me such gifts :( - and like hearty wrote, share pictures with us in the photo-a-day thread

LOL we have been talking among ourselves .. almost forgot that the OP was still around !!

@KG : congrats .. now the fun begins! Looking forward to your contribution to the photo a day thread!

Congrats KG. You will enjoy this camera all the same.

Hey guys, finally had my birthday yesterday, and my wife got me a D90!! I didn't think the difference in features between the D300 and D90 (~$770) was enough to justify the difference in price for ME.

Now I just need to learn the camera and make some great pictures. ;)

I love the 70-200. People do complain about vignetting on the FX format - which is true, but it doesn't bother me a ton because I can remove it in photoshop or just use it. If I am using the teleconverter with it I do typically use it on the D300 for no other reason than more zoom. Having the teleconverter does take away light so it has to be made up with higher ISOs to keep the shutter speed up sometimes. But as a person who is just having fun at the long tele side the 70-200 and 1.7x converter is very adequate. If I was trying to make money with long telephoto pictures I'd probably go with a longer lens and a 1.4x.

70-200 is a great lens. Takes a little bit of learning if you've not used a lens like it before. My copy and my D300 and D90 require exposure compensation to be stepped down to at least -1.0, sometime a bit more but once you get the right exposure, awesome!

as for 70-200 with 1.7 TC it works really well, very easy to hand hold and extremely sharp wide open - check my tigers and lions photos in the last months photo-a-day thread to see examples

AaronFoto - I'm saving up for 70-200 - how satisfied are you with this lens? Does the teleconverter work well? Having this lens with converter on the D700 would surely make the best combination for outdoor work?? - or would you want to zoom even longer by using D300 instead?

I have the Nikon 24-70 f/2.8, Nikon 70-200 f/2.8, and Nikon 50mm f/1.4. I also have the Nikon 1.7 teleconverter for sports/animals and the Kenko extension tubes for dabbling on the macro end.

Adamz- some newbie rich people won't care about blowing their bucks as long as they get the best money can buy.

My Lenses (in order of usage) -

Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 (very sharp lens - and perfect for indoor portraits)
Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G AF-S (ultra sharp lens - great bokeh and low light speed)
Nikkor 18-200mm - my outdoor walkabout lens

So you can see - a FF would suit my lenses as much as DX. I am waiting to see what the D400 brings before committing to the D700 - I don't want to make any mistakes. Sure I shoot lots of portrait and indoor so the D700 is a no-brainer. But I also love my DX megga-zoom for walkabout / outdoor activities / easy to carry. It's a toughie!

"no beginner is going to get a D3!! " - I actually heard about some people (my friend's father) that actually get a d3 as a first camera, for me it is like buying a brewery just to get beer.

can I ask You guys what lenses You have for Your cameras - aaron and matstar?

Heartyfisher - I am satisfied with my D700 (kind of have to be since it's got the best low light sensor around). You're right that I might not be satisfied with a D3X if it has more noise than the D700. I really can't say enough good about the D700 - I do need to cough out the cash to get the battery grip to help with sore wrist/arm issues though. When I looked at my first shot with it on the LCD screen I said, "oh now I get it, that's how the pros are doing it". It was night and day. I do wonder if my D80 had some focus accuracy issues though.

The D300 is incredible too at low ISO. I can't really see the difference between that and the D700 in good light. The D300 is also extremely fun for sports and wildlife.

Anyone considering a D300 of less, just go ahead and get the D300 - unless of course its replacement has been announced. I wouldn't get anything less if you can afford it and are or will be a serious photographer. The focus system alone makes it worth it. No camera takes good pictures when they aren't in focus.

""no beginner is going to get a D3!!""

yeah pretty much. Even now D3, D3x or any replacements thereof are still not on my radar.

@ Matstar : Sounds to me that the D90 has been a great first camera for you... My D70 was a really good first camera choice for me. Even now I still use it from time to time...

@aaron : From your description even the D3x wont satisfy you :-) except for point 4 and 6. LOL.. The D3 sounds right for you though.. however when you got your D80 the D3 probably was not available and even if it was no beginner is going to get a D3!!

ADAMZ - Things that made the D80 inadequate:
1. Image Quality
2. ISO Performance (the D300 is better but still barely adequate for hand-holding in evening shoots)
3. Auto Focus - speed and accuracy
4. Size
5. Button Layout - or lack of
6. Having a camera that looks like a professional camera - sounds stupid but is important

Adamz - Its harder hold steady with bigger lenses (ie. 24-70). The AF is slow and incorrect sometimes - mixed results are very anoying and confusing! I wear glasses which make a smaller viewfinder harder to use so I really rely on AF. The buttons layouts are hard to adjust quickly - feels like playing Twister with my fingers! More AF points would be nicer when doing tripod work.
I need a bigger body for my hands - I've got largish hands and hold the camera for long periods.

Don't get me wrong I REALLY LOVE MY D90 - and still prefer it over any thing else in the market.

aaron and matsrat please let us know, why did d80 and d90 (accordingly) didn't stand up to Your expectations

AaronFoto - you are totally correct. I bought the D90 last September and now I am looking for the next step up (so soon!). It bothers me to have chosen the D90 based on features vs. price and now will find myself paying more to upgrade. Boo!!

I'm not suggesting this is the case for everyone - it's just that I want to take the experience even further. Now.. the hard part - do I get the D700 or D300/400?? Why do they make us have to choose like this?!!

I think the argument that any camera is "too much" for someone is not true. I bought a D80 about a year ago and quickly out grew it within a few months. The picture quality was not what I wanted. It took me a few months to realize it but once I did I ended up not wanting to use it. I ended up buying a D700 then selling the D80 to partially finance a D300. If I had just got the D300 at the beginning I would have saved money and had better pictures all along. I personally wouldn't consider anything less than a D300. The picture quality is great and all those "pro" features are ways to make quick adjustments with extra buttons on the camera instead of having to go into the menu - very annoying. Just get the D300. It's worth it.

And I was hoping that they'd announce it tomorrow ... :(((

28th of April - can someone else confirm this?

Get the D90 and spend the difference on Good Glass!!

I think the D300 is a bit much for you right now. . .and frankly, the D300 is going to be the first to be replaced since it came out when the D3 was out. . .so the D90 is "more new" and won't loose value as much.

This might all change if they announce the D400 on April 28th and the D300 market drops significantly. . .

.. good... err .. so is it time to talk about high key vs low key and white balance and focus stacking and pano stitching ......... (takes a deep breath) ... and multi exposures and sharpening and up sizing and printing dpi and super resolution and HDR and reversal rings and strobes and black and white conversion and IR conversions and HR conversions and layers... and noise.. and (wheeze .. .. wheeze ) ... Yet?

Lucky you, at least you won't have any issues convincing the wife then, saves a lot of potential trouble!

Once you have it, your wife will probably have some more time on her hands since you'll be busy shooting, learning, shooting, learning... for the next year at least!