This is the current setup I'm using. I learned the photography ropes on a Canon AE1 with nothing but a standard 50mm prime lens. However, when I moved to digital many years later I settled on a Nikon Coolpix 5700 (after a brief fling with an Olympus). When the time came to move on to a full Digital SLR, it was about the time Nikon was introducing the D200. Comparatively priced with other "prosumer" versions of DSLRs, and much cheaper than a pro-model, it was and is the perfect fit, for me, at least.

Camera:

Nikon D200 - an amazingly solid camera that gives you just about all the features of professional models.

Lenses:

Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED-IF AF-S VR DX Zoom-Nikkor - this lens is so versatile that you may never need to change lenses. This is my primary lens and the vast majority of the non-sport shots I've taken have been with this lens.

Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor - How did I manage all those years with just this lens? A fast and reliable piece of glass that is probably a good place to start if you are on a limited budget. I bought this because the 18-200 was on backorder for 6 months, and it allowed me to "get acquainted" with the camera. It is also a great lens to start macro photography, with the addition of some extention tubes (we'll discuss those later).

Tokina 12-24 F4 AT-X Pro DX - At some point a landscape will be so expansive even the 18-200 zoomed all the way out won't get it. That is why a wide-angle lens is so helpful. Now some Nikon nerds will sniff at the thought of buying an off-brand lens, but this thing has been nothing but a joy for me.

Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Zoom Nikkor - If you have been looking at my football pictures, you might have noticed a difference between the Bradford and Chestnut Ridge games. The C-R game is when I first got my hands on this lens. It is an expensive piece of glass, but worth every penny. The large (2.8) aperture allows much more ambient light to hit the sensor, which lets me use a lower ISO at a relatively high shutter speed. This yields a picture which is not very grainy and yet freezes the action well.

Sigma 50-500mm f/4-6.3 EX DG HSM APO RF Telephoto Zoom - Yes, you read that right, 50mm to 500mm, all in one HUGE lens. Incredibly versatile but not quite fast enough at the higher end of the zoom range to be used for night sports. This is more of a wildlife lens which I fully intend on using when I can coax some animal into my backyard. (yea, that's far enough).

SOON TO COME: flash, filters, extention tubes, teleconverters, and other stuff.

If you have any questions about anything I write about, ask them in comments or on the blog. I might even answer.