My first DSLR

[IanMoone]

Which camera (the T1i, d5000/d90, and the d3100) has the better sensor?

 

[Nikon_Dude]

d90 and d5000 have the same sensor.

 

[Ken Rockwell Fan]

For around $650 you can pickup a Nikon D90 (refurbished) which is a great camera. Save your pesos ($800 of them) for a used Nikon 80-200 f/2.8 and you'll have a awesome portrait/bird setup. A f/2.8 is much faster and has superior performance in low light than a average kit lens. It will come in handy when you are in the woods hunting birds and the sun is blocked by the foliage etc. If $800 isn't in the budget for a lens, then pickup a Nikon 70-210 AF f/4-5.6 D lens. The 70-210 AF-D is a very well built all metal construction lens for the money. If you decide on this make sure you get the D version of the lens. The D version has a very fast autofocus speed (very close to the 80-200 2.8) which you will need for tracking birds in flight or anything that moves. Cheaper Nikon lenses like the 55-200 or 70-300 G have a very slow focus mechanism. Not suited for fast moving things. You can find the 70-210 AF-D for cheap at KEH. Nikon Autofocus 70-210 F4-5.6 D (62) WITH CAPS 35MM SLR AUTO FOCUS ZOOM TELEPHOTO LENS - KEH.com You can also find a even better deal on eBay, if you don't mind waiting it out. Also remember the 80-200 2.8 and the 70-210 AF-D are both screw type lenses and will only focus with Nikon camera bodies that have a internal autofocus motor like the D90 or D7000. They won't focus with the D40, D3100, or D5000.

 

[GooniesNeverSayDie11]

Personally, I would take the T1i and spend money on glass. The D90 would be decent also simply because it does have a vetter AF system than the T1i.Every test I have seen put the T1i just slightly ahead of the D5000 partly due to its HD video capabilities. As for 70-200, if you are going to mainly shoot birds and distance subjects, a 200mm is not going to cut it. Its a great lens otherwise, but you will ALWAYS wish you had more length ( not to mention that the 70-200 f/2.8 is going to be expensive for something you don't really need ). If you will be shooting out doors a 70-300 should work very well, and get you an extra 100mm. Pair it with a Kenko Pro300 1.4x Teleconverter and now you are at 672mm ( if you take the cameras crop factor into account )

 

[GooniesNeverSayDie11]

This was shot with a T1i and a Tamron 70-300 lens ($189 brand new ). It had about 1/4" of the photo cropped off, minor levels/Color adjustment and sharpening and then resized to put up here. Its by no means a great pic, but I had to dig to find an old one from that setup and edit it from scratch in about 5 minutes, but it is pretty close to straight out of camera with no heavy editing. Also, it was shot fully extended at 300mm. ISO 100 f/5.6 and 1/1250. That lens had some CA issues being that it was so cheap, but a mid grade 70-300 wouldn't be as prone to that.


DirtBike by GooniesNeverSayDie11, on Flickr

 

[impulsive1]

If your hell-bent on Nikon, go with the D90. The D5000 (which I own) is great but as you get to learn more you'll be wishing you had the features the D90 has to offer. Especially the internal focusing.

 

[IanMoone]

I am not hell bent on Nikon. I really want the best I can get for the money. I would rather pay more up front and have a camera that will last me a long time then cheap now but get tired of it later, either because lenses for it are too expensive or it doesn't really cut it any more.

 

[IanMoone]

I decided to up my budget. I don't want to put a number on it, just know that my philosophy is spend more money now so that you don't have to replace what you bought (reasonably) in the long run.

800 is for a lens is still definitely out of my range though. Birding is not all that I do however I really do enjoy it. Right now my priority is the camera, preferably with a 300mm lens. The most expensive camera that i am still looking at is the Nikon D7000.

So I have a couple more questions.

Since I upped my budget for the camera does that change your recommendations.

Is it realistic to use a lens with a slower auto-focus if you use it to manually focus on fast moving objects (ie flying birds) or is that just too hard to be feasible? I must admit I am pretty much completely in the dark on what to look for in lenses other than the very obvious like the more mm the more it magnifies.

 

[impulsive1]

I would go with the D90 or the D7000 since you have increased your budget. Leaning more to the D7000. It sits right between the 90 and the 300s. I have the Tamron 70-200 f/2.8 which auto-focuses slow in low/poor light conditions and sometimes misses altogether so I find myself in manual focus in those situations.

 

[IanMoone]

Why the D700 more? And also how much would a good 300mm lens for birding cost?

 

[impulsive1]

Nikon D7000 Review: 1. Introduction: Digital Photography Review
Anywhere from $1100-6000 new.

 

[IanMoone]

Would I notice the Megapixel difference between the d90 and d7000

 

[ChadHillPhoto]

Personally, I am a Canon man.
As for which Nikon to buy, I would test out both camera's and see which one feels right for you. At the end of the day, its the tool that you connect with and the one that makes sense to you when its your hands...so you can focus more on creating that great image than the how to work the settings etc.

Good luck, when you get your new camera, do post some images!

 

[IanMoone]

Is this a good deal? And how good of a quality is the 300mm lens. Would it be adequate for birding?

 

[IanMoone]

So sorry I realized I didn't post the link. Canon Direct Store- EOS Rebel T2i EF-s 18-55IS Lens Kit + EF 75-300mm III