Newbie to DSLR's has some questions

firelight · Apr 23, 2012

Hi all, I think I should start with some background on me as this is my first post. I am a college student who has always had a mild to moderate interest in photography. My dad was a fairly serious amateur photographer back in his day, and we still have a lot of equipment at home, but the times are a changin', if I can borrow a phrase. My first serious film camera was an Argus C3. That was the camera on which I learned all about shutter speeds, apertures, light meters ect. I was probably eight or nine when I got that camera, and I used it, light meters, range finder window and all, for a few years. After that, I got a Nikromat EL 35mm slr. By this point I was able to take advantage of the fairly substantial collection of nikon F-mount lenses my dad had collected over the years (his main camera was an F2). I used the EL as my main camera until about highschool. By then, digital cameras had started to gain prevalence in the market. Soon after, I started using a point and shoot digital for everyday pictures, all the things that aren't really special, but would still bring my EL to events at which I knew I would use it. Between then and now, I've been in what I would call camera limbo. So, the basic idea of my back story is, I'm familiar with slr cameras, but not with digital slr's

By now, I've decided that digital slr's have gotten rather good, and cheap enough for even us college kids to afford, but I'm left with a few questions, primarily, what to buy? I know that is a huge question, so I will narrow the field. I first thought of a new-ish entry level nikon dslr. I looked up reviews for the d3000, d5000, d3100 ect. However, in time (and a lot of reviews later) I came to the conclusion that it might be better to buy an older generation mid level camera. I do have a job while at school, and during the summer, so I have some extra spending money, but as a student, dropping a couple hundred dollars on anything that's not food, rent or books makes you think twice. That being said, I would like a camera that provides decent images, has enough features so that I won't outgrow it in a season, and is not so complicated that someone who is new to digital slr's would get lost.

Reading reviews, it seems that most people agree that for build quality, variety of features, and "bang for the buck" I would best go with a d70/80/90/100. I'll say outright, I refuse to spend the money for a d90, I just can't justify it. That said, the d70 is the most price friendly, the 80 has better resolution and a few more features, and I believe the 100 has yet more features but the same(ish) resolution as the d70. In general, I feel these three cameras have the resolution I would need, features I won't outgrow quickly, and an internal focus motor (seems like a big advantage to me, though correct me if I'm wrong?) I have read lots of reviews and seen there are minor differences here, but I want to ask the people who know, what would you suggest for a film slr user who wants a budget friendly digital slr starter?

a few questions:

1) What would you suggest for a film slr user who wants a budget friendly digital slr starter?

2) What is the difference between 1point 5point and 11point autofocus? Is it important for me? Sorry, coming from entirely manual focus cameras, I know little about modern AF systems

3) Is 6 megapixels enough, or should I spring for 10? I don't make large prints unless the shots are especially good. Storing them on my computer is usually enough for me. What size prints do you typically get at certain resolutions?

4) Right now I'm leaning towards a d70, looks like they go for $150 less than the d80's in comparable condition, the d100 is about the same price as the d70 plus or minus $25. What do you feel is the best camera for the money? Is the extra money for the d80 worth it?

5) Anything else you want to say? Advice? Directions? Suggestions?

Thanks for everyone who reads and responds. I always think forums are a wealth of information and experience. I appreciate any advice.

Mrgiggls · Apr 23, 2012

1) Skip the D70. The tiny little 1.8" monitor (2.o" for the S) is horrible . If you can find a well cared for D80 for $350 or so, get it as long as you can verify it's in good order or at least be able to return it within say a week.

2) The points are the auto-focus sensors. The more points the more options you have for selecting a focus point.

3) 6MP is enough for printing 16x20 easily. More MP does however let you crop an image and still get a usable size image file. I consider 12MP a good MP figure. Not so big I need an extra TB HDD but big enough to crop with fairly aggresively.

4) See 1)

5) Get a good body and use it until it falls apart and save your money for nice glass.

Welcome to the forums!

firelight · Apr 23, 2012

Thanks for the input, I thought of one last question for everyone:

6) Any suggestions for a first lens? As I said earlier, there is a lot of old nikon glass at my house, all manual focus, but usable just the same. So, if you were to suggest a first lens, what would it be?

thanks again everyone!

IgsEMT · Apr 23, 2012

firelight said:
Thanks for the input, I thought of one last question for everyone:

6) Any suggestions for a first lens? As I said earlier, there is a lot of old nikon glass at my house, all manual focus, but usable just the same. So, if you were to suggest a first lens, what would it be?

thanks again everyone!

If you can use glass you have, enjoy it. Alternatively on the budget Tamron 17-50 is pretty good and is under $500. Primes are cheaper and usually better quality but they are primes (depending on your style it might be for you).

Infinite_Day · Apr 23, 2012

What Nikon lenses do you have at home? Are the stricly manual focus or are any of them the screw type auto focus? If you have any of the older type AF lenses you will want to make sure whatever body you do go with has a built-in AF motor. Pretty sure the D70, 80, 90 all have built-in AF drives.

firelight · Apr 23, 2012

If you can use glass you have, enjoy it. Alternatively on the budget Tamron 17-50 is pretty good and is under $500. Primes are cheaper and usually better quality but they are primes (depending on your style it might be for you).

Thanks for the input

What Nikon lenses do you have at home? Are the stricly manual focus or are any of them the screw type auto focus? If you have any of the older type AF lenses you will want to make sure whatever body you do go with has a built-in AF motor. Pretty sure the D70, 80, 90 all have built-in AF drives.

Nothing at home has any autofocus, it's all older than that (manual focus only), but still some good stuff. There a quite a few, but off the top of my head: 24mm f1.4, 55mm f2.8, 80-200mm f3.5, 500mm f2.8, 14mm f1.8 (all nikons). There a a few other sigmas, and some more nikons I'm forgetting, but there's quite a bit as long as I'm willing to master managing apertures with the new dslr's. All the lenses are nikon f-mount, strictly manual focus. So far as I can tell, these should still be fully compatible with new nikon dslrs, so long as I set the aperture, and focus myself, but correct me if I'm wrong.

KmH · Apr 23, 2012

Who made the 500 mm f/2.8? Nikon?

firelight · Apr 23, 2012

Who made the 500 mm f/2.8? Nikon?

I'm sorry, but I don't remember at the moment, and I'm currently a couple hundred miles away from it. I could be wrong about the f/2.8 part, though I pretty sure it was 2.8. And to be honest, I don't know if we still have that one. I mentioned it because I recall it being an oddity. I haven't seen it in some time, but there a quite a few boxes of camera stuff in the basement. Another unfortunate possibility is it was trashed in a flood. We had a flood last summer and lost quite a few lenses :-( I'll have to check next time I go home.

firelight · Apr 23, 2012

Who made the 500 mm f/2.8? Nikon?

A quick phone call later: Apparently he sold it 6-7 years ago, but it was a 500mm f/4.5, a bit more reasonable I suppose. It was a sigma lens. I guess my childhood memories don't serve me too well.

Mrgiggls · Apr 23, 2012

The Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D is about $100-$125 on the used market. This is one of the best values you can find.

Another good lens that I feel is quite underrated is the Nikkor AF-S 18-70 f/3.5-4.5 DX. I see these under $200 all the time. It's quite sharp, has a metal mount, is faster than most kit lenses and covers a very usable range on a DX sensor.

Patrice · Apr 23, 2012

You might be able to find a well cared for d200 in your price range and then all those older AI lenses are at your complete disposal. It's a solid well made camera, a step above d70 or d80.

TacotheTurtle · Apr 23, 2012

Prime lenses are always nice to take photos with. 35mm and 50mm. 35mm is a little bit more comfortable and and 50mm is kinda awkward for close stuff. Definitely buy one of of the older cameras, don't buy an entry level SLR they are so restricted to what you can do and older cameras are better and cheaper used

djacobox372 · Apr 25, 2012

Manual focus lenses are NOT fully compatible with the lower end nikon dslrs, you wont get any metering info, they'll mount and allow you to shoot in "m" mode only and youll have to guess the exposure.

To get metering info and the ability to shoot in "a" mode with old lenses you need a d1,d2,d3,d4,d200,d300,d700,d800, or d7000 (note the d100 is not among those compatible)

Of these id recommend the d200, which can be had for around $400 on ebay. It's basically a metal body d80 on steroids.

coastalconn · Apr 25, 2012

I would also say a used d200 is the most bang for your buck. My main camera is a d90 and I have a full spectrum/IR D200. Right now I am shooting with a d70s as my d90 went back to Nikon for calibration. I love the feel and the build of the D200 and being able to meter with your older glass is a huge plus. The D70 is OK at best. The D200 is great in my humble opinion!

bravozulu · Apr 25, 2012

After looking at cameras and asking questions for two months, last week i bought the D7000 along with a 16-85mm lens. I'm retired, so it won't be used a lot. The features go far beyond what I might need. But I used to be a professional (photo journalism) so I understand much of the uses and terminology.

The camera salesman quickly identified the advantages of the D7000 over the D90, D3100 or D5100. The D7000 has motors for focus in the camera. So you can use much older Nikon lenses. The CLS lighting feature is useful and sophisticated. The genuine PentaPrism viewfinder is far superior to the finder in lesser models. Those are two obvious advantages that allow expanding use in the future.