confused.old or new?please help me

[thomas_kovacs]

<p>Hello everyone,<br>

I'm confused, because I don't know what to buy. My dream is the D80, but I live in Romania where this camera is very expensive(but if I will stick to this beuty then I would buy an used one or from ebay). The second choice it would be the D60 or D40.<br>

The resons to buy the D80: internal focus motor, LARGE viewfinder+top lcd panel and more buttons(2 comm. dials etc).<br>

The resons to buy the D60 or D40: it's cheaper, so I can buy better lenses, better exposure(D80 has some errors,but it doesn't concerns me)<br>

If D80 then 18-55Vr+55-200Vr and probably an 50mm/1.8<br>

if D60/D40 the 18-55VR+55-20Vr(maybe the 70-300Vr) and a flash.<br>

In the future I will take photos not just like a hobbyst,but because of my job too. I will shoot especially indoor(people,conferences or theatre) and nature.(sports and others are not so important)<br>

Please help.Thank you for reading it<br>

Thomas</p>

[photo5]

<p>Try to save for the D80. The D60 will have just as good, possibly slightly better image quality (it has Active D-Lighting which is useful at times) but the D80 has the bigger advantage of being able to AF with all Nikon AF lenses since the F3. I had a D80 and enjoyed it very much despite it's tendency to overexpose in certain tricky lighting situations.</p>

[thomas_kovacs]

<p>Thank you for your post. I will use max. two non Af lens: 50/1.8 and 70-210/4. But I will use in most cases the 18-55Vr and 55-200Vr. What can you advice in this case?</p>

[ronald_moravec1]

<p>Indoor and theater will require faster lenses than the consumer grade zooms you selected. While they are ok for outside work, very powerful flash will be need inside for longer distances, say 3 meters . The quality of light from the built in or any on camera flash can be very destructive of the mood and is definately not strong enough for theater work.</p>

<p>I would get a 50 1.8 and 35 2.0 AF lenses. Any tele lens for stage work should be 2.8 or faster. 85 2.0 and 135 2.8 are both very good lenses. </p>

[rob_piontek]

<p>A used D50 or a D70 is not a bad way to go. They both have the same sensor as the D40, but with either you get an AF motor. If you're really tight on cash I'd say it's a no-brainer. The disadvantages are the small screens, and they are a bit slow to operate. I have a D40 and a D50 and I like to use the D40 much better, it's just too bad it doesn't have the AF motor.</p>

<p>On the other hand, I don't think it's a big deal that the D40 doesn't have the motor. Nikon now has a 50mm 1.4 prime that works with the D40. There are fast primes from Sigma that work. I'd be willing to bet that Nikon will be releasing more AFS primes in the near future. There are good options for ultrawide, normal, and tele zooms that will AF with the D40. But it does of course limit your choices.</p>

[thomas_kovacs]

<p>I cannot afford to buy AFS primes, because they are way to expensive for me(including the 50mm 1.4..:((.<br>

I need one or two lens in 50% of the situations( say landscape and peolpe..of course in good light conditions)-for hobby<br>

and 50% people and night shots, where I need an affordable prime. -especially for my job(I'm not a full time pro, so I would be pleased with an relatively good prime)</p>

[carl_becker2]

<p>I sure prefer to have a focus motor in the body. It allows more glass options. A D50 or D70 may have better high ISO performance also.</p>

[stefan_g]

<p>As others have already suggested, a used D70(s) or D80 might be your best bet, because then you have the option of using older AF lenses with large aperture (like an 80-200/2.8 or 35-70/2.8 or 50/1.4).<br>

If that's not fast enough, then with any of the cameras (D40/60/70/80) mentioned you can mount an old AI (e.g. a 35/1.4 or a 50/1.2) lens and just guess the exposure.<br>

Some of the opinions mentioned above regarding high ISO performance seem a bit off, if I'm not mistaken. From what I have heard and read, the D80 beats the D40 which beats the D70(s) at high ISO. But you can verify that yourself easily by searching on this site.</p>

[ramon_v__california_]

<p>if you will use mostly the kit lenses, the better choice is the d40. you don't have to get the d40x. 6mp is more than enough. it has better high iso performance than the d80 and d70s. i have the d40 and the d70s and have tried a friend's d80.......you can just have fun manual focusing your 50mm and 70-210mm. save with the d40 and get a flash.<br>

a used d70s is a lot better than the d80 and d60, although the viewfinder is smaller. then you can dream on the used d200, probably just the same price as a new d80 but still better. plus you can use older nikkor lens.</p>

[thomas_kovacs]

<p>I'm not concerned about IQ, because all these Nikon's are far better then any P&S, and I won't make big prints. Now, that you guys helped me and I'm wiser a little bit in this thing.<br>

Another question is that, if you guys recomend primes over consumer grade zoom, then what prime do you recomend to cover that range(18-(180)200)?<br>

Is that a good choice to buy that 18-55Vr and 2 primes(I don't know yet which one to chose)..I don't have enough money and this whole stuff is important, because I will start a project in the city in March.ohh..</p>

[eric_arnold]

<p>i'd go for the d80 for the better AF and wider lens compatibility. definitely get the 50/1.8, but instead of the 18-55/55-200 combo, something like a tamron 17-50/2.8 would probably work better for your applications. variable aperture kit lenses and indoor action just dont go together and VR wont help with moving subjects.</p>