[Edwood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BDA_ABAT /img/forum/go_quote.gif Howdy all! Would appreciate suggestions. Am considering a Nikon D80 as my first dSLR. Reviews look very favorable. Am not competent, just interested. What do you think of the base kit lens (18-135mm)? Is it worthwhile, or should I consider another option??? If so, what would you all suggest as a general purpose lens to start with? Unfortunately, we can't afford the 80-200 right now. Need something with decent macro ability. Also, any recs for SD cards? Basic lens protection filter? Other recommendations that might help for someone who is clueless but just starting out??? Thanks in advance! Bruce

I'd definitely get the 50mm f/1.4 or f/1.8, depending on your budget, it's so small and cheap it's easy to keep handy for when you need a low light fast shooter.

-Ed

 

[cotdt]

i like the Nikkor 35mm f/2.0 AF

 

[fureshi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dj_mocok /img/forum/go_quote.gif So did you get it? You can't really go wrong with kit lenses, but don't worry so much about buying too many unimportant accessories at once. For SD, just get anything cheap and reliable.

exactly. any SD card will work. you don't really need the fancy 80x or 120x cards unless you're shooting a lot of sports and want to make sure that you don't fill up the buffer.

 

[kin0kin]

After three months of waiting for a good deal I got for the sigma 150mm (490+ new, shipped) - which was backordered - I decided the pay extra 35bucks from another vendor to get the lens. Finally it has been shipped and is on the way to me. I'm damn freaking excited now

 

[PATB]

Has anybody tried the latest Tokina 16-50 (?) or Sigma 17-50 2.8 zooms?

I am still new in this as a hobby, and consequently using mostly primes to learn the ropes (35 f/2 and 50/1.4 remnants from the N80 days).

However, I can see the benefits of zooms as a one lens kit, especially when travelling. I have the 18-55 DX II kit lens with my D80, but I find it too slow for candid indoor shoots (I have the SB600 and I and my kids hate flash photography!). I handled the Nikon 17-55 2.8 at the store and found it too heavy for my weak, arthritic hands

I am primarily looking at 28-80, or thereabouts, 35mm equivalent with sharp, fast glass.

 

[Mrvile]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PATB /img/forum/go_quote.gif Has anybody tried the latest Tokina 16-50 (?) or Sigma 17-50 2.8 zooms? I am still new in this as a hobby, and consequently using mostly primes to learn the ropes (35 f/2 and 50/1.4 remnants from the N80 days). However, I can see the benefits of zooms as a one lens kit, especially when travelling. I have the 18-55 DX II kit lens with my D80, but I find it too slow for candid indoor shoots (I have the SB600 and I and my kids hate flash photography!). I handled the Nikon 17-55 2.8 at the store and found it too heavy for my weak, arthritic hands I am primarily looking at 28-80, or thereabouts, 35mm equivalent with sharp, fast glass.

The Tokina 16-50 doesn't look that great... Photozone review

If you need a fast ~18-55 zoom, the Tamron 17-50/2.8 is going to be your best bet. It's light, sharp, and cheap.

 

[Shizelbs]

I'm going to pick up a couple extra shifts this month. With the money I get from that I will either put that towards either a D200 or D80. I need to figure out what lenses and accessories I will need/want, but I've wanted a quality DSLR for a while now.

Can anyone point to other good Nikon/DSLR sites besides Nikonians?

 

[kin0kin]

The only tokina that I'll ever buy is the 12-24 f4 and 50-135 f2.8. IIRC both have similar optics as the pentax offer.

 

[cotdt]

I don't like the consumer Zoom-Nikkor lenses. I've been shooting with the Nikkor 18-70mm (which was shown to be sharper than the 18-55mm, 18-135mm, and 18-200mm), but below f5.6 the pictures are a little soft. The primes I've used are much better at wider apertures. I think these zoom lenses are overrated. Need to stop taking lens advice from that Ken Rockwell website

.

Photography for me has always been about expressing my feelings. One thing I like about zoom lenses is that I can take pictures like these:

I'll be getting that Sigma 30mm f/1.4 HSM lens soon. The newest samples are supposed to have that auto-focusing problem resolved. From what I've seen, it is much sharper than the Nikkor 35mm f/2 at all aperatures (time to eBay mine), and takes wonderful pics at the widest f/1.4 setting. Expect an update on my impressions of this lens.

 

[mb3k]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shizelbs /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm going to pick up a couple extra shifts this month. With the money I get from that I will either put that towards either a D200 or D80. I need to figure out what lenses and accessories I will need/want, but I've wanted a quality DSLR for a while now. Can anyone point to other good Nikon/DSLR sites besides Nikonians?

http://www.nikoncafe.com

 

[Shizelbs]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mb3k /img/forum/go_quote.gif http://www.nikoncafe.com

Thanks.

 

[mb3k]

I was just at a studio photoshoot yetserday and I realized how much talent there is to be learned with lighting and especially model direction. We had snoots, barndoors, honeycombs, gels, backdrops... That was the first time I saw so much personally owned equipment.
I'll confirm if I can show photos or not, depending on the model release form.

 

[Shizelbs]

Anyone here personally had to choose between the D80 and D200? Thats what I will be doing and I'd love to learn about your decision and the thinking behind it.

 

[smeggy]

I didn't choose between an 80 or 200 as I have wifely constraints these days, but I did get myself a wee D40 with 18-55, 55-200 VR, 50 1.8 and a SB-400. Quite a nice little budget setup which does the job admirably.

It's been a long time since I last had an SLR. Back in the 70's and 80's I had a few. Yashica FX2, Contax RTS II, Nikon F3 and the like so it's a lot of fun to be back in it again, albeit on a cheaper scale.

On the plus side, it is a lot lighter and smaller than a Nikon F3 with honking big 6 fps motordrive, big lens and a Metz CL-45 hammer style megablitz flashgun. That was about a foot tall and weighed probably in the region of 8 pounds all together

Ah, the joys (and expense) of photography

 

[dj_mocok]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shizelbs /img/forum/go_quote.gif Anyone here personally had to choose between the D80 and D200? Thats what I will be doing and I'd love to learn about your decision and the thinking behind it.

That would be me. I had the money to go for D200, but since I could just get D80 + a good lens with the money from D200, I opted for D80 and didn't regret it a bit. I'm using my brother's D200 regularly and don't find anything I feel more than my D80 apart from bigger more sturdy feel and metering on MF lenses.

Actually battery life wise, I think D80 is better than D200. Noise performance of D80 is also much better too.