NIKON D3000 AND 35MM DX

[david_achille]

<p>Hi<br>

I am thinking of buying a light DSLR body(D3000 body only) for street photography. I already got the D300 and I should be using the 35mm DX, the 55-200 VR as well as the SB400 flash for fill ins.<br>

I would like to get some views of the above combo as I think in spite of it limitations, it should do for standard photos( at iso 200 to 400) with proper exposure and fast AF.<br>

Cheers<br>

David</p>

<p> </p>

[photo5]

<p>Should be a very good combo. The 35mm DX 1.8 gives you pretty much the same angle of view as the 50mm on a normal 35mm film camera.</p>

[ramon_v__california_]

<p>excellent combo, imho. you can even push it to iso 800 (or higher) when you go indoors with the 35mm.</p>

[thomas_lozinski]

<p>Was that a typo or do you have the D300 and are looking to get the D3000? <br>

I think the D3000 has the same or similar sensor to the D80 (which you can probably find used for the same price.) The D80 can focus with non AFS lenses which is a big plus in my opinion. Photographers always want to get more lenses so don't limit yourself. I love the 35mm though.</p>

[Jerry_]

<p>You might look at a Nikon D60 body. It's <strong>light</strong> and if the older focus system is not a problem on street photography, a Nikon body that's small and has good color quality.</p>

[976photo]

<p>I was wondering if that was a typo also... I don't think you can get the <strong>D3000</strong> <em>body only</em>. And if you already have a <strong>D300</strong>, why would you want to step down to a <strong>D3000</strong>? If you just want a cheap body, the <strong>D5000</strong> is available as a body only option, it's 12MP, and it has the same image sensor as the <strong>D90</strong>, which is better than the <strong>D3000</strong> image sensor.</p>

[andylynn]

<p>I think you guys are missing the point, which is that the D3000 is the smallest Nikon body currently made. And the cheapest - Adorama will sell you a body only refurb for about $300.</p>

<p>A D3000 is a D60 with a better AF system. I've used a D60 with a 35/1.8 AFS, a 55-200 VR and an SB-400, and they all work together perfectly - each of those parts is small and light, the camera is small and light, you get good balance and ease of use - so I don't see any reason not to use that kit. Also I don't think you need to limit yourself to ISO 400 - 800 is fine and 1600 is good but not great.</p>

[will_daniel1]

<p>David,</p>

<p>I don't know how many of the above respondents actually own the D3000 and 35mm f1.8 lens, but I can speak from experience. I bought the D3000 brand new last December only because I could no longer buy the D60 (D3000 is the replacement for the D60). I had numerous exposure problems with the D3000 and sent it to Nikon twice under warranty. Both times it came back with a note from the technicians stating that the meter was "within Nikon standards." Well, it's not good enough for me that I had to intentionally underexpose -- a lot -- in order to get even close to a normal exposure, so I dumped it after having shot less than 100 exposures on it, and then bought a used D80. Others may have good luck with that camera, but not me, and not others who have mentioned this problem in this forum.</p>

<p>I bought the used D80 (and earlier the new D3000) because I wanted to stay within the same sensor family. I love my D60 and found that I was using it more than my D200 (all cameras mentioned here use the same sensor). I have noticed that many mail order dealers now are selling refurbished D3000s. Is this Nikon's way of treating what is an obvious problem?</p>

<p>Another problem I found is the D3000 NEF files aren't compatible with any of my software except Capture NX2. I use Photoshop CS3, and it won't even open the D3000 NEFs but will properly read and work with NEFs from my other cameras. I fully understand your desire to have a "little brother" companion to your D300. Been there, done that (with my D200). But being quite jaded by my experience, I cannot recommend the D3000.</p>

<p>Oh, almost forgot -- the 35mm f1.8 is awesome. It stays on my D60 all the time.</p>

<p>Will</p>

[david_achille]

<p>Hi All,<br>

Thanks very much for your views, I will have a really good look tat this body as I will have the chance to try it. I shot my son's birthday party 3 weeks ago with the 35mm DX on the D300 and was quite please with the result.</p>

 

[ShunCheung]

<p>Nikon does not sell the D3000 as body only, at least not in the US. The D3000 always comes with the 18-55mm lens as a kit. If you want body only, you need to find a dealer who is willing to split the kit or sell off the 18-55 yourself.</p>

[uspandey]

<p>D5000 is the way to go.</p>

[eric_arnold]

<p>i would get a d5000, because the d3000 has a much weaker sensor in terms of low-light/high-ISO performance. you basically lose one stop of ISO from the d300, whereas you get the same performance from a d5000. for street photography this could come into play a lot, unless you are only shooting in bright lighting conditions.</p>

<p>fyi, i have the d80, which has the same 10mp sensor as the d3000, and a d300. the d80 maxes out at 1600 iso, though 800-1000 is about as far as the comfort zone goes. with the d300, you get much cleaner 1600, and i've shot at up to 3200 with fairly decent results. for this reason, i dont shoot much street with the d80, though it's much more compact than the d300.</p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>You already have a D300, which is not that big a camera. Anything below that such as the D3000, D5000, and D90 all use the Multi-CAM 1000, which is not nearly as good as the AF system in the D300. The D3000 also has a much older sensor.</p>

<p>At least I don't see the point to get a lesser camera.</p>

[wmervine]

<p>Just my few cents here. If I was in your position, I would go look at both the D3000 and D5000 in the flesh. Size wise and weight wise they are very close, but the D5000 gives you a far better sensor. Also, with the tilt and swivel screen and live view, it may be a useful aid.</p>

 

[david_achille]

<p>I can get the D3000 body for US $385 and the D5000 body for $610 which not bad for Mauritius. </p>

[wmervine]

<p>Well, an old saying is buy the best you can afford. Still, it's worth physically comparing the 2 for size.</p>

[976photo]

<p>Well if it's all about size, the D3000 is smaller than the D5000, though not by much. But like mentioned you'll get a better sensor in the D5000, and you'll probably see much better results in low light / high ISO settings.</p>