The NIKON Thread (Talk About Nikon Stuff here)

[Hayduke]

Originally Posted by bigshot

You can get a D40 at Amazon with both an 18-55 and a 55-200 for $663. That is a pretty nice little kit for that price. Add a fast normal prime like the 50mm 1.4 to that for $314 and you're set for just about anything for under a grand. Great deal.

See ya
Steve

I've ruled out a D40. I know the mantra is don't worry about how many pixels, but I like to make big prints and I crop pretty often. I'm sure the D40 is a nice camera, but I really want to try and stay above 10MP.

I do appreciate the suggestion though. I had looked at Amazon before, but ruled it out due to my deadline. I didn't think I could get something shipped here in time. I might be able to get a big enough discount form them to offset a 2day shipping though. hmmmmm.. then there is the desire to "buy local" even if it is a chain store. I think it would be a good thing to try and keep them in business here huh? lol

Most of the time I love it, but sometimes living in a small town sucks :P

Well I'm off to the camera store! I might buy something, I might not. I'm inclined to get the D80, but then I won't have a lot of lens selection for my trip next week.

[ozz]

Originally Posted by Hayduke

I've ruled out a D40. I know the mantra is don't worry about how many pixels, but I like to make big prints and I crop pretty often. I'm sure the D40 is a nice camera, but I really want to try and stay above 10MP.

I do appreciate the suggestion though. I had looked at Amazon before, but ruled it out due to my deadline. I didn't think I could get something shipped here in time. I might be able to get a big enough discount form them to offset a 2day shipping though. hmmmmm.. then there is the desire to "buy local" even if it is a chain store. I think it would be a good thing to try and keep them in business here huh? lol

Most of the time I love it, but sometimes living in a small town sucks :P

Well I'm off to the camera store! I might buy something, I might not. I'm inclined to get the D80, but then I won't have a lot of lens selection for my trip next week.

They are dealing a little a good all around lens would be the 18-200 vr but
get ready for the price my friend has that lens with his 300 and says thats
all he needs. I would get the prime as Bigshot mentioned if your going to
take a lot of low light shots also when I borrowed my friends 18-200 I found
it just did not zoom far enough for me so the 70-300 vr fit the spot although
its a tad soft at 300. Another thing nice about dealing with a local camera shop should there be a defect or trouble with said piece they tend to work with you.

[screwdriver]

i had the 18-135 nikon lens and it is very sharp for a kit lens . just remember to have steady hands when shooting at the far end .

the D80 is going to be a bargain when the D90 comes out in stores . you are at a bad time buying - it wont be till a few weeks before the D90 comes out .

the D90 as per speculations has beter high ISO performance than the D80 , higher MP , dust cleaning and video but a kit with 18-105 VR will be $1299.

[Towert7]

Originally Posted by Hayduke

How good or bad is the kit 18-135 lens that comes with the D80?

I figure someone here will have used it.

I wasn't planning to buy a camera for several more months, but that timescale has been accelerated a bit. I'm buying one this week (maybe even today). I can spend up to about $1100, but I'd prefer to spend less

I've narrowed it down to the D80 kit, the D60 kit or the rebel Xsi kit.
I know kit lenses suck compared to higher end glass, but This is the only way I can see to get something usable immediately within my budget.

I'm going on a backpacking trip next week, and I thought I was going to borrow a Rebel XT, but that's not looking good. I was saving this money to spend more later on, but I think it's enough to get me something to start with. I'll buy more lenses later and, after I have a few nice lenses, eventually upgrade the body.

I was undecided between Canon and Nikon (still am a little), but there is one difference that is really swaying my decision. I know it's a dumb reason, but I prefer the direction Nikon zooms "twist". With the Canon I've borrowed recently, I keep twisting the wrong way to zoom. The first thing I noticed when I tested a Nikon at the shop was that it works the "correct" way :P At least it operates the way that is intuitive for me. It may sound like a minor thing, but it's something I keep thinking about.

SO any advice on that D80 kit lens? Or how about opinions on D80 vs D60?

I'm aware the D60 can't auto focus lenses without a motor. I'm not sure how big a deal that is though. My intention is to only buy lenses that are "full size". I don't want to buy any of the lenses that only work on DX bodies so that I can upgrade to a FX body down the road and use the same lenses.

Hopefully I'll get some good responses quickly, as I was planning to go shopping on my lunch hour

Ok, so here's the thing. The D80 will be a great starting point for a DSLR. It's a steal at 720$ for the body.

Nikon prices their lenses where they belong! You know how much the 18-135 kit lens costs. You then know how well it's built and how nice the optics are. It's a kit lens!
Having said that, it'll be perfectly fine for a lens to start using. Your picture taking skills we be limiting you much more than the lens at the start, assuming you're new to photography.
Great thing about the 18-135, is you get a ultra wide angle to telephoto lens all in one. That's great!

You already know you plan to get better lenses, so I see no reason not to start off with the D80 and 18-135 kit lens. You'll love it!

Buy it and start having fun!
Can't wait to see the pictures you take during your hike.

[Hayduke]

Thanks for the input everyone

I'm pretty set on the D80 now, and I'd like to get the kit for exactly the reason Towert said. It's a decent lens and will at least give me a reasonable range to get started.

I'm not real new to photography. I just haven't been as in to it for awhile. I still have my old 35mm Canon, and I used to use it a lot. I got plenty of good pictures, but I don't think I'll ever shoot film again. When I was in school, I could play in the darkroom, so developing wasn't such a financial burden. I stopped taking many pictures when I had to start paying for developing. Anyway, I've had my little Nikon P&S for awhile, but it's always bothered me that I couldn't do the things I was used to doing with my 35mm film camera.

I went out at lunch today and I don't think there are any D80s for sale in Flagstaff

I'm not sure what I'm going to do. Ill probably end up ordering from an online retailer and pay a little extra for the fast shipping. I figure I will be saving $100 on the basic kit, so that is probably more then the amount of the shipping. I'll post again tomorrow and let you guys know what I decided.

If I just up my budget by a couple hundred $$ I could get.... hehe

[Poohblah]

Originally Posted by Hayduke

I went out at lunch today and I don't think there are any D80s for sale in Flagstaff

i doubt that. you can find a D80 at any halfway decent camera shop (not best buy etc.).

[Poohblah]

Originally Posted by bigshot

You can get a D40 at Amazon with both an 18-55 and a 55-200 for $663. That is a pretty nice little kit for that price. Add a fast prime like the 50mm 1.4 to that for $314 and you're set for just about anything for under a grand. Great deal.

See ya
Steve

too bad the D40 can't auto focus with the 50/1.4, and given its small, dim viewfinder and no split screen focusing aid, focusing will be tough.

[dj_mocok]

Get a D80 you will never regret it even though D90 comes out the day after you bought D80.
Don't worry about this so called sensor cleaning feature. I've been shooting with my D80 for almost 2 years, and there's not a single speck of dust on the sensor. As long as you practice care when swapping lenses, dust on sensor is not an issue.

Actually if I were you, I'd have a look at used D200 as well and see if I can score a real bargain.

Kit lens is fine. The good thing about Nikon's kit lenses are, they can still perform well, only bad thing is build quality might not feel as solid as more expensive ones - but can't get everything you want from a kit lens, can you?

[Towert7]

Originally Posted by Hayduke

Thanks for the input everyone

I'm pretty set on the D80 now, and I'd like to get the kit for exactly the reason Towert said. It's a decent lens and will at least give me a reasonable range to get started.

I'm not real new to photography. I just haven't been as in to it for awhile. I still have my old 35mm Canon, and I used to use it a lot. I got plenty of good pictures, but I don't think I'll ever shoot film again. When I was in school, I could play in the darkroom, so developing wasn't such a financial burden. I stopped taking many pictures when I had to start paying for developing. Anyway, I've had my little Nikon P&S for awhile, but it's always bothered me that I couldn't do the things I was used to doing with my 35mm film camera.

I went out at lunch today and I don't think there are any D80s for sale in Flagstaff

I'm not sure what I'm going to do. Ill probably end up ordering from an online retailer and pay a little extra for the fast shipping. I figure I will be saving $100 on the basic kit, so that is probably more then the amount of the shipping. I'll post again tomorrow and let you guys know what I decided.

If I just up my budget by a couple hundred $$ I could get.... hehe

BHphoto if you want fast service!

[SiBurning]

Just picked up a D40 the day before leaving for vacation. My first decent camera. It feels great in my hands and this is the first time I ever took an even half decent picture. It's an upgrade from a Kodak dx3215. Okay... when you stop laughing... Hey! I got it in a raffle at a head-fi meet, or... the previous camera was even worse.

Took over 1000 bad pictures on my trip. Though far from the best, this is one of my favorites. Of course, there's a twin picture with the background in focus. (more or less)