When to upgrade?

[dEARlEADER]

Yep! I'd say you're ready for a dslr. Figure out what you can afford, then go in debt for an even better model. The more manual options, and the faster you can attain them, the better, IMO.

Nice moon shot, btw.

lol.... this is funny cuz it's true...

Whether you choose the D40 or the D80 you will still have the power to make great images. I wouldn't worry so much about the focus motor (or lack thereof) in the D40. It's nice to have autofocus for mid range zooms but you will most likely manual focus your macros and wide landscapes anyways.

My setup on the D60.... I use the 18-200 for general photography (autofocus preferred)... and Sigma105 for macro (autofocus irrelevant) and Tokina 11-16(on order) for wide shots (autofocus irrelevant)....

When I upgrade my camera, Sigma and Tokina will autofocus if I want. In the meantime I have learned another aspect of photography.

 

[A.S.H.rimp]

Yep! I'd say you're ready for a dslr. Figure out what you can afford, then go in debt for an even better model. The more manual options, and the faster you can attain them, the better, IMO.

Nice moon shot, btw.

Haha. I'm not going to go in debt, so that kind of limits my options... Good cameras are awesome, but debt is not.
And thanks...

So I looked into used D70's and D200's on the web. The D70 looks a little more ancient than I want, and the D200 seems a bit more money than I want to spend on just a body.
So far with Nikon, D40 or D80 seems my best bet...

I haven't had a detailed look at cannons yet. I have shot with one, and I prefer Nikons at this point, because they are set up more like the camera I have now. If money allows, I would like to buy one of these two brands, because of the greater options.

Thanks again for your replies...

 

[Stranger]

choose the D80 over the D40 or, IMO, you will be back asking when you should upgrade again real soon ;-)

 

[JimmyO]

Well i can tell you that you will love both cameras and that the end decesion is completly up to you. Although in your situation i would go with the d40. I think there enough AF-S lenses that you will never feel completely limited by what lenses you can use

 

[sultan]

I say go for the D80 if you can and get a bit less lenses initially. It is more professional feeling, has a superior pentaprism viewfinder that makes manual focusing much easier and supports a greater variety of lenses. Lenses that autofocus on the D80 cost significantly less than lenses that autofocus on the D40.

I recommend the D80 however you'll also be fine with the D40. It's your choice.

 

[A.S.H.rimp]

Well, seems like the D80 is the way to go as for Nikon.
I'm going to look up some other brands and maybe go play with some cameras... I'm still not sure that I want to spend my money just yet... Although I would like to...

 

[sultan]

Well, seems like the D80 is the way to go as for Nikon.
I'm going to look up some other brands and maybe go play with some cameras... I'm still not sure that I want to spend my money just yet... Although I would like to...

I'll take care of that for you:
Canon - XSi nice for small hands, otherwise out. It also has a lousy pentamirror VF. 40D too expensive.
Olympus - E-520 may be good but the D80 beats it hands down (bigger body, pentaprism, lens choices etc)
Sony - The A300 and A350 are nice bodies but they have the same lousy pentamirror as the others and the A700 is too expensive. The lenses also suck.
Pentax - I like the K200D but it is an entry level model (D40 like mirror etc.) for a mid range price. Not the best deal at the moment. However, it does feel good in my hands. K20D is too expensive.

For you at this time, the D80 is definitely the way to go. 8 months down I will recommend the 40D or K20D instead as their price would have gone down. Right now, the D80 is the only affordable mid-range model available on the market.