thanks, one of the best vacations i ever took!! loved that part of the country. i am impressed you know your area very well!!

thanks for all the info. i have been checking adorama and b and h every day too.when does the the new nikon slr make its debut? novemeber?? hoping some people will sell their 7000's for the new one.

lightroom also has a slider for noise that works pretty well. it was the main reason i first bought lightroom3. i didnt know about the topaz one at that time so have not tried it. anyone know which one works better?

good point Greg, thanks!!

does anyone know if AJrichard.com is a reliable sight? i am very leary now of ordering from online companies except amazon but found a great price thru this company that says it is a trusted seller. I ordered a camera thru a company that had a texas address and ended up being in china. never got my camera, luckily i paid with paypal and filed a claim, took about 2 months but did get my money back finally. but it was a big mess and do not want to go thru that again!! sometimes they have used cameras on amazon , does anyone know if amazon backs up these purchases as well?

thanks, so much, that is what i wanted to know. i know it is a silly question because i know it is supposed to take all lenses but it just seemed like with auto focus in both body and lens it might confuse it! but i could also get aways with some of the cheaper lenses that are not auto focus which is a good point to getting the 7000 over the 5100. but there is a lot of good points! stronger camera, weather proof, 2 memory card spots, 39 focal points, and internal motor of course!! wondering what would be the best lens to use inside after a 2 yr. old?

is your 50mm a 1.4 d or g?

thank you for the reply.i do not plan on getting any off brand lenses. But i was thinking i would start off with the 50 mm f/1.8 d lens. I was doing to get the d5100 and would have had to get the 50 mm f/1.8 G lens instead since it has an autofocus with it but now i do not think i will need too. i cannot find any other differences in the two lenses. but i am new to this and my main question was if i got an autofocus lens would it interfere with the internal camera motor or enhance it, or would it make no difference?
thanks!! diana

I will be purchasing a d7000 which i know has an internal focus motor so does it make much difference if i got a lens with autofocus also? i know with the d7000 i dont have to get an autofocus lens but if i did would it be better , make no difference or confuse it??

you can actually get lightroom now for 69.99 , the student and teacher edition from amazon.

There is so many books on helping with the d5100 out there all with great reviews. anyone have any they like best? i was leaning towards David Buschs and also the making snapshots into great photos looks good too.

if you want on online free one www.picnik is really good.

I am in the same boat as our right now. getting a 5100 and some seperate lenses. after lots of research ( and i mean lots) I found the 50 mm f/1.8 g is a good fixed ( prime ) lens for a good price. It would not have the zoom you probobly want but it would work well for inside pics of grandkids and is fast. something i have been told to keep in mind, make sure it is american made or has an american warranty and if you are getting the 5100 it doesn not have the internal autofocus in the camera body so you need to make sure your lenses you buy are autofocus.