Need DSLR help

[lightningfront]

Ok, the wife tells me tonight that she wants a new camera. She says she wants a Nikon D300. We have never owned a DSLR camrea before, I suggested starting out with a cheaper easier to use camera but she insists on this one and I can't argue with her because she dropped the fish tank bomb on me saying that I get my fish tanks so she wants someting nice (expensive)

Anyways I'm supposed to do the research and find out what kind of lens she should get and the best place (price) to get the camera and lense from. Once again I'm a noob when it comes to DSLR so I have no idea what lenses go with the camera and how to tell what they are used for.

Help would be greatly appreciated. Or even a link to somewhere on-line that explains about them.

 

[TitusvileSurfer]

Wait your doing the research? Why a D300? Don't get me wrong that is an excellent camera but...if your the researcher where did that come from? Does she know anything about photography? Does one of her friends have a D300? I just don't know how that came about.

You the cost of the camera will be chump change compared to the cost of the lenses.

I recommend you buy from http://www.bhphotovideo.com/
They are a photography mecca out of NYC.

 

[ngn8dogg]

Hes doing the research on what lenses. It sounds like the wife did it on the body.

 

[lightningfront]

She decided on the D300, like I said I attempted to get her to choose a less complicated and less expensive camera but she insists this is the camera she wants.

She has never owned a DSLR camera before and is not very experienced with advanced photography, but has always wanted one and decided with income tax return this year to get a very nice camera.

I can not budge her on this, I have no say as I recently set up my reef tank and got a new motorcycle last year. She just wants to buy something nice and she loves to take pictures. Really into scrapbooking and that kind of stuff.

Anyways what size lenses should we look into, her photo taking is mostly of our son and the family pets. I know we need something good for shots in the 5-15ft range and she also wants to be able to zoom in like if she's outside taking photos of things in the distance.

Also, I would love to get a macro lense to get some of those awesome close up coral shots I see on here.

 

[lightningfront]

I've been researching and reading some photography forums and I think I am going to try and convince her the lense is more important than the camera and try and get her to step down to the D90 and get a coupl nice quality lenses, like a 16-80mm lense and a 70-300mm lense

 

[lightningfront]

She has agreed to go with the D90 and get some nice lenses for it. I think we are going to start with the Nikon Wide Angle-Telephoto AF Zoom Nikkor 24-85mm f/2.8-4.0D IF Autofocus Lens.

Is the Macro 60mm f/2.8D AF Micro Nikkor Autofocus Lens a good lense for taking those amesome close up shots of corals?

 

[TWallace]

Good idea getting her to switch to the D90. I believe it's about 1/3 the price of the D300, plus it shoots video and the D300 does not. She would probably appreciate that for taking videos of the kids. Also, now you have a couple thousand dollars extra to spend on lenses.

For a macro, the Nikon 105mm VR is excellent but expensive ($750 roughly). You can maybe find a used non-VR version of the same lens for around $4-500 and it is also excellent. Other manufacturers make excellent macros for Nikon, like the Tokina 100mm for $400 (that's about the cheapest good macro you'll find for Nikon). The Tamron 90mm is also relatively cheap at $450.

For an all around lens, you may want to check out a 16-85 VR lens. I don't know how useful VR is at that focal length. I'm not sure if there's a non-VR version of this lens. Another option is the 18-200 VR lens (VR is definitely very useful at or near 200mm).

A surprising lens for Nikon is the 50mm 1.8 AF. 1.8 means it's a very fast lens, so you can take shots with dimmer light and maintain a fast shutter speed. It's excellent for aquarium photography and many other things. The reason it's surprising is because of the price: $115 brand new. I got one for $60 used in perfect condition and absolutely love it.

If you want a wide angle, I've read that the Tokina 11-16 is incredible. Even better than Nikon the 12-24 which costs nearly twice as much. I've seen comparison photos from the 2 and the Tokina is way sharper in both the corners and the center.

 

[lightningfront]

Thanks for the info!

 

[bmwardo]

I second the Nikon 16-85mm, I use it on my D300 and it really is a great lens, especially between 24mm - 60mm. When I am not using my primes it is a great choice.

 

[lightningfront]

Well we placed the order tonight with B&H photo. Got the D90 with the Nikkor 16-85mm VR lense, the Tokina 100mm macro lense, an extra battery, and a Sandisk 8Gb Extreme III SD card. Total came to just under 2 grand which would have barely paid for a D300 body.

 

[xtm]

Good choice on the D90! I'm sure you and the wife will like it a lot. I have the D300 and I can tell you it is one complicated machine and there is so much to learn, enough to discourage some people who are new to photography. I used to have the same dilemma when I was trying to decide between a D90 and the D300. I wrote all the pros and cons of both model and decided which one is for me. Basically it all came down to this:

Why D90?
PROS
-same sensor like the D300
-same great 3" LCD as D300
-cheaper than the D300. I can use the extra cash to get a nice glass
-lighter, slimmer
-very good high ISO performance (some say it's even better than the D300)
-HD video (which I don't care for... but nice feature to have)
-scene modes
-more user-friendly (for my wife)

CONS
-Not sure if it will meter on my older AI Nikkors
-Fewer AF points than D300
-tested for "only" 100K shutter actuations compared to D300's 150K actuations
-Not ergonomic for me personally
-Uses flimsy SD cards (I hate them...)
-Only 4.5 fps (for most people this is fast enough)
-I (personally) think that Nikon kinda "rushed" on the D90 just to claim the title of "The first dSLR to have video". I think they will soon release a D90x that has all the bugs in the D90 fixed.
-the video mode has serious design flaws. #1 it doesn't autofocus, #2 the rolling shutter #3 the stairstepping issue #4 it stops at 5 min. mark

Basically on the D300, you're paying for the alloy body, weatherseal, 51-focus points, 6/8 fps, and ability to meter with old Ai Nikkors. You have to decide if you need these features or not.. but I guarantee you will be VERY happy with the D90.

Post some pics when you get it!

 

[TWallace]

Good choices lightningfront. I'm quite jealous with my D50.

xtm, I'm curious as to why you hate SD cards? I've never had a camera that used CF. What is better about CF?

 

[dendronepthya]

If she's set on the D300, I would just go ahead and punt on that. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that choice, and she will probably love it.

As for lenses, I think Nikon really shines with its f/2.8 zooms. The 12-24 f/2.8 is supposed to be a monster lens that is practically unrivaled at every focal length and aperture in its range. The 24-70 f/2.8 is also given a lot of kudos and is probably every bit as good as the Canon L version. They aren't cheap, but those are the first two I'd go with.