I choose Nikon because I like their ergonomics and I have always had good luck with Nikon cameras, from the time I found an expensive Nikon film SLR lost in the woods to the time I won my first digital camera, a Nikon CoolPix 995, for free from a store.

My biggest complaint about the D300 is that it does not have a wireless remote of any kind.  My old D80 and D50 both worked like a charm with a simple Nikon ML-L3 wireless remote, and I don't understand why this one and all the other top level Nikon models don't, either.

Umm, it also looks cool.

It is a large, heavy and robust camera, so don't hesitate to use it to tenderize beef, pound nails, or crack heads when necessary.

My newest photo accessory is a vertical grip for the D300 camera.  The moment I got that thing, I asked myself why I waited so long to do so.  I wish I had gotten it years ago. This gadget makes vertical portrait shooting so much easier and more comfortable and stable.  Nikon makes their own grip, the MB-D10, but I chose the Zeikos ZE-NBG300 because it's much cheaper.  So far, it works great, except that the focusing cursor sometimes goes wild.

When I finally got a second camera body, I chose the Nikon D90 Digital SLR, because it was the cheapest camera that included the main features I wanted, specifically a sizable body and the ability to auto-focus the entire range of Nikon lenses, which is something their lesser models don't do.  It's a little smaller and lighter than the D300, which is a good bonus for a 2nd body that doesn't get used as much.  I considered getting a D700, but there isn't a big enough choice of lenses for that camera yet, specifically a FX format lens in the 17-60 mm range. The D90 is a big improvement over the D80, mostly because of the self-cleaning sensor.  I had a lot of trouble with dust spots on the sensor of the D80, but haven't had any trouble with dust on the D300 or the D90. The D90 also does digital video, but I would prefer a dedicated video camera if I was serious about video.

I got a Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED-IF AF-S VR [Vibration Reduction] DX Lens with the D300.  I used it for a few months before I decided to get serious and get a real lens.  The 18-200 is decent if you just want to stick with one lens.  But if you want to get some real optics, you'll end up looking past this lens.  I sold this lens after I came to the realization that it's not very sharp.  It's not very fast, either.  Mine also had a lot of dust inside it, which is odd because I didn't have it out in any severe dust.  I also had trouble with this lens "creeping," meaning that it extends or retracts itself, thanks to gravity, if you are aiming it up or down.  Not a big deal if you are hand stabilizing it, but if you use it on a tripod it can get annoying. I'm still not sold on VR, either.  I have tried it numerous times but can't tell a difference if it's on or off.  The best VR will always be a tripod.  And if they are gonna use VR, they should build it into the camera body, like Olympus and Sony do, rather than put it in each lens.  That doesn't make good sense, other than a way for them to pad there product line and charge higher prices for that feature. I used a Sigma AF 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 Zoom Lens for a year and liked it better than the Nikon 18-200 that I replaced it with.  The Sigma was smaller, lighter, less expensive, and didn't ever creep like the Nikon did. I recommend that one over the Nikon.

50-500mm f/4-6.3 EX DG APO HSM Telephoto Zoom Lens The "Bigma" Not bad.  Best deal I have seen on a 500 mm lens.  Hard to argue with the 10x zoom range, too. All of the photos I took on my Futbol page were taken with this lens, on summer mornings.  Take a look and decide for yourself the quality.  Also, most of the photos on my Yellowstone Park page were taken with this lens, under mostly crappy lighting conditions.

Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor Lens This lens is awesome, and that is a word that I do not use casually.  This is one of the sharpest and most vivid lenses you can get, so if you don't have one yet, go get one!  Ironically, this is one of the best lenses that Nikon, or anyone, makes, and it is the cheapest lens in the entire Nikon line. The f1.4 versions of this lens are mighty fine, too. But for performance-to-price ratio, this little 1.8 lens smokes everything.

I also have:

Sigma 20mm f/1.8 EX Aspherical DG DF RF.  Nice lens, fastest wide angle I have seen.  Should be excellent on a full-frame camera like the d700 if I ever get one.

Sigma Super Wide Angle 10-20mm f/4-5.6D EX DC HSM.  Another good deal from Sigma.  Compared it to the Tokina 12-24 and the Nikon wide zooms, and couldn't think of any reason not to get the Sigma, because it's both cheaper and wider.

Tokina 100mm f/2.8 AT-X M100 AF Pro D Macro.  Well made, excellent bokeh, great macro lens.

Nikon 70-300 mm AF-S VR f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED.  I liked this lens a lot until it fell on the road and broke.  I was trying to sneak it in to Red Rocks park in Colorado for a concert, and I thought it was safely secreted away in an inside pocket of my jacket when suddenly, to my horror, it slipped out and fell to the asphalt.  It seemed okay at first but I was crestfallen when I heard something rattling around inside where it wasn't supposed to.  And the UV filter was chipped.  It later cracked completely. 

The guard at the gate found the lens in my pocket anyway and held up it up while she shouted to her supervisor:  "Is this allowed?  It's a great big lens!"  Super-Visor didn't care and waved me through.  All that trouble for nothing. 

I had to send it back to Nikon for them to fix.  Cost $200 and took several weeks.  Nikon did a very thorough job of fixing it, even going so far as to replace the outer case portion that got marred when it fell, which was a pleasant surprise.  However, it is now somewhat more difficult to rotate the zoom grip.  It was nice and smooth before. 

I still like this lens, but I would be more impressed if it had survived its hard knock unscathed.  It is a sharp and colorful lens and I have gotten some good photos with it.

Nikon SB900 and SB600 flash units  These are both great flash units.  The 900 is much better but much more expensive.

Fluorescent and Tungsten light kits  I like the Monstar by Interfit, and some of the other Interfit lighting equipment is good too.  Westcott lights are nice but very expensive.