Yeah, I went out to a few stores today. You’d think a major city (Denver) would have at least one store where the salesperson actually knew what the hell they were talking about. Nobody carried anything Pentax and they all seemed surprised that I was even interested in it and tried to steer me away from the brand. That isn’t encouraging, so I think I’m solidly in the Nikon boat.
So, I guess I narrowed it down, but I’m still camera-less and still can’t make a freakin decision. D40, D60, D3000, D80, and D90 seem like my choices. D40 is probably fine for me, but it seems old and slow and puny compared to the others. Don’t know if the D60 is worth the $100 more than D40. Don’t know much about the D3000. The D80 deal I was looking at before is open box, so not exactly new, and I don’t know if buying a camera open box is a good idea. I would love this camera, but only if I can get it for around $750. D90 is a bit out of my price range, and probably I would be better off spending the money on a good lens, but it’s a pretty sexy camera. I almost pulled the trigger on one just because.
god dammit this decision is stressing me out far too much.
Pause? This is exactly the deal I’m looking for!! Now I just need to decide between the D80 or the D90, figure out what lens I should get, and I’m sold. Thanks for the heads up!
I’ve used both. The D90 autofocus is noticeably faster, and the low light performance is much, much better. You may think “I don’t need low light”, until you try to shoot almost anything in natural light using a normal kit lens.
I’m leaning towards the D80 just because the extra D90 features are probably not worth an extra $200+ to me at this point, when I can put that money towards getting a great lens.
Ken Rockwell splooges all over the 18-200mm VR II lens on his webpage, so I’m looking into that one ($680 refurb, $710 new on Adorama). If I get the D80 along with that lens, I feel like I will have a pretty amazing set of gear for getting started, and I’ll still be pretty close to what I had budgeted.
Does that sound good to you guys?
edit: upon further thinking, the complexity of that lens might be overkill for a beginner. maybe i’ll save my money for now and get something a bit more modest.
I will let the Nikon folks give approval, but I have read good things about the lense. There is also a 24-105 lense (I think) that may be cheaper and people like.
I looked around at some additional reviews from some more rational people, and I think I’m backing off from the 18-200 since it doesn’t appear to quite live up to the hype. It seems to be cheaply built and doesn’t perform too well at 200mm, and it’s a lot pricier than I need at this point.
Chris, I don’t see any 24-105 lens. You may be referring to this guy - 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED AF-S DX VR - which is my current front runner. $360 on Adorama with very favorable reviews from what I’ve seen so far.
Nikon just announced a replacement for the 18-200 last week. I have no idea when it will be available.
It’s pretty amazing how far lenses have come in the last 5-10 years. Almost all of Nikon’s kit lenses (18-x) are pretty good optically, and worlds better than anyone would have any right to expect of a lens in that price range in the very recent past. The current 18-200 might be the weakest of this group, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad. I personally just don’t think it’s the best bang for your buck. One thing to know about that lens is that at focus distances less than infinity the effective focal range becomes shorter, giving you a wider angle of view.
The 18-55 VR, 55-200 VR (There are older, non VR versions of both of these lenses still available. I definitely think it’s worth the upgrade to the VR versions) combo is a touch better optically, and it’s cheaper. In fact you could throw in a 35 mm f/1.8 (assuming you can find one) and still be below the cost of the 18-200.
Of course, what the 18-200 gives you is convenience. That’s very attractive to a lot of people that just want to slap one lens on their camera and be done with it. There isn’t anything wrong with the 18-105 as a compromise choice.
Stay away from the 24-120 (the other lens Chris may be talking about). It’s an older design that people are only buying because Nikon doesn’t have a lot of good options for a budget walk around lens for their FX D700’s, as far as I can tell. All of the current 18-x lenses are a better value for someone like yourself.
I think you’re on the right track. At this point, the most important decision is just to make one. Any of the products that you’re thinking about will be capable of helping you make great pictures.
Since you’re looking at used equipment, be sure to take a look at the prices at keh.com. I haven’t used them myself, but I hear the site recommended quite often for used camera equipment and their system for rating wear conditions makes it less of a blind purchase. Most of the time I hear people saying that their wear & tear estimates are on the conservative side, too.
I’m going with the D80 with the 18-70 lens. This gives me the camera I wanted plus a nice starter lens and will leave me with an extra $400 or so of camera budgeted money that I can play with once I start using the camera and understand more about what I need. The next purchase will likely either be a tripod + 50-200mm VR or a 70-300mm VR + gorillapod.
I really appreciate the help from everybody, and now that the “easy” part is over with, I’m super excited to get started!
Something to consider when buying a second lens is filter size. The 70-300 pairs up better with the 18-70 as they both accept 67mm filters. If you should ever decide to buy a circular polarizer or a neutral density filter, one purchase can cover both of those lenses.
Congrats! If I remember right, f/8 is the sweet spot for sharpness with that lens, so keep it in mind if you have enough light for it (or a tripod handy).
In addition to eyeing zoom lenses for your next purchase, I’d recommend you consider a fast prime lens. Since you ended up with a body with an autofocus motor, you can opt for the venerable 50mm f/1.8 lens, which will only run you around a hundred bucks new. This will give you great low light performance that you can’t touch with the 18-70 or either zoom you’re looking at, and with prime lenses you get higher quality optics for your dollar.
The 50mm becomes a 75mm equivalent on DX cameras like the D80, so it can feel a little too zoomed in close quarters. There’s a new 35mm f/1.8 that was released this year that’s a little easier to have as a general ‘all purpose’ prime, but at $200 it’s a bit more expensive. (Still an extremely attractive price, though.)
Prime lenses aren’t for everyone, but it’s at least something to consider if you’re already looking at expanding your arsenal.
Also, since you sound like you really want to learn more about photography and how to use an SLR, I recommend you completely ignore every shooting setting on the left dial except for P, S, A, and M. Pretend all the little picture icons don’t exist, and only dial to the green “Auto” setting if you’re handing your camera to someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing. All those automated settings will generally do a good job for you, but you’ll be more in the dark as to what’s going on and why things are happening, and what to change if the shot isn’t coming out the way you want it to.
Use “P” as your automatic setting; it’s like an “Auto” setting that doesn’t take as much out of your control. “A” lets you set the aperture with the camera doing the shutter speed (I almost always shoot in “A”), “S” is the inverse, and “M” has you set both.
I got my camera today. It looks great and works perfectly as far as I can tell. I’m not sure if there are any tests I can/should run on it to make sure it’s performing as well as it should be expected to, but to my inexperienced eye, it’s good as new.
The used lens is also in very good, if not perfect condition. There is a small piece around the top edge of the plastic that is bent a little bit inwards - it could very well just be the way it’s supposed to look, but either way it’s hardly noticeable and doesn’t affect anything.
The camera bag included in the package is pretty nice. It’s bigger/roomier than I expected it to be.
Look into upgrading the software on your camera. It’s a quick and painless procedure, you can find you current version number in your menu.
Also, if you are going to be doing a lot of macro photography get a remote trigger, something like this .
When i started out i read Scott Kelbys excellent “Digital Photography” series. It packs an amazing amount of good photography tips in a non-technical language. Highly recommended!
I just ordered a refurb d80 from Adorama. I like that it is old-lense friendly (or at least more so than the D90). I figure I will skip the D90 and upgrade to the next iteration in two years.
I plan on getting the 18-105 (first) and then the 70-300. That should keep me happy for a few months at least. Need to build up my Nikon lense collection before worrying about the latest and greatest body. $574 is just too good a deal.
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