It's one of those how longs a piece of string things.

The pics I have taken are taken with a Nikon D300 and either a Sigma 70-200 2.8 / Tokina 24-80 2.8 ex dg pro / Tokina 12 - 24 2.8 ex dg pro.

I have always used Nikon, so would alway recommend them. They have a great range from the D50 upwards, you would struggle to find a better middle of the road camera price wise than the D80, it really is top notch. I have always found Sigma lenses really good too, and they are cheaper (and 95 times out of 100 every bit as good as Nikon branded lenses)