"Capt. Rob" wrote in message

Thank- You.... I appreciated your point of view.

If you have
really old glass that you want to manual focus that leaves the D200 I'm
afraid...not a cheap camera by any means.

I agree.... but I'm in a position where the provision of good photos is
almost mandated to acheive a professional end product. The Kodak DC 290
[Rest her Soul] did so reliably, in inclement and hostile conditions. The
D200 has dust-proof/weather proof sealing. This is a critical factor. Due to
time constraints... I'm not in a position to wait. I believe that utilizing
my diversity in "old glass" would be the wiser choice ... then decide on
upgrades as required.

Without a doubt..... if the D80 was available immediatly... it would be the
logical choice. Unfortunatly... it seems life has placed me once again in a
position to heed my father's advise of "Son.... Buy Quality!"

Good luck with it and contact me if you need additional info. A great
resource is Nikonians.com.

They have a D200 in the showcase.....

CM