[bantyhen]

Hi all
As the title says I’m a complete beginner when it comes to DSLR so thanks in advance for any help you can give,

I’ve enjoyed taking photos for years but all my cameras have been point and shoot except for my recent camera which is a Panasonic FZ20 but even that is set permanently on the idiot mode but now I am finally making the move to DSLR (my wife got feed up with me talking about it for years and as a surprise bought me a D300s for my 50th birthday), Unfortunately this turned out to be a grey import and was sent back for a refund,
While waiting for the refund I did some research on the D300s and the Canon 7d, I finally decided to buy the 7d and went into a local Currys store to check out the 7d while there the sales rep asked me some Questions

Q: Am I a professional photographer?
A: No
Q: Do I make money from my cameras?
A: No
Q: Do I take a lot of sports or action photography?
A: No
Q: Do I have existing lenses or loads of money to spend on good lenses?
A: No

He then asked me what sort of photography do I enjoy and as I am a complete beginner would I not be better spending less on the camera body and more on the lenses which would allow me to get out and enjoy learning and take better photos with better lenses, Good questions

This is where YOU come in, this is where I really need some advice and guidance:
The types of photography I enjoy are: Nature wildlife, birds plants etc, Travel people and places, Landscape especially sunrises and dawns, Old buildings churches etc both inside and out, Family occasions weddings children etc, as you can see a bit of everything,

My budget at present is £1500-£2000 to cover camera, lenses and accessories etc, so where I really need your advice is as follows:-

A: Do I go with the d300s and the Sigma 18-200 DC OS (my wife bought this when she got the d300s and it hasn’t been sent back yet) and save up for better lenses?

B: Do I go with the Canon 7d kit with 18-135 lens and save up for better lenses?

C: Do I go for maybe a Nikon d90 and the/or some of the following lenses
Wildlife- Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 GED IF (cost approx £350) or other?
Portrait – Nikon 50mm f1.8 or f1.4 ( cost approx £90, £200) or other?
Landscape - Tokina 12-24mm f/4 AT-X Pro DX AF (cost approx £400) or other?
Walkround – other than the sigma please suggest?

D: Do I go for a D90 keep the Sigma lens and buy a wildlife lens?

or E: something completely different from above?

Sorry my first post is so long I don’t normally ramble on this much but I want to get this right from the start so I can not just learn but also really enjoy my future photography,

Once again thanks in advance

Bantyhen