SLR Still Camera

After a fair bit of thinking and research I decided on the Nikon F80 with the VR 24-120mm lens. The F80 is sophisticated enough to give one freedom of complete manual control, and yet still has a built in flash, and is relatively lightweight- unlike the higher range professional cameras such as the F100. In the past I have always used a 28-200 lens. However I have now realised that despite being a very convenient travelling model it is a slow lens that produces slightly grainy photos that lack clarity when enlarged. Ideally I would have liked to purchase a fixed 20mm, the 24-120mm, and the 70-300mm. Weight and finances ruled this out of the question. The best compromise seemed to be the VR 24-120mm lens that still has a considerable zoom, provides better clarity and is faster than the 28-200mm. I have since bought 2X adapter which is very lightweight. It slows the lens down by two stops but it is a good compromise for those longer telephoto shots.