which camera,what lens & where to buy

[elisha]

Hi,i have recently enrolled for this course,now I'm looking to buy my 1st DSLR camera (hopefully within the week).I've done my research however forums had made me more undecided :confused:
I'm not sure whether to get a nikon d40 or a d80, some says that a d40 has better image quality while a d80 has more feature. I plan to have this camera for the next 3-5 years. My questions are:
1) Which is a better choice a d40 or a d80?
2) When i buy the camera body which lens should i get? 18-55 0r 18-135? plus what other impt accesories shld i get?
3) I saw online a website, diduprice.com which offers camera at lower prices (ex.shopdigitaldirect has a d80 w/18-135mm for $600 w/c is d sameprice of d40 at abe's of maine)as compared to amazon,bestbuy or circuit city,are these sites reliable?
Please help...thanks in advance :)

[coffee]

I don't know anything about Nikons, so I can't help you with which camera to buy, but I did look at diduprice.com. They claim to have sellers with a Canon 40D for $499.00. This camera is about $1000.00 these days. Anyone selling this camera for that price is a bait-and-switch seller. If the price seems to good to be true, I'm sure it is.

I would buy your camera and supplies at a dependable retailer like B&H photo video, Amazon, or Adorama. You will get your supplies for the fair going rate, and you will get the service you expect.

[dkippen]

Elisha - I don't know anything about Nikon either. I would suggest going to a local camera shop to hold, look over the controls and see what feels best.

When you buy your camera, in many cases they will be sold with a "kit lens" which is a a basic zoom lens and you can upgrade from that. When you actually make sure of what camera you're getting - check them out first. As Joseph said, many are bait and switch. You want a camera seller that will stand behind the product and not sell you more than what you need. A good place to check for seller ratings is www.resellerratings.com.

Other accessories to consider would be extra memory cards, battery, a good tripod and if most of your shots will be indoors, flash and of course a good camera bag.

Good luck on whatever you decide and let us know!!!

[elisha]

Hi,I went to a camera shop & held the d80 & d40 & the D80 was too big & heavy for my small hand :) I guess you guys are right you have to have "the feel" & the D40 was just right, Now, when i was there the salesguy was telling me abt the rebel series of canon that made me interested.I'm gonna be doing my research on it first( & save some more too) but for now I'll take joseph's advice to go thru the course then do the photos when Its ready :)

[dkippen]

Elisha - I have the Rebel XTI and I love it. Very easy to use and I think made for small hands.

[ddvitale]

Elisha, I've been shooting with a Nikon D70S for about 2 1/2 years and recently moved up to the D300. While you say you want to stay with your camera for 3 to 5 years - once you get going and start shooting you may just want to upgrade sooner.

There's excellent reviews of both the D40 and the D80 over on www.KenRockwell.com. The D40 is an excellent camera - and the D80 is a lot more flexible.

As far as lenses - I'm using the 18 x 200 VR Nikon lens. It functions as both a zoom and for close-up shots. It's a bit pricy at about $750 - but you may find this lens packaged with several of the new camera bodies.

Accessories - good case, tamrac stretch strap, SB-400 or SB-600 speed light, good UV filter, good polarizor filter and a lenspen.

Seriously - go over to kenrockwell.com == there's a ton of great review and suggestions.
goodluck

[jerryph]

Another vote for the D80... for one important factor... the D40 doesn't have a lens focus motor and that forces you to use only the latest lenses that have focus motors in them.

A D80 has the motor you need. That means that you can basically use 90% of all Nikon lenses made from the 70's to now and have the camera be able to focus them... the D40 cannot. So here you find an incredible deal for this fantastic old lens on Ebay... and it won't even focus automatically on your new camera... becuase its a D40.

The D80 has other better advantages. If you do your homework, they will be a lot more obvious quickly. However, if you can swing the difference for a D300, you would be easily set for at least 5-10 years camera-wise. If the difference between a D80 and a D300 is 4 months more saving... wait the 4 months, it is worth it.

Lenses... this is where you are going to spend a lot of money, if you want the best. As a general all-around lens, the 18-200 is very good, but its not an excellent lens (yes, I own it also and can speak from experience). I use this lens a lot... more than any of my other lenses, however, when I want the best quality I can afford, this lens comes off and is replaced with another one.

The 18-200 is soft between 18 to 100mm, and vignettes noticeably pretty much everywhere but a lot at either end of it's exremes. It doesn't get it's best sharpness until F/8-F/11. The good things are that if you are good in Photoshop, it is easy to remove vignetting and to sharpen the pics nicely.

There is good and bad with every lens, so do a lot of research before you make any kind of a purchase.

[caughtthebug]

I just bought the Canon Digital Rebel XSi and I love it!! I seem to have the same problem with my hands being too small. The Nikons were way too big and bulky ;(

I upgraded from a Canon point & shoot, which also made my decision to go with the XSi a little easier. The controls and menus are already familiar, so I could jump right in.

A great website to check out is www.dpreview.com. You can do side-by-side comparisons of features, etc, as well as read REALLY in-depth reviews on just about every camera out there. Good luck in your search!

[jerryph]

An important thing to consider when purchasing online... using a known good vendor. In general, if you find a place that has prices way lower than what other places do, its usually a baint and switch scamming place.

Always check out the company name at www.resellerratings.com to make sure they are a legit business. Like all things, if it looks too good to be true, it usually is a scam.

Places like Adorama, BHPhoto and Amazon are reliable places to shop. At the very least, I use them as a sanity check for reference. It is possible to find deals, and usually the prices could be a little lower than at the above 3 mentioned places, but not a lot lower. If it is a lot lower... run and run away fast from these scammers.

[JMare]

Why not consider the D60?
It is better then the D40 but not as expensive as the d80.
I have one and i love it sofar.
The kit lenses it comes with are fairly good.

-Jmare

[jerryph]

The D60 has the D40's disease... no integrated focus motor.

If you had the budget, the D300 just simply rules and will give you YEARS of great pictures. Don't purchase the kit lens, though (they are reasonable for a reason... low quality, sorry no disrespect intended)... a great all 'round lens is the 18-200. I own it and love it!

The D40-D60 lines are point and shoot user's answer to better pictures, however if you are serious about photography, or plan to get serious, I would not suggest them. You quickly will outgrow them and need to spend money again. Same with the kit lenses. They are worth what they cost and give acceptable results, but you will fast find yourself limited by them... but because of no lens focus drive motor in the camera, you have effectively cut your lens choices down to 20% of what the market could offer you if you had a camera with an integrated focus motor.

Again, I mean no insult to anyone, just stating what I feel are pertinent facts. :)

[nuteck]

Hi Elisha,
I am an avid Nikon fan and have been for many years. I have the D50 from some 2 years back, and now as you say you have the D40 and D80 amongst others. D40 is an excellent camera with plenty of facilities, D80, have a look at http://www.camerabox.co.uk/product.asp?ProductID=2076&gclid=CKOUmJW8oZUCFQMrGgod4A-1kg
I would go for the standard lens that Nikon offer with the kit and then buy a telephoto lens 70-300 for example. You don't need to buy Nikon on this, maybe consider Tameron or my choice of Sigma.
Enjoy

[mosca]

Regardless of which camera you actually choose, here is a tip on how to get an extra 5% off through Amazon.com:

First, you have to have an account at Amazon. Signing up is easy.

1) Go to your account page, scroll down, and choose "Improve your recommendations". Uncheck everything that is in the listings. Change everything to "not interested".

2) Do the same for anything that you've reviewed, or purchased; clear those out. Check "Do not use for recommendations". If you've purchased a lot from Amazon over the years, this might take a while. The idea is going to be to narrow down items that are going to show up in your "Gold Box".

3) Look for items that can ONLY BE USED WITH THE ITEM YOU COVET. You don't have to buy the item, you just want it to be used when the system looks for stuff to sell you. In the case of a D40, you might want to choose a motorized lens that is D40 specific, and maybe a bettery that fits the D40. Somewhere on the item page for those items, there is a box "I own this"; check it. Those items will now be used to make recommendations for you.

4) Take the item you covet, say a D40, and put it in your shopping cart, but do not purchase it. Just let it sit there. In a day or two, it will show up in your Gold Box, with a new special price. And free super saver shipping! Your Gold Box is not renewed until the next day, so checking it right away won't help. But check it a couple times a day for the next few days.

I got my Canon 40D this way, and also a couple nice lenses. Sometimes it will take several days, but it has always worked for me.

[jefferybull]

Well out of the D40 and D80 honestly I would say the D40.I had the D80 and it did have some issues in metering and all and I now use the new D90 and it is totally awesome!! Everything is great.It runs about $1200-1300 USD so if thats a little steep for your first cam go to the D40 which is a really great cam that will take great pics as well.Good luck!!