Well I'm staying with Nikon

Beth81 · Feb 12, 2009

However, I have decided to change from the d60 to the d80. I have the option to get a the d80 with the 18-55mm lens and the 55-200mm lens or the d80 with the 18-135 lens? Is it better to get 2 different lens just to gain a few more mm's? or should I just stick with the one lens? The convenience would be to not have to change out lenses BUT will a few more mm's make that much difference? Say if I were shooting the sky?

inTempus · Feb 12, 2009

Wow, what a huge mistake.

Just kidding!!!

SlimPaul · Feb 12, 2009

18-55 will deliver better quality and performance than 18-135. I would go with an 18-105mm and a 70-300mm.

Big Mike · Feb 12, 2009

The D80 isn't really going to do much of anything for you, that the D60 can't do. :roll:

Tolyk · Feb 12, 2009

Big Mike said:
The D80 isn't really going to do much of anything for you, that the D60 can't do. :roll:

Except auto-focus with the AF lenses.

If you want a performance upgrade though, I agree with Mike fully. Go for at least the D90, the CMOS sensor makes a world of difference when it comes to low-light.

And yeah, the 18-135 isn't a very good lens. I'm not sure if I'd say the 18-55 is better though. The 18-105 definitely is, but still plasticy (I had someone return theirs because the mount broke the first time they tried to put it on the camera). If you want to aim for quality, I'd recommend the 16-85 to cover that range, nice lens.

Beth81 · Feb 12, 2009

Well that's what I'm looking for. The convenience of AF. I'm learning to MF but it's so much easier to let the camera do it for you. LOL I was thinking of getting the d90 but I didn't thnk I'd ever really use the video....I mean after all it is my camera not my camcorder. Don't get me wrong I'm sure some people can find use in it but i just don't think I would. However it did cross my mind when it first came out.

Beth81 · Feb 12, 2009

Oh and what's this "f - error" message that the d90's are getting?

Tolyk · Feb 12, 2009

Beth81 said:
Well that's what I'm looking for. The convenience of AF. I'm learning to MF but it's so much easier to let the camera do it for you. LOL I was thinking of getting the d90 but I didn't thnk I'd ever really use the video....I mean after all it is my camera not my camcorder. Don't get me wrong I'm sure some people can find use in it but i just don't think I would. However it did cross my mind when it first came out.

Then ignore the video feature? Or jump right up to the D300

It's not about Video, it's about CMOS vs CCD. And in the case of the D300, the wicked fast auto-focusing.

Tolyk · Feb 12, 2009

Beth81 said:
Oh and what's this "f - error" message that the d90's are getting?

That's possible for any nikon camera to get. One reason that error pops up is a person hasn't locked the aperture ring on their lens. Another is a connectivity issue, that's seeming very common.

inTempus · Feb 12, 2009

Beth81 said:
Well that's what I'm looking for. The convenience of AF. I'm learning to MF but it's so much easier to let the camera do it for you. LOL I was thinking of getting the d90 but I didn't thnk I'd ever really use the video....I mean after all it is my camera not my camcorder. Don't get me wrong I'm sure some people can find use in it but i just don't think I would. However it did cross my mind when it first came out.

The video function on the D90 is mostly useless. If you want to spend a lot of time you can hobble short clips together in to neat vidoes (lots of them on the net) but you can't really use it to shoot something meaningful.

But as noted, upgrading to the D90 isn't about the video. It's about the vastly superior CMOS sensor. I don't know why Nikon still uses CCD's to be honest. Canon ditched them a while ago.

Beth81 · Feb 12, 2009

Well I just saw a lot of people talking about it so I was wondering.

ANDS! · Feb 12, 2009

The video on the D90 is about as useless as the video on the 5D, which is to say its not useless at all - if you know what you are doing.

Beth81 · Feb 12, 2009

I took a picture for my 365 but I can't post it yet. I haven't sent it thru photoshop yet. LOL then again it may be better that I not.

inTempus · Feb 12, 2009

ANDS! said:
The video on the D90 is about as useless as the video on the 5D, which is to say its not useless at all - if you know what you are doing.

I would agree - it's equally useless. I didn't make this about Nikon vs. Canon, that has nothing to do with it.

As I noted, you can hobble together short clips and make some pretty creative videos as evidenced by the vidoes on the net. However, since you have no control over ISO, aperture, or most other settings outside of manual focus while shooting, you'll find it nearly impossible to shoot anything meaningful with it.

Every single video I've seen that I would consider professional quality was a collection of 10-20 second shots in nearly the same lighting conditions for each shot. If by "knowing what you're doing" means being very selective about the subject and lighting conditions, then yes I would agree. That's because you can't change the camera settings while you're shooting outside of focus.