looking for some advice about DSLR

[xxwake4lifexx]

Hey guys. The camera I'm using right now I've had for 4 or 5 years and its getting a little out-dated for my photography desires. Its a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ5. The camera works well for casual shooting, but I'm looking to finally make my upgrade to a DSLR this summer. I've already pretty much got my mind made up to get a Nikon. One of my best friends had one and loved it. I hear wonderful things about their cameras also.

What I'm going for right now is the Nikon D40 or the D60. I pretty much have my mind made up also that this is the model I want. I'm looking for a little advice though on where to buy it from. I'd like to get a kit that comes with the camera, an extra lens, and a bag for all the stuff. I'd really like a lens that will enable me to take really close up macro shots. The camera I have now has a good macro feature but doesn't have a manual focus and doesn't work well on the far end of being zoomed in.

Two places that I glanced at were Ritz Camera and Beach Camera. They seem to have fair prices and sell them in packages. I need a little advice though on the lenses that they come with and whether those will be enough, will I need to purchase a macro lens separate, etc.

Thanks for the help guys.

 

[TitusvileSurfer]

I think B&H is the way to go. For macros you are going to want a dedicated lens for sure. The bread and butter lens would be the Nikon 105mm, price and quality go down from there.

 

[BlueCorn]

They seem to have fair prices and sell them in packages.

Avoid "packages" like the plague. They're never a deal and from those stores it will be low quality crap. The lens is the most important component in a DSLR. If you skimp there, your pictures will suffer.

 

[xtm]

The kit lens that comes with the D40 (Nikkor 18-55) is a decent starter lens, but it's not what you want for shooting macros. The Nikon 105mm is great, but at around $800 bones, it aint cheap. Tamron, Tokina, and Sigma all make good "alternatives".

Just so you know, only the AF-I and AF-S lenses autofocus with the D40 and D60. some lenses are screw-drive and will NOT autofocus on these bodies.

Both B&H and Adorama are great stores.

 

[jthao]

d60 with a nikon 105mm vr and your set. bh has the cheapest price.