hajo_g

Maybe I have misformulated my post, but suddenly some respondents seem to mistake me for a complete dummy. I surely am an amateur, but I have been taking respectable photographs for two decades and I believe to have a fair idea what my next steps in photography could be. Thus I am not a complete beginner, I am simply upgrading my equipment. Please also see my last post: http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=009BRs

I was hoping for some comments on the balance, quality and investment strategy for my planned equipment, not the "get a 50mm lens and learn about perspective" kind of answers.

Sorry if I have wasted your time and thanks to those who have given me some helpful answers.

Thanks to the great advice I have received on my last question, I have

made a buying decision and will buy a new F80 together with a used AF

3.5-4.5/28-70D lens this weekend. As soon as I get it, I will start

saving for more lenses, a flash, filters and accessories.

I have created a "roadmap" for further purchases and would like to

hear your comments on it. Please bear in mind that I am an amateur

with a limited budget, i.e. I don't want to spend much more than 1000

Euros (~1200 US$) per year on equipment. My main interests are in

landscape, travel and street photography, plus some portraits and

acts. One aspect in my roadmap for further lenses is to stick with one

filter size (E52) for the next couple of years because it's cheap and

I don't want to invest twice without getting added value.

PURCHASE NOW:

F80 new

AF 3.5-4.5/28-70D used

AF 1.8/50D new

PROBABLY STILL THIS YEAR:

MB-16 new

SB-28 or SB-80DX used

AF 4.5-5.6/80-200D used (a cheap and light telezoom which according to

Thom Hogan delivers satisfactory results)

F301 (N2000) used (cheap offer available, just to see if I like

shooting in MF, and as a backup)

FORESEEABLE FUTURE:

Manfrotto (=Bogen) tripod

AF 2.8/24D used or grey market

AF 2/35D used or grey market

AF Micro 2.8/105D used or grey market (also as a general purpose short

tele)

OR (IF I GET TO LIKE SHOOTING IN MANUAL FOCUS):

FM2n used or FM3A new depending on budget

AIS 2.8/24 or 2.0/24 used depending on budget

AIS 1.4/35 or AF 2/35D used depending on budget

AIS 2.5/105 used

AIS Micro 2.8/55 used

plus maybe a 180mm lens

POSSIBLE LATER FUTURE:

AF 4.5-5.6/80-400D VR ED

AF 3.5-4.5/18-35D ED IF

I have received my knowledge about these lenses mainly from the

reviews by Thom Hogan, Ken Rockwell and from reading this site and

forum, so maybe my selection of future lenses and accessories is

somewhat biased.

Your comments would be very much appreciated.

Thank you all for your great answers.

I have decided to buy the F80 in the set with the used 28-70 and a new 1.8/50. The F80 suits my today's needs best and it's a great set offer at this price.

I realise from your answers how great a camera the F801s/N8008s is, but for me the only countable advantages would have been AIS compatibality and the viewfinder.

What I will probably do in the near future is to get a very cheap used MF body (a dealer next door has an F301(N2000) on offer for under 100 Euros) and try it out with my lenses. If I get the hang of MF photography, I can still buy a nice FM/FM2n/FM3A later and get into the market for used AI(S) lenses.

Once again, thank you all very much for your valuable advice.

Thank you very much for your quick and helpful answers.

I am still confused, but on a higher level. :)

To Shun:

It's the F801s.

Regarding the use of AF-S and VR lenses: I am not too keen on the cheaper AF-S plastic lenses anyway (played with the 24-85 recently and really didn't like the feel of it - I'have had a Minolta toy zoom long enough) and I can't afford the pro 2.8 AF-S zooms. Maybe one day I would buy an 80-400 VR which I suppose the F801 doesn't support, But that's all I can envisage in this category.

On the other hand, I'm not sure if future attempts at manual focus photography are just a nice idea of mine or if I will really go for it. After all, I find AF very convenient (otherwise I would be in the market for an FM3A).

I tend to believe that if I want to go the MF road sooner or later, I can spend the money I save on used MF lenses compared to their AF counterparts on another MF body.

I have finally saved enough money to invest into an amateur Nikon

system. I have saved for the F80 and a used lens, but a dealer in

Austria has made me an interesting offer which adds the F-801s to my

options for my first Nikon body.

The offer is as follows:

Either a new F80 or a used F-801s in mint condition, plus a used AF 3.

5-4.5/28-70D (mint) with hood - either set for 360 Euros.

That's a great price for the F80 set, considering that the F80 without

a lens usually sells for around 400? in Germany and Austria. As for

the F-801s, I don't know if it's a good set price.

I will also buy a new AF 1.8/50D and a used SB-28 or SB-80DX. (The

same dealer has a used SB-28 in mint condition on offer for 210 ?).

I have tried both cameras and the lens at the shop and can't make up

my mind which one to buy.

The advantages of the 801 are at hand: AI(S) lens compatibility,

higher sync speed, 1/3 step exposure compensation, great view finder,

better build-quality, and 1/8000 which I won't need (please add to the

list if there are other advantages/features that I don't know).

On the other hand, the F80 comes with great ergonomics, faster AF,

AF-S and VR compatibility, built-in flash and the full Nikon warranty

for a new camera.

To help me with my decision, please take into account that I am a

hobbyist/amateur coming from a stoneage Minolta 5000i with 35-80 toy

zoom and an Olympus IS-1000 SLR with built in 35-105 zoom. I currently

shoot around 50 rolls a year which I want to at least double as I

expand my photography hobby. So far I have been doing mainly travel,

landscape and street photography, but I wish to venture also into some

acts and portraits. At the same time of buying a new camera, I also

want to switch from prints to slides.

As for the used 28-70 lens included in the set, I believe to know

enough about its goods and bads from several reviews on the internet,

and have decided that I will take it, so no advice is required on this

issue.

My main questions towards this buying decision are as follows:

1) MF-photography: I haven't photographed with manual focus for over a

decade, but would like to try that out in the nearer future, also in

the light of the good market for used AIS lenses. Does the

AIS-compatibility of the F-801s justify its purchase or would you

recommend I get the F80 and look out for a cheap used MF body (eg.

FM2).

2) Slide photography: As I am also switching from prints to slides, I

am not sure if the 1/2 step exposure compensation/bracketing of the

F80 will be good enough (print film is a lot more tolerant).

Considering that I won't be able to afford many fast primes and shoot

mainly handheld, Velvia 50 is probably out of the question anyway. I

am told that the ISO 100/160/400 slide films that I will be shooting

are somewhat more tolerant with exposure compensation. Is this true

and will the 1/2 step compensation of the F80 suffice?

3) Sync speed - is the 1/125 sync speed of the F80 sufficient for fill

flash with the built-in flash (mixed weather conditions, ISO 100)?

I love the feautures, ergonomics and looks of the F80, but maybe you

can give me good reasons for buying the F-801s instead.

Please excuse if my questions are very amateurish, I know I still have

a lot to learn in photography.

Thanks a lot for your advice.

Fortunately, the G lens works on a whole range of cameras and NOT just on the F80/N80 (strange idea, anyway). It should work on all the newer generation AF bodies, i.e. F/N 65, 75, 80, F100 & F5 (not sure about F/N 55, though) and D1, D2, D100 and D70.

I played with a 24-85 G mounted on an F80 last month. The AF speed is amazing. But the lens has a very plasticy feel to it, though not as bad as the toy zooms which are sold in sets with the F75/65/55. According to several reviews (Ken Rockwell, Thom Hogan) this is probably one of the sharpest if not THE sharpest standard zoom in the current Nikkor line. The same reviews also note a rather large degree of distortion, although rather neutral at the 28mm position.

Can't say anything about the D lens except that I generally prefer the "feel" of the older zoom generation.

Bob,

I am somewhat in a similar situation and like yourself have done a lot of research (Although I am not coming from P&S, but upgrading from a stoneage Minolta Dynax/Maxxum 5000i with a 35-80 toy zoom). My current choices include exactly the same lenses that you have listed, except for the 28-200.

Both the 24-85 and the 28-105 are said to be excellent lenses. The former is said to be super sharp whereas the latter has almost zero distortion. The 28-105 is slighty more solidly built than the 24-85, whereas some claim that the 28-105 is a bit to soft. At the end of the day these are probably academic discussions. I doubt that as amateurs we will be able to see great differences in the results, particulary on prints.

What it comes down to is what focal lenghts do you need. If you do a lot of landscape photography then the 24mm could proof very useful. If you are looking for snapshots of people then the extra 20mm on the 28-105's tele end could be valuable.

Here's what my local photoshop suggested: Buy a cheapo 28-100G and see which the focal lengths fit you best. If you find yourself shooting a lot in short focals, get the 24-85. In my case, they would even take back the 28-100G and count it towards the price of the better zoom, if I return it within a month without damage. Or just keep it as a backup.