Hi--

>Thank you so much for your advice, especially regarding the flashes and
>lenses.. I need all the guidance I can get.
>Based on yours and other people's recommendations, I think I will probably
>get the following:
>an N90s (hopefully I'll be able to do it justice)

It is a good body, though I just discovered that I could not see its (and the
6006) finder sharply, though it may be due to the particulars of my glasses
correction (the F3 and 8008's still work fine for me).

>the Nikkor 105 f2.8 Micro lens (although also really expensive, it seems
>highly recommended by many)

Probably the best choice for what it sounds like you want to do.

>a Tamron 28-200 f3.8-5.6 lens for general amateur photography, for starters
>(do you know if any of the 28-200 lenses work with the "D" type Nikon
>technology? any recommendations about a 28-200 lens that won't bankrupt
>me?)

I know this lens is tempting (I bought one, also), but IT IS REALLY POOR!
Why buy a poor lens, no matter what the range/price/size? The 28-70/28-85mm
Nikkors are good, if not great lenses (good enough for any but the most
critical work, for which I would choose primes (the 28mm f2.8 AIS Nikkor
is a good match optically for the 105mm [which, BTW, has its problems
near infinity - see my "SLE{MN}" at: http://www.cs.hks.se/~nicke/private/photo/david.html ]).
The "D" technology, BTW, is very subtle, at best - more of a sales gimmick -
I would not worry much about it!

>SB-26 flash (Someone recommended to get the remote cord in the future if I
>want to take it off the camera eventually)

I would get the SB-27 for size, price, but especially for reason of being able
to place the light source at different positions relative to the lens (this
is important in close-ups, especially, so you can determine where the shadow will fall, so it won't obscure something important. A bracket and remote cord
(especially with the larger size of the SB-26) will probably be too cumbersome
for you - and too hard to clean thoroughly).

>A ringlight I may consider in the future. Do you have any particular
>recommendations as to ringflashes? (Hopefully something that integrates
>well with the Nikons?)

I would not use one, since there is no modeling, though Nikon's SB-21 (?)
may work well for you, since it is not a true ring, but 2 tubes at the front
of the lens (and one can be turned off, for more modeling). An SB-27 has
enough built-in movements to make it easy to place at the end of the lens
(with a flat bar with two tripod screws and the SC-17 cord) to approximate
an SB-21 (which is expensive!).

>Thank you again for your help. I really appreciate it!

But you didn't listen to some of it! ;-), ;-)

>Sam

David Ruether