How wonderful a fellow Nikonian!!!

As you probably know, with full frame (FX) bodies it hard to have a true walk around lens. Most of the Nikon FX lenses are quite heavy...my old walk around lenses were:

Nikkor 24-85mm lens AF-S f/3.5-4.5G
Nikkor 50 mm AF-S f/1.4G

My new walk around is:

Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 IF EX DG HSM AF

Which at 1/2 the price and 1/2 the size of the Nikkor AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8G ED is a God-send!

Back when I owned a D300 my all time favorite Nikkor lens was the 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED-IF AF-S VR DX, although that new Nikkor 28-300mm F3.5-5.36 G ED VR looks very, very interesting...

NICE toys!

I really have been wanting the 24-70, but at $1500...I just don't want it bad enough, yet. Also, I'd have to be using my camera more to justify this one. That Sigma 24-70 looks great, and at 1/2 the price, hmmmmm.

If I didn't have 2 primes right now, I would have liked to purchase the Nikkor 35mm1.8; probably not a huge difference from the 50mm, but still.

I have a Sigma 60mm f1.4 Macro HSM; I love this lens, but so often what I want to do w/ it requires a tripod, and I really dislike the tripod.

And then I have the 18-105 VR, which is a nice lens...and I really should use it more.

Getting any lenses for Xmas :p?

I WISH! My DW is all over me about not using the lenses that I own currently, so I don't think Santa will be dropping any glass off this year. Here is most of what I have currently in my Nikon stable:

Nikonians Photo Galleries - The Making of an FX Nikon Catalog

Most of it is listed there, minus the SB-600, SB-700 and the new walk around 24-70mm Sigma lens.

Well the money that we would have spent on glass can now go towards our little baby girl Reeses...I would really like to grow our family with another yorkie to spoil, so hopefully that wish can comes true!

Very nice :)!!! I can see why your DW might want to add a yorkie - what with all the toys you have; very nicely spoiled. Maybe she gets one add'l yorkie per lens :p?

We have 3 furs - and they are just too much fun as a little pack!

I have a 12 megapixel kodak camera i love it but im not supposed to be using it yet technically its for christmas

That's what I wound up getting.

I love photography, my husband & I both have a passion for photography. We have done weddings and used both these camera's and Lens. They are the Canon 40D, 70-200 IS f-2.8, 17-85mm, and a Canon Rebel XT 350D. Various other Lens we seldom use anymore.

Lisaly:

Thank you so much for compliments on my photography and of my son, Trevor. That picture was taken over 2 years ago when my son was born and was taken with my then D300. At that time I was shooting in my make shift home studio with a D3 and using the D300 as my walk around camera. The D700 was in hot demand and I was on a waiting list for it to be back in stock...I think it came out in August 2008 and I finally got one in November. I kept my D300 just in case the D700 did not live up to the hype, but it met all of my needs and then some. Thankfully the D300 was just over a year old and it still had a lot of value in it and so was able to sell it for an acceptable price.

I do miss the extra reach of the D300 and I miss how light the lenses are. Also, in FX there are no real walk-around lenses to speak of and the cost of lenses are astronomical... but as you mentioned the DOF is razor sharp and I just have a lot more keepers and less photos that go in the recycle bin. The D700 is the perfect companion to a D3/x/s, as they are all FX. The low light shooting is AMAZING, I rarely need to use a flash.

For my current photography needs I don't see me going back to DX any time soon...but if I ever get into shooting wildlife, or need to do extreme close ups then I'd probably get a DX body Vs. using a FX body with a teleconverter. Sorry if I am going on a rant here, I am an absolute NIKON NUT!

I'm sorry I didn't get back to you sooner. I suspected the baby was your son, and he is just beautiful. I'd love to see more photos of him. I've read a great deal about the benefits of FX on fred miranda, which has far more Canon shooters than Nikon. I love that site and have learned much there. I started out with Canon with an FTb, A1, and T90 and then moved to Nikon. I still own the FTb, T90, Nikon N90 and F100, and I started with the Nikon 8008. I own SB24, 26, and 28, along with the SB-800. I have several Nikon lenses which are optimized for FX. I only have the Nikon 18-200 DX lens. I love the D300, and I'm also a bit practical, so at this point I don't feel a need to switch to FX. Nevertheless, I know how amazing the D700 is, and its low light ability really appeals to me. I also prefer the DOF with FX, and that's what I've always used in film. When I eventually get a new camera in the future, I suspect it will be FX. Even many of the folks on the Nikon board at fredmiranda, who thought they wouldn't switch to FX, are singing its praises. I've seen many use the 35 1.8 in FX mode on their cameras, and it's amazing how little vignetting it does closer up. I probably should just get that lens, since it is inexpensive and I think it would get a lot of use. I use the Nikon 50 1.4 AF-S when I want a light lens, but it isn't a great walk around lens on a DX camera since it's not wide enough for me. I don't need to make any kind of decisions now, since I don't feel a need to upgrade at this point. I don't, however, want to buy any DX lenses if I will eventually switch. I'm not using my camera as much as I'd like now, so it's easy to be practical at this point. I also rarely have time to go on fredmiranda because I'd prefer to spend more of my time at Yorkie Talk. I am including a couple of links of great photos I think you'd enjoy of images of dogs, portraits, children, and a thread of best Nikon photos. If you have some free time, they are really inspirational. I love photography and my cameras and lenses, but I'm not a true gearhead. I enjoy more viewing and using what the equipment can do for me. That's why I was so moved by the beautiful image of your gorgeous Trevor. I'd love to see images of your other baby, too.

Nikon portraits Shows Us Your Portraits - FM Forums

Best Nikon photos Your Best Nikon shots. - FM Forums

Nikon Best Cat Shots Show Your Best Nikon Cat Shots - FM Forums

People forum dog photos Bark! - FM Forums

People forum best portraits/candids 2010 Best Candids/Portraits of 2010 - FM Forums

Great inspiration for photos of children Another Year in Review, 2009. lotsa kid pics. - FM Forums

The archives are now closed for the month of December, but will return in January. Check out the other two threads of his children shown in the above link (they are really wonderful!) and also a great link of dog photos: All Dog Pix Cant Be Carlos http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/top...83/1&year=2009

His flickr link has all of his lighting information, which is very informative.
Flickr: jwlphotography's Photostream

I purchased the Nikon D3000. It isn't the biggest or badest camera out there, but it was reasonable, and takes wonderful pictures!.... without breaking the bank.

I'm a horrible photographer; let's start there. But, I would like to be able to take some pictures of my family; etc and post them on facebook.

I would also like something small that I can take with me to swim meets. It's good to film your child and have them watch their stroke; see what they would like to do differently next time, etc. We could watch on the computer or on TV.

I'm a total novice when it comes to cameras.

Any suggestions for me? I got some Christmas money but don't want to spend it ALL on a camera.

Can I get something for $200 or less to fit my needs? Or am I dreaming?

I am not an expert by any means. My husband just bought me the Nikon S6000. I think it is about $150. It is a small camera and has a usb cord to load the pictures on the computer. So, you could put on facebook. It also does videos. I don't know much about such as picture quality because I just got it and haven't played with it much yet.

Have you seen the New sigma 85mm lens??!! Its yummy its on my dream list it's like $800 Its perfect tho!!!!! :p