Need Help with what to buy!

emg35 · Oct 20, 2007

I am starting to get serious about photography and am looking to get a dslr. I am currently using a Nikon N65 film camera and while it's not the best I like it. My main interest are of course my family but I love nature. I live in California's central coast and have an overwhelming amount photo opportunities. I am the most comfortable with Nikon I have had a Nikon on my side 20 yrs and would like to keep it that way.

What I'm looking for.

A good dslr camera, as I do not want to feel the need to upgrade 2 yrs from now.

I will need lenses for panoramic, close ups, and something for general everyday pictures. Also on my wish list is a lens that can zoom in on something several hundred ft away.

I was thinking I would probably need 3 or 4 2 gb cards? Is this right or maybe something else?

I know I'm missing a few things, so any recommendations are greatly appreciated.

Buszaj · Oct 20, 2007

I'm not really interested in Nikon, but I have heard that the D80 may be a better choice since the D40s can't auto-focus with some lenses. Not 100% sure about that though, wait for a Nikon person to give you some advice. For lenses you'll probably a standard zoom that is more to the wide-end, and a telephoto lens. For memory cards, stick to Kingston and SanDisk.

Sideburns · Oct 20, 2007

you could get away with 1 2gb card and 1 for backup....or just 2 you use all the time....4 is overkill IMO.

The Nikon d80 is a pretty good bet.

JIP · Oct 20, 2007

I have to third the D80. Unless you have a budget for a D200 wich would be my choice the D80 is the way to go. The problem with the D40 is your lens selesction will be limited so you mentioning not being disapointed in a few years would really for me push you to the D80.

Sheriff · Oct 21, 2007

You didn't mention your budget, so I assume you have some cash to splash. I'm not a Nikon man ,'cos I'm Canon man, but before buying my DSLR I read a lot of reviews, tried different cameras in shops. So if you want to stick with nikon I suggest you to take a closer look at D200 or even better the new D300. The D200 was a top camera in it's time, everybody liked it, even canon users. So D300 would be your camera, and you won't need to upgrade for quite some time. If that's too expensive then D80 is a great camera to. I wouldn't choose D40 'cos it's very small and lacks some features. About lenses, again this is a question of money, the more you pay the more you get is the right expression. Nikkor has some very good lenses, sigma on the other hand has cheaper lenses. You need to read some reviews about them. Use google for that.

emg35 · Oct 21, 2007

Thanks for all the replies. As far as budget, I really don't want to spend more than $1200 for the camera and as far as the rest I'm really not sure. I want good quality lenses but I'm not looking for the very best as I will have to justify my purchases to my wife. So far the d80 is looking good. I would however like to get some info on Canon as I would like to make sure I'm getting the most bang for my bucks.

Campbell · Oct 21, 2007

For under $1,200, a Nikon D80 would be a great choice.

emg35 · Oct 22, 2007

Anyone have info on lenses?

WDodd · Oct 22, 2007

emg35 said:
Anyone have info on lenses?

You need to determine what exactly you are going to shoot. Basic range that you will want. Price range.

Jestev · Oct 22, 2007

As to the camera, I'd go with the D80 or, if you can splurge, a D300. Of course, lenses are more important.

emg35 said:
Anyone have info on lenses?

If you have been shooting Nikon for a little while, what lenses do you have now? They will all work on a Nikon DSLR, just with a little bit of crop factor (1.5x).

Tell us what you have now, or what you would be ok using, so we can see what other lenses would best complement what you have now. You may want a wider-angle lens to better suit the DX-crop.

About memory cards: I have 2, 2 GB SanDisk Extreme III SD cards and one 2GB Patriot card. I shoot RAW on my D50, so the space is needed. I also have never had a corrupt issue on any of my cards or lost data. If you want to shoot RAW on the D80, I think 2-3, 2GB SanDisk Extreme III's would be perfect. If you shoot JPEGs, 2, 2GB cards should be more than enough. Granted that on the D80 your files will be bigger than mine. If you get a D200/300, you'll want CF cards.