[Hog1]

Originally Posted by cpayne5

A 300mm lens will be great for sideline shots. I have a 70-300 Sigma APO DG paired with a Pentax K100d and it is great for sports actions shots (assuming I have the settings right ).

I grew up in a Pentax family, so I feel obliged to push the Pentax line. They are great cameras. The image stabilization is built into the camera body, so any lens you use will benefit from IS. This includes any K-mount Pentax lens produced over the last 30+ years (you can find some great deals on old, excellent quality glass). I have a K100d, which is only a 6.1mp camera, but image quality is outstanding. Here are a few pictures I've taken with it... Picture album dimaging - dslreports.com

Now that I'm done with the Pentax pitch...the Nikon D80 is a good camera. You won't be disappointed if you go that route.

I frequent the digital imaging forums over at BBR as a lurker. There are some very knowledgeable people over there.

I bought my camera from http://www.beachcamera.com They have good prices and the shipping was fast.

I used Pentax gear for many years in the film world-Top shelf stuff Good advice