Soon to buy a new camera, need advice.

[Katinkha]

Hello everyone!

I own a Lumix lx3 which I love, but it has limits on what it can do so I decided to buy a new camera in the near future (looking at around 2 months).

My heart was set on the Nikon D5000 or D90 if I can afford that by then, but while talking to a friend he also said I could consider a D60. I would like to know which one of the 3 cameras you guys would recommend and why you think that camera is better.

The price is not important, as I can just wait a month longer to save up the difference.

Thanks for the help :)

[sjames2004]

Hi matey I never would have considered a nikon i prefer pentax or Olympus, but my wife brought me D60 and wow make sure you get the d60 or d90 with the vr lense kit and make sure you Sd is 20-22mb a sec the nikon d60 falls behind a bit is sport but a fast sd makes it better ofr mulishots'

Well thats my view anyway

Hope its helps

[ddvitale]

I personally shoot with a D300 and love it.

The D60 is almost identical to the D40 and D40X with the exception of some internal electronics. I believe that the D40 has a faster sync speed. If you step up from a D40 the next step would be a D90

Here's an awesome web site that will tell you everything you need to know.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/recommended-cameras.htm

Part of this is what you intend on doing with your new camera and what specific features you need. If you're doing a lot of sports you'll want a faster frame rate. If you're a pro doing landscapes and portraits you may want to look at a D700.

The new D300X which is out in a week or two has, I believe, the full size sensor - same as the D3.

Rockwell make some very good comments about keeping the camera cost lower so you can buy good glass.

I shoot almost everything with the Nikon 18 - 200 VR lense - excellent vibration reduction (don't even need a tripod any more.

You'll also need a speedlight (SB400 or SB600) and some of the Nikon accessories.

Bottom line is that most of the Nikon SLR line are workhorses and perform very well in the field.

[jerryph]

I suggest the D90. It has the ability to control off camera Nikon flashes, it has an integrated lens motor. The D40 and D60 do not and that limits your lens chocies.

Stay away from the D5000. It's been out a short time and Nikon has now TWICE sent out letters to people telling them to send it in for repairs. Pretty sad for a brand new camera.

D90 for the win.

The D300x is NOT a full sized sensor... the ONLY thing it has over the D300 is video mode... thats *it*. The only FF sensor cameras in the Nikon lineup are the D700 (D700x coming soon), D3 and D3x. All other cameras are cropped sensor cameras.

BTW, the 18-200 lens is the worlds best walk around lens, and I love mine... however the quality of that lens is basically terrible compared to true quality glass. It is slow, tons of distortion, lots of vignette and the lens is not that sharp unless you are between 50-150mm at between F/11-F/16.

To the OP... I would also suggest you stay away from the kit lens... it is terrible. Get a Nikon 50mm F/1.8 at around $125 and/or get yourself a Sigma 18-50 DC EX HSM macro F/2.8. The Sigma is a truly excellent lens and in a shootout last year in 3 3rd party professional photography magazines, beat out even the $1500 Nikkor 17-55 three times out of three in all categories, and at 1/3rd the price. On top of that, it has a nice 3:1 macro feature, something none of the other competitors have.

[ddvitale]

I suggest the D90. It has the ability to control off camera Nikon flashes, it has an integrated lens motor. The D40 and D60 do not and that limits your lens chocies.

Stay away from the D5000. It's been out a short time and Nikon has now TWICE sent out letters to people telling them to send it in for repairs. Pretty sad for a brand new camera.

D90 for the win.

The D300x is NOT a full sized sensor... the ONLY thing it has over the D300 is video mode... thats *it*. The only FF sensor cameras in the Nikon lineup are the D700 (D700x coming soon), D3 and D3x. All other cameras are cropped sensor cameras.

BTW, the 18-200 lens is the worlds best walk around lens, and I love mine... however the quality of that lens is basically terrible compared to true quality glass. It is slow, tons of distortion, lots of vignette and the lens is not that sharp unless you are between 50-150mm at between F/11-F/16.

To the OP... I would also suggest you stay away from the kit lens... it is terrible. Get a Nikon 50mm F/1.8 at around $125 and/or get yourself a Sigma 18-50 DC EX HSM macro F/2.8. The Sigma is a truly excellent lens and in a shootout last year in 3 3rd party professional photography magazines, beat out even the $1500 Nikkor 17-55 three times out of three in all categories, and at 1/3rd the price. On top of that, it has a nice 3:1 macro feature, something none of the other competitors have.

I stand corrected! It's the D700 that has the FX sensor, not the D300X.

As far as the 18-200 I would agree with the vignetting at the upper zoom range but have few complaints. Most of the reviews that I've read on this lens are quite glowing. I own a Sigma 10-20 wide angle and have been very pleased with the results.

[CallMeNovice]

I suggest the D90. It has the ability to control off camera Nikon flashes, it has an integrated lens motor. The D40 and D60 do not and that limits your lens chocies.

Stay away from the D5000. It's been out a short time and Nikon has now TWICE sent out letters to people telling them to send it in for repairs. Pretty sad for a brand new camera.

D90 for the win.

So Jerry, would you recommend the D90 over the D300 or D300x?

[jerryph]

Nope. If you can afford the D300 or D300x, go for it, you will like it better, but it is higher up there in price range. I suggested the D90 over the D60 or D5000 (ick!) since that seemed to be the price range you are looking at.

With the D300 range, you are looking at close to a pro level dSLR class and that camera will serve you well for many years. Be aware that a good way of thinking is to always budget $3 in lenses for every $1 in camera bodies (I'm pretty sure that I am at the 5:1 ratio with my D700 and collection of lenses, but still plan on at least 2 more lenses). A lower level camera body with a pro level class lens will always give you better results than a higher level body and a kit lens. I would never consider purchasing a kit lens of any kind... they are cheap for a very good reason... lower quality results.

Edit:
I'd take any info from the Ken Rockwell site with a little grain of salt. He is often ridiculed on the net and in the forums because of his "opinions" and often doesn't give the most accurate of technical info. Nothing wrong with going there, just don't take everything he says as gospel. Anyone that owns a Nikon D3 and nearly every new lens that Nikon makes... and then consistently uses that camera at it's lowest JPG resolutions.... well, that starts to paint the picture... lol

[ddvitale]

I suggest the D90. It has the ability to control off camera Nikon flashes, it has an integrated lens motor. The D40 and D60 do not and that limits your lens chocies.

Stay away from the D5000. It's been out a short time and Nikon has now TWICE sent out letters to people telling them to send it in for repairs. Pretty sad for a brand new camera.

D90 for the win.

The D300x is NOT a full sized sensor... the ONLY thing it has over the D300 is video mode... thats *it*. The only FF sensor cameras in the Nikon lineup are the D700 (D700x coming soon), D3 and D3x. All other cameras are cropped sensor cameras.

BTW, the 18-200 lens is the worlds best walk around lens, and I love mine... however the quality of that lens is basically terrible compared to true quality glass. It is slow, tons of distortion, lots of vignette and the lens is not that sharp unless you are between 50-150mm at between F/11-F/16.

To the OP... I would also suggest you stay away from the kit lens... it is terrible. Get a Nikon 50mm F/1.8 at around $125 and/or get yourself a Sigma 18-50 DC EX HSM macro F/2.8. The Sigma is a truly excellent lens and in a shootout last year in 3 3rd party professional photography magazines, beat out even the $1500 Nikkor 17-55 three times out of three in all categories, and at 1/3rd the price. On top of that, it has a nice 3:1 macro feature, something none of the other competitors have.

BTW Jerry - are there any sites out there similar to Rockwells with more consistent advice?

[RRRoger]

Just go to DXO

http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/eng/DxOMark-Sensor/Camera-rankings

The D90 is the best camera for the money.

I personally choose it over any brand and camera except the Nikon D700, and D3 series bodies.

[jerryph]

www.dpreview.com is another good site for info about a camera.

Don't be afraid to use google for reviews as well. The more reviews, the better, as far as I am concerned. :)