Please recommend best nikon kit

[anupam_chandra]

Hi,

 

I want buy a DSLR and getting confused between D40x and D80. Kindly suggest

the best body I should choose and also help me to choose among the following

list of lenses.

 

1.Nikkor 18-55 mm

2.Nikkor 18-70 mm

3.Nikkor 18-135 mm

 

Kindly suggest the best kit for landscape and portraits.

 

Thanx in advance.

 

Anupam

[juanjo_viagran]

IMO:

 

D80/18-70mm

[Matt Laur]

Yes. D80 (for many reasons, but especially if you're into portraiture and might be trying some older lenses), and the 18-70, since it's the best of those three, and good place to start.

[tonybeach]

"Kindly suggest the best body I should choose..."

 

Whatever you can afford. Given the choice between a D80 and D40x I would say the D80 because you can AF with a much larger assortment of lenses with it -- and that could make up for any differences in price.

 

"Kindly suggest the best kit for landscape and portraits."

 

Related to my previous answer in this post; again the most you can afford. However, the choices you offer are not optimal for either applications you propose. Many people like to take wide angle landscape shots and overly narrow depth of field portraits -- but how you approach composition is up to you and that will dictate what lens to choose to accomplish your intentions. For now, Juanjo's suggestion is best given the alternatives you have presented.

[elliot1]

If your budget is tight, get the D40 (not the D40x) with the 18-135 and the SB-400 flash and you will get the most spectacular pictures you have ever taken without any fuss.

[elnoralouisa]

How much money do "we" have to spend here? That would help :)

The 'only' thing wrong with the 18-135 (and it is a very beautiful lens), is if you aren't using a tripod, handheld at 135 gets ugly. You might be better with one of the shorter ones, and getting a cheap VR for the longer lens pics.

I agree go with the D40 OR the 80, not the D40X, not worth the extra money for megapixels.

[calarrick]

If I had to "do it again" I'd certainly get the D80 over the D40X for several reasons. The two main ones being:

 

1) it can AF with non AF-S lenses, and none of the primes are AF-S. Want to use a fast lens without paying for the pro-level f2.8 zooms (or go faster than f2.8)?... well, the D40X won't AF those lenses.

 

2) the D80 has built-in ability to wirelessly command off-camera flash. at the time this wasn't a consideration of mine in choosing the D80, but I've ended up using it surprising often... besides multiple flash, it allows you to do things like take the flash off the camera so that you can still bounce off the ceiling when aiming the camera downward so much that the bounce/tilt hinge on the flash wouldn't allow you to aim your flash upwards.

[nickwhite]

The D80 with the 18-70mm - I would avoid the 18-135mm, I had one for a (very) short time and quickly reverted to the excellent 18-70.

 

You could add a wider lens such as the Sigma 10-20mm at a later date to extend your range for landscapes.

[calarrick]

As for the kit lenses, I believe that the 18-70 has by far the best reputation of the bunch.

 

I don't know how casual you want to be about this kit, but if you figure on being an "enthusiast" for the long haul, you *might* want to consider somthing like the more "radical" alternative path I took to getting into a digital body on a (relative) budget -- I bought the D80 with just the 50mmf1.8 prime. This was "odd" of me, particularly because the crop factor means the 50 is a short telephoto, but I knew from a youth spent with a cheap 35-70 zoom on 35mm that I like being around that 70mm range a whole lot of the time. I then quickly added a used 24mmf2.8 and (soon) 35mmf2. Those three lenses fit in a small bag and give *most* (not all... but most) of the compositional options for subject-distance and perspective that the basic kit zooms do (the only exception that I find problematic is that the kit zooms go a little wider than 24).

 

Ultimately, I'll add a moderate-telephoto prime or two (except for the 85mm1.4 these are still reasonably priced) and *eventually* maybe an ultrawide zoom (here, my strategy runs into real expense). All told, a lot of flexibility without a lot of weight or expense or hand-wringing over those 2.8 zooms I can't afford.

 

This isn't because I'm a "prime purist" -- hypothetically, I'd be fine with fast zooms -- but I wanted faster lenses than the f4-5.6 or f3.5-5.6 kit-zoom maximum apertures.

 

 

(I also have the AI version of the 50mm1.4, which I like better for a lot of things when I can live without autofocus and metering)

 

The 18-55 is so cheap that it would be basically painless to use that "prime" strategy but *also* add it for times when you don't need the fast apertures (good lighting, or with flash) and want the flexibility and convenience of zoom.

[ken_schroeder]

Interesting, Andrew. I use the same three primes with my D70, and am quite content with them. The original 28-80 rarely gets used anymore.

 

Ken

[Jim_Tardio]

If you can wait a month or so, you'll probably be able to get a nice, clean, hardly used D200 from someone who has to have a new D300...and the price will be close to what a new D80 costs.

[carl_becker2]

I use a D200 with a 24mm f2.8, 50mm f1.8 and 18-70 zoom and like to shoot at lower ISO settings. I tend to set a priority on lens speed. I like the zoom for versatility, cost and quality but dislike the lack of speed and size. Today I picked up a Nikkor 20mm f2.8, very small and light. I have used the Sigma 10-20 and would like to check out the Tokina 12-24 or Nikkor 12-24 if I feel an real need to go wider. I would recommend the D80 with the 18-55 for landscape use where speed probably will not be an issue and get a 50mm f1.8 for portrait use. This woudl be a small light kit to go anywhere quickly at not to dear a price. After you gain experience you will have a better idea of your needs. Then maybe a wide zoom, fast wide prime or the 85mm prime if you find something lacking. Pay attention to how you use your zoom as some folks just use the extremes (me as well). I could be happy with a 20mm and 50mm set of primes or a 24mm and 85mm set. I tend to set a priority on lens speed. I recommend you get a good tripod also.

[dave_lee6]

I have a D80 and the 18-70mm kit lens. I've tested the 18-70mm against a lot of other lenses and have concluded that this is one heck of an amazing lens. I love the D80 and have only found it too slow for me one time, and that was shooting RAWs with a slow card. With a good 150x card it is fast enough for me. The D200/D300 have one major advantage over the D80, and that is weather sealing. I've shot nearly 6,000 frames with my D80 and hope to keep it for at least 3-4 more years before I upgrade. I also have the Tokina 12-24 lens and the Nikon 70-300mm ED zoom. And recently I shot all day with just a Nikon 50mm f1.8 Series E lens on my D80 and was amazed by the sharp images from that lens, and I paid only $10 for it!