Help - nikon d60 or d80??

sussexhifi

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Hi all, going to be getting a new camera next week, my first SLR,

i was going to get the Nikon D60 with 2 lens kit, 18-55 vr, and 70-300 tamron lens,

now im thinking maybe i should get the Nikon D80 with the 18-55 VR lens

and then save for a lens,

as ideally i want a 200-500 lens

if i go for the D80 @ £449.99 with lens, i have more lens options available,

whats yur thoughts peeps??
 
I dont want to spen 700 on a camera, and i need one by next weekend, so 450 on camera n lens is my limit, then ill save for a powerful lens,

and relly want a nikon
 
Personally I would go with the D80.
The Tamron 70-300 does not get good reviews, so I would skip that. if you do not need the advanced features of the D80, (if you don't know what they are then you probably don't need them) get the D40 with the 18-55 only, then look at the Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM APO.
The D40 is just as good as the D60 and cheaper, and the lens AF issue not really a problem anymore.
 
I have a D60 and love it, you could get a D60 (body only) online for around £270 and then pickup a sigma 18-200 from Jessops for £240. Would be a good starting point imho...
 
GOING TO NEED MIN 400, SO PROB GO FOR A 500 JUST TO COVER ME,

dam caps lock

lens will also be cheaper for the d80 as it has the motor in the body so wont need to pay extra to have it in the lens, also i can usre older manual focus lens's from film slr's on it from old nikons should i want to


think its going to have to be the D80
 
Go with the D80 and then you have no worries about the need for AF lenses with their own motors which is a limitation of the D60.
 
cheers

any ideas on a good lens uto 500mm?

was hopingt o spend about 500 quid ish

mate is off to hongkong in a few months, says he gets all his nikon len there about half price, so might get him to grab me one,

any advice appreciated as this will be my first slr

thanks
 
cheers

any ideas on a good lens uto 500mm?

was hopingt o spend about 500 quid ish

mate is off to hongkong in a few months, says he gets all his nikon len there about half price, so might get him to grab me one,

any advice appreciated as this will be my first slr

thanks

There is the Sigma 150-500 OS HSM
which has stabilisation or the 50-500 "Bigma"

Onestop Digital are Hong Kong based.
 
cheers, think the 50-500 would be best, as ill prob get the d80 ith 18-55 vr lens, so illbe covered right through them

thanks
 
cheers, think the 50-500 would be best, as ill prob get the d80 ith 18-55 vr lens, so illbe covered right through them

thanks
Two things to keep in mind.

The "Bigma" is so called because it is big and heavy. Not really a walkaround lens.

It is not stabilised and quite slow at f/6.3 at 500mm, so you will need a tripod.
 
I have to agree with Mike - it's not really a lens you'd use for casual shooting and for wildlife you'll mostly be using 200-500mm... and biased towards the top end of that. The 150-500 would be a better choice really.

I have a Nikon 70-300 VR and the image stabilisation is fantastic and really does make a big difference. If you are looking at long lenses then I would recommend a lens that has it as long lenses really do benefit from it.
 
The obvious wildlife lenses that come to mind are

handheld:

Sigma 150-150 OS
Nikon 70-300VR

On tripod (and we're talking a STURDY tripod here!):

Nikon 300mm f4 (which takes a 1.4 or 1.7 teleconverter very nicely)
Sigma 50-500mm

If you cut corners and go for a bargain basement lens, you'll just end up replacing it if image quality is important to you.

Also remember that the Bigma is a HUGE lens that you really don't want to be carrying around casually.

I'd suggest, considering that you've got expensive needs in terms of glass, that a D60+18-55VR is the way to go, at £333. If you need a lens to cover the middle range, add the little Nikon 55-200mm VR (£120).

Of the long lenses, the Nikon 300mm f4 has the best quality, but lacks the flexibility of a zoom, and is a pig to handhold, particularly with a teleconverter. If you're thinking of almost always using it on a tripod, for things like small birds - that would be my choice. The new Sigma 150-500mm OS has to be the new budget long lens choice when handholding, assuming the Nikon 70-300mm isn't long enough.

The D80 does give you the option of a few non-AFS lenses that might interest you (eg the £860 Nikon 80-400VR) but it's increasingly becoming a non-issue.
 
yeah maybe ill get something upto around 300,

then get something for anything over, least a nikon vr 70-300 will be nice quality
 
yeah maybe ill get something upto around 300,

then get something for anything over, least a nikon vr 70-300 will be nice quality

I can't praise the 70-300mm VR enough, fantastic bit of glass.
 
I can't praise the 70-300mm VR enough, fantastic bit of glass.

Indeed, I've a 70-300VR and a 300mm f/4 prime. The prime is definitely better optically but I rarely use it as the 70-300 is more practical, the VR is fantastic and the image quality is not 'that' much worse (the prime really is razor sharp though!). For walkabout nature shooting the zoom is perfect.
 
:Dbit the bullet today

went into jessops and got the

Nikon D80 with 18-55 VR lens, and as i was buying the camera i could get the Tamron 70-300 lens for 99.99

and also got a filter for both,

the zoom is still slightly less than my panasonic FZ18, but the quality is much nicer,

so still want something upto around 500 but have to save some

hope to put some pics up after the weekend,

thanks for all your help guys

cheers i now have my FIRST SLR
 
How much did you pay? Almost certainly going to get a D60 so I'm hoping you haven't had the deal of the century to tempt me to spend a few more pennies :)
 
:Dbit the bullet today

went into jessops and got the

Nikon D80 with 18-55 VR lens, and as i was buying the camera i could get the Tamron 70-300 lens for 99.99

and also got a filter for both,

the zoom is still slightly less than my panasonic FZ18, but the quality is much nicer,

so still want something upto around 500 but have to save some

hope to put some pics up after the weekend,

thanks for all your help guys

You might want to consider renting/borrowing some lenses before commiting cash to buy a 500mm(ish) unit.

cheers i now have my FIRST SLR
AND LET THE SPENDING BEGIN!!:devil::D
 
yeah will try some out first,

but the 300 def dont get close enough for my needs,

so will need something with much more power in the end,
 

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