Nikon N6006 lens compatability

I am planning to buy a Nikon N6006 body after Christmas. It has been

recommended to me to buy either a Sigma or Tamron lens. Sigma makes a

28-200MM that I am interested in, but Web page I saw it under says it

is compatible to Nikon "D". What does this mean? Will it work with a

6006, including all the automatic functions? Also, what ias a Nikon D

lens? I have owned a Nikon point and shoot for many years, and am

just now wanting to venture further out with photography. I am leery

of asking advice at camera shops, for I don't want to be sold

something overpriced that I really didn't need or want anyways. Any

help or advice is GREATLY appreciated.

'D' stands for 'distance'; D lenses report the focus distance back to the camera for use in flash exposure computation. A D lens will work fine on a 6006. D lenses came out a couple generations later than the 6006 (with the N90 / N90s I believe), but they are backward compatible to all AF cameras.

Speaking of 'leery of asking advice', if you're new around here you might be startled at the advice you get. A lot of us are 'old hands' who remain deeply suspicious of the 'mega-zooms' that try to cover too much ground. Your 28-200 zoom has a 7-to-1 zoom ratio (200 / 28); most of us suspicious old hands limit ourselves to no more than 3-to-1 zooms like a 70-210mm (and some refuse all zoom lenses). If you want the flexibility of a zoom lens, you'll generally get better quality in a more conservative setup like a 28-80 and an 80-200.

I assume you've found a good deal on the 6006, and that it's priced right for you. It is an older AF body, and it has its fans (I have no direct experience with it). If autofocus performance is a big deal for you, say photographing youth soccer, you might consider a more modern choice like an N80.

Both Sigma and Tamron are capable of putting out pretty high quality glass; they also turn out some not so good stuff. If you want opinions on a specific lens, you need to precisely identify it (all the letters and numbers and maybe even a price from a known website) and see if anybody who has actually shot with it will offer an opinion. Beware, our resident suspicious 'flame warriors' may well lambaste your choice of a 28-200mm (I'm surprised they haven't weighed in yet; is this a 'kinder / gentler' photo.net?). IMO, a decent 28-200 may serve you well as you 'grow' your interest in photography. If in time you want to take it to the next level, you'll likely outgrow the lens.

I own a N6006, and while I like it very much, the auto focus is VERY SLOW, and also the film door latch has a tendancy to break. If the camera has not been already fixed with a metal film door latch by a professional photo repairman, budget $60 or so to get it fixed in the near future, because IT WILL break. Other than those two downfalls, the N6006 has a very nice user interface and several other great features, not to mention are relatively cheap used.

On another note, the viewfinder on the N6006 is quite small, as are most low end SLR's. When you attach a relatively slow zoom the viewfinder will be dark and hard to see out of. Its OK outside on a sunny day, but you will enjoy your camera more if you also get a 50mm/ 1.8 lens so you can use it indoors with fast film.

Who told you that? That's wrong, man.

"D" Staands for "the ability to meter in '3-D' mode".

Bill, if you have any other questions about the nomenclature of nikkors please check:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bh6.sph/FrameWork.class?FNC=GetPage__Aindex_html___page=Product_Resources/nomenclature.html___SID=F236699D900

<i>"'D' stands for 'distance'"

<br>

Who told you that? That's wrong, man.

<br>

"D" Staands for "the ability to meter in '3-D' mode". </i>

<p>

Ahem. And what do you imagine the 3rd 'D' in '3-D' stands for? It's distance to subject.

Get a 8008 or 8008S. A much better camera and available quite

often for a decent price. I believe the 6006's also had a battery

eating problem, so research that here. Best bet for a Nikon lens

to cover the territory is 2. lenses. That's what SLR's are for. A 70-

210 or 35-135 are good lenses. Get a seperate wide angle in 24

or 28mm.

The word "dimension" sounds familiar to you?

Shame on me to reply this.

"Nikon is smart enough to compute the appropriate flash duration from subject distance (read from lens) film speed, and aperture"

That's from Photo.net's review of the N80. I'd imagine that that's why he (and I) think the "D" designation means it adds distance calculations.

OK, John, I guess I had that coming as my writing was a tad unclear. Try it this way: what is '3-D'? You know, length-width-height, or any 3 terms you like for dimensioning a solid object?

Nikon likes to call it's matrix system without 'D' lenses "2-D Matrix". This is a clever marketing term to remind us that the camera is analyzing the light values of the whole width and height of whatever the camera is 'framing'. When they add a 'D' lens, the lens transmits (crude) distance or focus information to the camera, and the camera uses it as another factor for exposure computation. That's the "3-D Matrix" system.

If you don't buy that explanation, what attribute do *you* think the D lens brings to the party to enable "the ability to meter in '3-D' mode"?