Would like some tips for Lenses (Nikon)

[Markw]

Thats what Im here for, isnt it?

Glad I could help,
Mark

 

[emh]

The motor is an amazingly huge thing for me. You will save alot of money if you dont have to have the AF-s, HSM, etc lenses. Also, this opens you up to alot more lenses since the D90 will mount and AF with every AF lens ever made.

Other than that:

Viewfinder Coverage: D90 has 96%, D5000 has 95%
Eyepiece size: D90 has 19.5mm, D5000 has 17.5mm
Focusing Screen: D90 hasType-B BriteView Clear Matte screen Mark II with superimposed focus brackets and On-Demand grid lines, D5000 has no grid lines
DOF Control: D90 has it, D5000 does not.
FPS: D90 has 4.5, D5000 has 4.
ISO sensitivity: D90 allows for steps of 1/3 1/2 or1 EV. D5000 has 1/3 or 1.
Face Priority AF: D90 has it, D5000 does not
Flash Bracketing: D90 has 2 to 3 exposures in increments of 1/3 to 2 EV. D5000 doesnt bracket flash.
Flash sync modes: D90 has Red-eye reduction with slow sync. D5000 does not
CLS: D90 has commander flash mode for off-camera flash. D5000 does not.
White Balance: D90 has Kelvine fine-tuning and Auto. D5000 has neither.
White Balance Bracketing: D90 has it, D5000 does not.
Screen: D90 has 3". D5000 has 2.7"
Screen Resolution: D90 has 921,000. D5000 has only 230,000
Playback: D90 has Pictmotion (slideshow with music), D5000 does not.
Camera Settings: D90 can save and load custom camera settings, D5000 can not.
Battery Life: D90 has 890 shots, D5000 has 510 shots

:thumbsup: :mrgreen:
Mark

Great list.

A few more things in favor of the D90:

* Pentaprism viewfinder vs pentamirror in the D5000
* 0.94x viewfinder magnification vs 0.78x in D5000
* Much better controls (dual control dials, more physical buttons, control/status LCD etc.)
* Slightly better high-ISO performance

The D5000 does have the articulated LCD that the D90 does not.

D3100 has better video features than both the D5000 and D90 -- most importantly, continuous AF (if you care about that).

 

[sleist]

EDIT: A good starter group lens setup would be the following:

Tokina 11-16mm F/2.8ATX PRO-X

The Tokina 11-16 will not autofocus on the D5000 or D3000/3100. Works fine on the D90 and up.

 

[Irishwake]

Update!

I ordered all my equipment yesterday. I changed a few things around to stay within my budget. In any case. I went with the majority vote and upgraded my body choice to a refurbished D90.

As for lenses I went with the following:

Tokina 11-16 - I couldn't find one bad thing about it.
Nikon 18-55 - The refurb didn't come with a kit lens but I grabbed one anyway to make sure I have my focal lengths covered.
Nikon 50mm f/1.8 - I changed to this from the 1.4 strictly because of the price difference and as a newbie I doubt I'll know what I'm missing right off the bat.
Nikon 55-200 - I just couldn't bring myself to spend an additional 1K right off the bat. As soon as I feel like I'm missing out on shots due to this zoom not being fast enough I'll upgrade but until then I think this will do alright for me.

 

[Markw]

It would have only been about another $400-500 for a used 80-200 AFD. Not that thats not alot of money, but its not $1000.

Mark

 

[Irishwake]

Yeah I was looking at those. Unfortunately once the wife saw the total creep over 2K I could feel her blood pressure rise from across the room. Oh well, Christmas is soon as well.

 

[Patrice]

Take note, Irishwake came on here 3 days ago with a well thought out equipment question. Asked some pertinent questions to clarify some responses and then made a well thought purchase. Did not waffle on here for weeks asking and questioning the responses of the members. Good show! And he said thanks!

 

[Markw]

I declare a sticky. Thats a marvel for this site, indeed.

Mark

 

[djacobox372]

I would recommend a d90 so you can use the less expensive AF lenses. You'll likely end up saving $$ in the long run and have a better body as well.

AF-S on lower focal length lens (85mm or less) isn't really of any noticeable value.

 

[Irishwake]

LOL @ Patrice and MarkW :lmao: I feel special, haha.

@ Djacobox372: Already ahead of ya.