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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Fozzybear" data-source="post: 1458737" data-attributes="member: 69297">Kathy, one thing you need to consider moving from a compact to an SLR and big lens is that it weighs an awful lot - I know people who have bought SLR kits and ended up never using them because of the size and weight. I find it rather a lump at times and I'm used to lugging stuff around!From skim-reading this thread I'm a little concerned you might find yourselves really in at the deep end here, the kind of kit you are looking at is pretty specialised and takes a lot of work to master. 500mm lenses need very good technique to use well and the D300 was a very complex camera for me to set up and use, and I've been using Nikon D-SLRs for quite some time. This is completely different territory.If you are serious about your photography then the D300 and a long lens is a great combo for that, but you really must be prepared for a very hard ride and the need for a lot of reading up and experimenting. You do need dedication to get the most out of it and it can be frustrating getting there. Personally I'd go for the D90, same image quality but in a package that's easier to handle and learn. Plus I'd suggest a lens like the Nikon 70-300mm VR to start with. A 300mm is a little short for bird photography at a distance, but it's a very good lens, manageable and a lot easier to learn with than a huge 500mm monster. I've used 300mm lenses for ages and managed to get pretty good bird shots with them, I've only just recently moved on to a 500mm lens (Sigma 150-500mm) which is huge, weighs a ton (the camera and lens together are around three kilos!) and as it's so long is not simple to aim! For walking around I'll still be mostly using my 70-300 as it's far, far more manageable and less tiring to carry.Last year I used the 70-300mm lens on a D80 (the older version of the D90 but definitely not as good!) for bird photography a lot and it worked very well, and I find it works really well on the D300 too, so the D90 would be good with that lens - I took these with that setup:<a href="http://www.birdforum.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/222736/ppuser/69297" target="_blank">http://www.birdforum.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/222736/ppuser/69297</a><a href="http://www.birdforum.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/245594/ppuser/69297" target="_blank">http://www.birdforum.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/245594/ppuser/69297</a><a href="http://www.birdforum.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/220135/ppuser/69297" target="_blank">http://www.birdforum.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/220135/ppuser/69297</a>Digital SLRs have got to the stage where although the high-end models are really good, you don't 'need' one to be able to take good wildlife photos. If money is not a question then I'd still recommend D90 and 70-300, if only because that lens is a lot easier to handle and learn with and is pretty versatile and would still have a use if you bought a BIG lens.</blockquote>

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