Which combination would you rather have....

[DSLR noob]

Yeah, I agree with JIP, this forum;s motto has been glass over bodies for the longest time, I know the D300 has a lot of bells and whistles but you have to see past the "ooh shiney" syndrome that most of the people who have given you advice "Get the D300" have.

go for the 70-200. Shoot until the D80 is aged a bit more, then make your move up.

 

[sabbath999]

My choice would be :
D300
70-200 2.8 VR
24-70 2.8
50 1.4
SB-800

No matter the combo, the D300 over the D80 with any lens combo.

Well, in my bag right now I have:

D300
70-200 2.8 VR
24-60 2.8 (Sigma)
50 1.8
SB-600
105 2.8 VR

At the very moment... not quite your setup, but close.

The hard part is that now, I absolutely, positively cannot blame the equipment.

When my pictures stink, it is 100 percent on me.

 

[turbofisk]

You could pick up a D40 and put the 70-200 and get quality, but you couldn't put a consumer lens on a D3 and get good quality. Glass over body. Every day of the week.

D80 is a fine body and will put out gorgeous images with the Nikkor 70-200. Getting a D300 with consumer-glass is just a really bad choice... No matter how good the D300 is, the quality of light will do it no justice at all, and you will not get any quality results. Also, the price will undoubtedly drop on the D300, it will probably not drop as much on the 70-200 (as it has already been on the market for some time... So even from a $$$ point of view, it's best to invest in the glass first.

I repeat: Glass over body.

 

[kundalini]

I wasn't sitting on the fence, but I was climbing up on it to have a look. The D300 would be awesome to have and I would hope I will eventually get one myself.

However, the deciding factor for me was just plain economics. That lens and that body are virtually, for all intents and purposes, the same price. Your D80 or even the D300 is only going to last X number of years. The glass, on the other hand, will likely still be in great working condition so that I can pass it on to one of my children. Hopefully that will be decades from now *as I knock on wood*. The glass will undoubtedly work on the next generation body as well.

Just my two cents worth.

BTW, everytime I mount the 70-200mm f/2.8 lens on my D80 body, my nuts swell just a little. hehehe

 

[JerryPH]

When my pictures stink, it is 100 percent on me.

I'm not at your level of equipment (not too far, but still, not quite there), and I still get plenty of bad shoots... you telling me that *I* am to blame now?

Sheesh!

Honestly, I see more and more D300 pics coming out all the time, and I am sincerely impressed with most of them. It does seem to me that they did not lose any of the good traits that made the D200 good, and did address a few of the D200's weakest areas, and then tossed in a little techno-marketing with the live view for good measure.

Though I am still a "lens over body" advocate, anyone that does make a D300 purchase is definately getting themselves an excellent body, no doubt.

 

[JerryPH]

BTW, everytime I mount the 70-200mm f/2.8 lens on my D80 body, my nuts swell just a little. hehehe

How many times you put that lens on already? That explains that "John Wayne swagger when you walk around with that lens on your camera... lol

Mine is on order... I look forward to increased sexual activities.

 

[usayit]

I've always been a lens over body advocate but that was comming from film days when a camera body was a light tight box with a shutter.

In the digital days, I think the body (sensor and image processor) is almost as important as the lens. You'll need both a good lens and camera body to be happy... Unfortunately that means bigger investment....

save up for the D300 AND the 70-200 f2.8.