want to buy my first SLR

kvosstra

kvosstra

New member
Looking for suggestions ( I realize the canon v. Nikon Battle) - But does anyone offer a good value for a first SLR and a quality lense in a bundle. Or am I better off just buying a body and buying a quality lense or 2 on their own?

Is buying a used camera a good value or asking for trouble?
Are any of the packages on Ebay a decent deal? Something like this? D40 -
http://cgi.ebay.com/Nikon-D40-Digit...39:1|66:2|65:12|240:1308&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

Or should I shop at a more reputable place like B&H? d60 - http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/con...ddedTroughType=6222&addedTroughValue=6222&q=1


I currenly have an older Nikon point and shoot that functions well - I just want to try my hand at some more features.

I have seen others with the d40 - or D60 - and am just curious about these.

Any helpful insight is welcomed.

Thanks - Kyle
 
What are you looking to shoot primarily? What's your budget?

My best reccomendation for a good jumping off point would be a D40 and the Nikon 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5 . The 18-70mm is a good quality lens in comparison to the 18-55, and can be had for right around $150-160 used.

I wouldn't spend the extra on the D60 over the D40 unless you're planning on making large prints that would benefit from the higher megapixels.
 
I'm planning on shooting my tank primarily - I will mostly shoot my fish and SPS corals. I have one dilemma with regard to the corals - my tank is 36 inches deep and My corals are fully encrusted. I would like to shoot some macro shots of some of them - and I have found it difficult to get a nice detailed shot when I am 18 or more inches away. Is there a lense that will help me shoot in this manner?
I will also use it as an all purpose camera for when i head into the hills for hiking and the lot.

I probably wont make large prints - so thanks for the advice on the D60.

No real budget - I just want to purchase something that I can work with - and prove to myself that I will use it, before I spend some serious cash on a camera.

Thanks!

-Kyle
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13191889#post13191889 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kvosstra
I'm planning on shooting my tank primarily - I will mostly shoot my fish and SPS corals. I have one dilemma with regard to the corals - my tank is 36 inches deep and My corals are fully encrusted. I would like to shoot some macro shots of some of them - and I have found it difficult to get a nice detailed shot when I am 18 or more inches away. Is there a lense that will help me shoot in this manner?
I will also use it as an all purpose camera for when i head into the hills for hiking and the lot.

I probably wont make large prints - so thanks for the advice on the D60.

No real budget - I just want to purchase something that I can work with - and prove to myself that I will use it, before I spend some serious cash on a camera.

Thanks!

-Kyle
Click to expand...

Based on these qualifications, here's what I could recommend for a setup.

1. Nikon D40 body ~$350
2. Macro lens. You'll probably want one of the 105mm-150mm focal length.

Sigma 150mm - $670

Nikkor 105mm . - $760

Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 AI-S (older model) - ~$250. Will have to meter and focus manually with the D40.

3. Walk around zoom for hiking:

Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5 - $300 (~160 used)


4. Telephoto zoom if you want to shoot distant wildlife.

Nikkor 70-300mm VR - $470 (~350 used)

I'd definitely suggest buying used if possible (especially on the lenses) to save yourself some $. Also keep in mind that the D40 body itself will not autofocus unless you have a lens with a built-in motor. Most of the new lenses have these, but it limits the amount of lenses available for this camera. This is one of the reasons I went with the D80 for $550 used.
 
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where is the best place to purchase used equipment - is ebay a decent place or are there other markets I am not aware of.

Thanks for the info.

-Kyle
 
b&h sometimes offers used equipment on their site, along with keh.com . I've had good luck with ebay as long as the seller has a good feedback (I also try to stick with individuals more than the power sellers as I don't trust them much).
 
what other benefits does the d80 offer. You speak of auto focus for the lenses - but if I am shooting 10-20 shots in my tank of one coral at a time - will I need this benefit?

Thanks.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13192361#post13192361 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kvosstra
what other benefits does the d80 offer. You speak of auto focus for the lenses - but if I am shooting 10-20 shots in my tank of one coral at a time - will I need this benefit?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

The AF in the body would not matter unless you want to buy lenses without motors built in. These would include a lot of the faster Nikon prime (non-zoom) lenses, and a good bit of the older model lenses. If you use these lenses on the D40 you would have to manually focus with the ring.

For me, this was my big reason for going to the D80, along with the fact that you get 11 different autofocus points instead of three (very limiting imo).

Other than that, the pros of the D80 over the D40 would be:

1. Better controls (imo). Instead of navigating thru the menu on the D40, you merely learn to press the specific button and spin the wheel to change the value.
2. 10.2 megapixels vs 6.1 . For some, doesn't matter.
3. "Predictive focus tracking"
4. viewfinder grid lines
5. depth of field preview button (another favorite of mine!)
6. Base iso of 100 instead of 200
7. More iso setting options
8. Auto-bracketing (great for HDR imaging, if you get into that)
9. 3fps shooting versus 2.5fps (stretching it here)

Its not much better in terms of image quality in comparison, but its definitely more "feature-rich" than both the D40 and D60. I enjoyed my D40, and it was a good jumping off point, but I found that the D80 better suited what I was looking for.
 
consider a olympus evolt 500 or 550, many will say the older 500 model is better, i think this camera is the best quality and bang for the buck, you can get a great package for under 800, that is 2 lens, several cf cards, tripod etc. I would check them out!
 
a family member of mine got a new 550 package for 700 on sale, if you ebay the evolt 500 used you can get a great package for around 500! it is a great camera, more quality than the lower end canon and nikons, and a better price, i would compare it to a d40
 
FWIW: The lens issue with the D40 was a deal killer for me - I have too much older Nikon glass that wouldn't work. I'd opt for a D80. Don't go for a D200, it got completely replaced by the D300, so you'd just regret it.

I always use Cameta Camera on Ebay for my Nikon purchases. They have around the best "real" prices (so many places have low prices but then upsell you on batteries, or tell you the low price is only for the "plastic model" - whatever that means). I just got a D300 body from them for $1275. It was refurbished, but only had 300 shutter acuations and was literally as new. Some people say refurbished is actually better than new because Nikon USA has gone over it and fixed/tested all the functions, whereas a new camera could have a slight back-focusing problem or something that you might never notice but would dog you for years.

Jay
 
actually the evolt 500 with a very nice 2 lens package is also going well under 500 dollars on ebay! they use zuiko lens, well, that is what the package comes with which are a very good lens!
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13192002#post13192002 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by InLimbo87
Based on these qualifications, here's what I could recommend for a setup.

1. Nikon D40 body ~$350
2. Macro lens. You'll probably want one of the 105mm-150mm focal length.

Sigma 150mm - $670

Nikkor 105mm . - $760

Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 AI-S (older model) - ~$250. Will have to meter and focus manually with the D40.

3. Walk around zoom for hiking:

Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5 - $300 (~160 used)


4. Telephoto zoom if you want to shoot distant wildlife.

Nikkor 70-300mm VR - $470 (~350 used)

I'd definitely suggest buying used if possible (especially on the lenses) to save yourself some $. Also keep in mind that the D40 body itself will not autofocus unless you have a lens with a built-in motor. Most of the new lenses have these, but it limits the amount of lenses available for this camera. This is one of the reasons I went with the D80 for $550 used.
Click to expand...


tamron 90 is a great macro leans to.
 
the evolt 500 is the same pretty much as a d40, and much less money for a great package! do some research, youll see! save yourself some money for more fish and corals lol!
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13212571#post13212571 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SALT WATER CRAZ
tamron 90 is a great macro leans to.
Click to expand...

I forgot about the tamron. I've heard great things about this one, and they're considerably cheaper than the others...
 
One of the nice things about the D40/40x/60 is that it will mount and shoot essentially every F-mount lens ever made. So you can buy a nice preAI Nikkor 55mm micro for $40-80 and shoot it manually. If you're taking macros, your probably doing a lot of manual focus anyhow.

Any lens without a chip (that's preAI, AI, AIS) won't meter, but it's no biggie with an LCD.

The other Nikons cannot mount preAI lenses.
 
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<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13211518#post13211518 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by JHemdal
FWIW: The lens issue with the D40 was a deal killer for me - I have too much older Nikon glass that wouldn't work. I'd opt for a D80. Don't go for a D200, it got completely replaced by the D300, so you'd just regret it.
Click to expand...


I completely disagree with this. Just because Nikon "replaces" a body with another does not mean it is now totally worthless. If you need higher ISO the D300 does perform better but aside from high ISO and a slightly higher MP rating the D300 isn't exactly all that and a bag of chips. The D200 is a solid camera and can hold its own quite well against a D300 *until* you get to the high ISO points.

To say "don't go for a D200, it got completely replaced by the D300, so you'd just regret it" you might as well say "don't waste your money on a D300 since it's been completely replaced by the D700 which can do BOTH DX and FX." In my very humble and totally non-professional opinion those are both silly statements.

If you can find a good price on a used or even new (yes there are still some "new" D200's out there somewhere) D200 I would say you couldn't go wrong starting there. It's a great, solid camera that has a good number of features without being *too* overwhelming.
 
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