johninjapan2000

The D300 *is* a consumer-grade body. Don't think it is not simply because you own one. Check out John Shaw's website to see what the pro-Nikon guys are using: the D3.

Having corrected that misconception, let me add: if he is actually having trouble with the D40x (and it sounds more like a combination of cheap zoom lens and poorly-chosen subject matter to me), less than a year of ownership is way too soon, regardless of price-point.

Wait for the D90. The D80 just isn't as good as the D60 in image quality and the D60 won't be enough of an upgrade for you.

j.

Hahaha! Yeah, I guess so...Actually, I guess I am not clear on this camera's ability to take a series of 30 second exposures while the operator is asleep. Can it do that? I realize I am revealing my ignorance here. ;-)

j.

I haven't compared prices, but there is a pretty good used camera shop near Shinjuku, another one near Yokohama station, several smaller ones here and there that I go to sometimes. If you want, I can give you a map or we can meet and I will take you to the shops. I am kind of self-employed so my schedule has lots of free time.

There is also KEH on the internet for used equipment. They have a very good reputation. They are American.

My email is johninjapan2000@yahoo.com

Contact me anytime.

One of my good work friends in my old job is Mongolian. Her name is Zolo. Lovely woman.

Cheers,

John

All DX lenses are, on principle, throw-away lenses. APS cameras? An obvious stop-gap.

j.

Steve: sorry to hear you had a bad experience. Did you buy the Sigma new or used?

I have owned two Sigma lenses. Both gave professional quality results. Both had no problems of any kind. I have never had to contact support, so have nothing to say there except: with any bureaucracy, sometimes we have to be a bit persistent.

To the original poster: If you don't need ultra-wide, you could get a AF-D 24mm. It'll meter but won't autofocus.

But anyway, the Sigma is really the "standard" lens for ultra-wide. Lots of people have it, including the very serious shooters and pros. See the Thom Hogan website for why.

The Sigma 10-20 is a fine lens. See Thom Hogan's review. I have it and, wide open, the corners are very ugly but stopped down they are okay and can always be edited out. In any case, all areas of the image compare well to the other lenses and it handles very nicely on both my D50 and D60. Highly recommended.

As the previous poster said: the extra width to 10mm is valuable. Buy it now.

jr

Remember: the OP said he wanted a lightweight travel kit NOT the body with the most bells-and-whistles. And OF COURSE you can do serious photography with this camera. Since when is a camera, with imaginig technology superior to everything Nikon makes except the D300 and D3, not a serious camera? Gimme a break...

D60 as a digital FE-2? Yes! I bought it for exactly that purpose. It works excellently. The rangefinder (for use with older AF lenses) is especially choice. Very accurate. Of course, if you use modern lenses (AFS) this won't be an issue anyway.

Bracketing is useful, of course, but as you say, the FE-2 didn't have it either. Kind of strange since even my cheapie cell-phone camera has it. The lack of wired remote is not a problem for me as wireless is even more convenient.

As for IS (VR) I only want it in long lenses, so I'm glad the cost and weight of this is not built into the camera. Lens-based VR works better than body-based VR anyway, in my opinion.

After having used mine for a while, I would say I don't really miss anything that is not there. Some things would be nice to have, but the whole point of this camera is D80/D200-level image quality (better, actually, because the processor is upgraded) in the smallest body possible.

If I had to choose one feature to add, it would be bracketing. Forget the old-style autofocus: heavy and un-needed. Use Custom Setting 19 (the rangefinder) or get some AFS glass.

Lenses I have used on this body so far: 200mm f4 ais: excellent. 105mm f2.5 ais: superb. 85mm f1.8 af-d: superb. 50mm f1.8 af-d: superb. 24mm f2.8 af-d: superb. 18mm f4 ai: backlighting produces very strong CA, no good for these situations. Otherwise, as good as film. 50-135mm f3.5: superb. 75-150mm f3.5 series E: hmmm, needs more testing/experience. The first results not so good, but may be operator error (lens hood issue).

Best of luck. Hey, they're small and cheap. Buy two! ;\)

john

Michael: It is Custom Function 19...completely separate from the usual green dot. Don't be embarrassed, I was confused by this as well at first.

Doesn't function with manual lenses, as far as I have experienced.

The rangefinder function is MUCH more useful than the green dot, by the way. For once I agree with Ken Rockwell (when he says the rangefinder is really great).

j.

Nikon calls it a rangefinder and that is the function it performs, quite accurately too.

It is analog in its visible output, which is what the poster is referring to.

It does NOT work on non-cpu lenses (as far as I can tell) because you must use those lenses in M mode, and M mode does not have the rangefinder function. Too bad because I have several excellent old lenses.

Here is what you might try: put camera in A mode, find the range, then put back in M mode to fire the shutter. It might work. Cumbersome, though, and prone to inaccuracy even if it works because your position might shift.

j.

A used D50 is a pretty good idea. Will do everything you need in the beginning (or forever, if you are not TOO ambitious), smallish, no autofocus issues. 6 clean megapixels is good enough.

I second the motion!

Shop around, be careful, a shop warranty might be nice.

j.

Another point: the poster specifically mentioned "crisp zoom".

This pretty much means a newish lens with AFS or HSM, so the 50mm f1.8, and every other prime, is probably irrelevant.

Again, D60 is very easy to use and has the newest tech. A Sigma 10-20 and a Sigma 50-150 would probably fill the bill. Fill the gap with the Sigma 30mm if you want to.

Or, the Nikon 24-85mm f3.5-4.5 zoom is well-respected by the usual lens evaluators and it's only about 250 bucks used. Of course, it is AFS so has autofocus. I'm gonna get one soon just to have a good, cheap "walk around lens" for my D50 and D60.

j.

D60 is the best "learner" DSLR, in my opinion. It's also the easiest to carry around, being smaller and lighter.

Stay with AFS or HSM lenses and the autofocus issue will not be an issue.

Or manual lenses where it is the same issue for every DSLR.

j.

Extension tubes on the 50mm f1.8? I'm a bit out of practise but can anybody advise the OP about this option?

Both the 50mm f1.8 and the 85mm f1.8 handle well on my D60, issue of AF aside. Nice balance, etc.

john

Buy it. I can't believe you are hesitating. Buy it.

Did you understand that I think you should buy it?

Buy it. One of the top 5 or 6 lenses in the whole range.

j.

The rangefinder does work pretty well. Of course, for moving subjects, even old-style AF often isn't enough. But for ordinary photgraphy, I don't see a huge convenience difference between AF and rangefinder.

It's a pity the rangefinder doesn't work on the M setting, though. For my manual lenses, I have to set the dial to A (for example), find the focus with the range-finder, then set the dial to M so I can fire the shutter. Cumbersome! Still, it is more than we get with some cameras.

I often have the very lightweight 50mm f1.8 AF-D attached to my camera and put the set-up in the side pocket of my small back-pack. It fits! Best image quality I can tote around anywhere.

John

With all due respect: please define "work". My AF-D lenses work beautifully with my D60, which has what I call "half-auto-focus": the camera finds the focus point (rangefinder, custom setting 19), and I push the lens elements around. This is why many pros love the D40/40x/60 series: half auto-focus, world-class results in a small, take-everywhere body.

If you mean, "which DSLRs will find the focus point AND push the lens elements around for me", then the other posters have answered your question.

;-)

john

If you are using the automatic setting alot, probably the D60 would be good for you. If you need auto-focus (and you probably do, if you are using automatic exposure settings), the AF-S 24-85 f3.5-4.5 is an excellent lens for its class and only costs about $250 used. With a Sigma 10-20mm you will have all but extreme telephoto covered.

Don't worry about a D60x coming soon. The reason the D40x came out soon after the D40 was (probably) because the D40 only had 6MP and that just wasn't good enough for the market. At 10MP, the D60 is safe. Time will tell, though.

In any case, the D60 has superior image quality to a D80: better noise control, better processor (shares the D300's processor, so the best in the amateur world) and it has active dust control. Also, the rear LCD functions very well as both top and back LCDs because the angle of view is so excellent you can see it even when the camera is still upright.

The D70 is REALLY old at this point, so the D60 would be better. Think carefully though about your autofocus needs, however, and be aware of the size issue: big hands won't be happy with the D60 I suspect. My hands are average and it feels very good to me.

Avoid the D80. It has well-known metering and noise problems. It was fine 18 months ago, but these are little computers now and 18 months is forever.

Final verdict: get the D60 (assuming AF is not an issue) or wait for a D90.

Best of luck.

When one chooses to go manual (as I have as well, on my D60), basically one also chooses to go slowly and deliberately.

So, I just bracket the focus. A magic screen to make it easier would be nice, but the DX format makes it unlikely, in my opinion, that any screen will be fully satisfying.

Can't wait for an affordable FX DSLR. I'm sure not putting much money in DX lenses. They are just a stop-gap measure.

john

Frankly, I don't see the point in going with two systems. Everybody's different and it's none of my business, but...

I also lust after the D300, one of the most perfect machines ever made.

My D60 "exposes for print", too, you might say. I just adjust as needed. I can always buy the D300 if I want perfection...

john

"fruit flavored substitute"!! Hahaha!! Brilliant! Not the kindest comment in the world, but very funny....

j.

Action shots: you will get more good shots not only with autofocus, but with the best autofocus you can afford: AFS. Your D40 will autofocus with AFS. So will the D70, of course. Or, for less money, try the reputedly excellent Sigma 50-150 HSM. May be long enough (at 225mm equivalent) for horses, not so expensive, and has an internal focusing motor so will work on your D40. This might actually double well as a portrait lens as well. I think it's about 500 bucks for the newer II version.

Portraits: try the famous 105mm f2.5. It really does make wonderful portraits. It is manual focus, so you are giving up nothing there by using your D40. Of course, it is great on any other Nikon camera as well, film or digital.

Just ideas.

There are two schools of thought that compete for space/time in my brain:

1. The resultant image is the important thing. Whatever gets me there is okay. Sometimes that means using as much automatic stuff as I can afford.

2. It is the process that I am concerned with: light, depth of focus, stopping motion, composititon, whatever. In this case, slow and thoughtful is better, so manual is okay.

In either case, I am reminded of the old quote: If it's more than 500 feet from the car, it ain't photogenic. Generalized, this simply means that photo opportunities which require equipment I don't have with me, are to be ignored.

In other words, whatever equipment we have is only able to capture some subset of all theoretically possible images. Fortunately, each subset is equivalently infinite, so no matter what we have, there are endless photos to take. And adding equipment (or using equipment which can be used with both high and low degrees of automation) doesn't increase the infinitude, though it does open up other subsets.

Clearly then, the "point-and-shooters" have decided to pursue images that belong to that particular subset which requires a high degree of automation. Their choice is neither more worthy nor less worthy than any other choice.

Which means that, photographically, a D60 and a D300 and a D3 are equally worthy and serious machines.

Now that I have put you all to sleep, I will go to bed myself. It is 12:30am here.

john

Okay, I'll bite: First of all: why film?

Second: assuming you have no specific ideas as to what you will shoot with this equipment, just buy rough doubles: 24mm f2.8, 50mm f1.8, 105mm f2.5, 200mm f4. The latter two (105 and 200) are manual focus but of high quality. They can be had second-hand for reasonable prices. The first two (24 and 50) are auto-focus. The 24 may be a bit expensive, but the 50 will be cheap. They are also of fine quality.

Get some extension tubes to put between the lens and the camera and you can do macro very nicely with the longer focal lengths.

Regarding the camera bodies: I have no experience with the 801, but the 90x is a fine performer. As you seem to have no idea about what you want to do, I wouldn't worry too much about the specific features. However, that info is widely available on the internet. I will suggest that the 90x will probably do everything you could imagine doing.

It would be better to start with some specific objectives, however. In my case, I wanted to shoot stationary objects such as architecture and flowers, etc. What do you want to shoot?

Good luck!

john