dcraton

Another Shun & Ronald vote. I have a lot of lenses instead. My backup cam right now is a D40x with a battery grip. Seems funny to put a 17-55mm/2.8 and an SB-800 on that body. But, I also got tired of endless cycle of spending. I have a D300 for my main cam. IQ is nearly identical.

Works for me. The problem is, technology is increasing at a rate that just about any body purchased can be interpreted as disposable. That is not to insult your D700 or anyone else's cam bod.

Keep your D80 and just dress it up with a nice lens(es) and flash if necessary. And yes, you will need and use a backup cam. I have been shooting for 30 years and have had camera failure twice in the recent past. Both times I had two backups to save the shoot.

Good luck.

I paid 349.00 for a Nikon D40x refurb with a one year warranty from a very reputable dealer. I bought it as a backup camera. Just and idea of pricing. You are right about not having a motor, but I have plenty of lenses. I like it a lot, but if I were starting out, I might consider a cam that will work with non motorized lenses since they can be had at wonderful prices.

And everyone needs a 50mm lens, why else would Nikon release an AFS version of it very soon?

It's not awkward. . .it's unique. My favorite portrait lens. Sorry, OT.

Good luck Kevin.

I think the coolest thing is spending time with your son and teaching him a hobby or whatever he can use for life. And go broke like I did early on buying lenses and cam bods.

Seriously, even though I shoot for a living, one of my favorite pastimes is to load up the van with cam gear, wife (she is a fine photographer who teaches school), Dog, bag lunches, and head out for an afternoon. I used to share cameras. Not anymore. She loves having her own camera. Either will do. It's the time that counts and the camera is a byproduct.

Wife this past Sunday shooting skaters at a ramp park: http://www.davidcraton.com/skater/pages/DBC_4622.htm. Oh, it's a D40/18-135mm. Had to toss that in.

Or you could give him your D300 and buy you a D3. . .

"these cameras are more suited for photographers who are new to the Nikon SLR system"

Not necessarily. I shoot D300 for all my work (this is my job). My back up cam is a D40x as the IQ is excellent and works well with several 2.8 lenses I have as well as the "kit" lenses.

Many of us vaunted "pros" are going for glass and viewing bodies as disposable.

Another vote for the D40 (I bought my D40x refurbed with a one year warranty from a reputable dealer if you want the 4 extra megapixels).

Good Luck!

A hat. Save your money. Or, turn around and block the sun with your body. Do it all the time. I understand your dilemma.

Sorry, Robert already said that.

Cheers.

Just a thought from one who also lost all photography in an electrical fire and had to start completely over,

once you experience loss such as that and something less catastrophic, it does make you think.

Such as. . .using large cards does have an Achilles heel and I think I remember a post a bit ago by Shun agreeing

to this, if a card does go down and it's half or mostly full and say 16gb, well, you lose a lot of info if it

can't be recovered. Our choice, and it's not right or wrong, is to use UDMA or DMA cards of the highest quality

purchased from reputable dealers. Most of our cards, whether CF or SD are 4 gig and we change often. It doesn't

take that long to turn off the the cam, pull out the card, put in the new one, format the card, turn the cam

back on and start

shooting. Less time that it took me to type that phrase (62 wpm).

Just another alternative. But, then we shoot in "scenes" for event photography. Easy to catalog and process.

However, Shun is right. Card failure is very unlikely. However, if you shoot a lot for years, probably at least

once, you will experience it--and hard drive failure (another backup issue).

Maybe we should ask KR?

Sorry, a loss in repeat business.

Must be the caffeine.

dc

If you happen to shoot for a paying job, one memory card loss could cost you a month's worth of income if not

more when you lose the client or they ask for compensation for damages. And, that can result in repeat business

and possibly other clients hesitating as for all the advertising we do, most of our business comes by word of

mouth. Or, if not, it still stings.

That being said, all three cams are well made and have their place for each photographer's choice. No need to

assume why someone buys a certain camera.

Another thought for those who shoot for da' money. Thank God for an assistant on the job. Mine has saved me

from two memory card failures over the past 7 years and one camera failure all three for very well paying and

high profile jobs. By my choice, better than a second memory card, if you can afford it. Well worth it for me

on the higher paying gigs. But, I shoot the lowly D300 by choice per my style and clientele.

BTW, Thom rocks. If nothing else, I like his name.

An apprentice of mine shoots with a D40 and is very sensitive to the viewfinder. She has suffered off and on

with and eye disorder, so looking into the viewfinder can be quite uncomfortable for her. Is there an eyepiece

attachment that would allow here to view without her eyelashes touching? It is really a case of tactile issues

rather than a medical problem. She is very promising as a photographer.

Thanks in advance.

Nice crystal rocks glass (2) with two large ice cubes and a 18 year old bottle of Macallan shared with a dear friend of mine who is a dedicated Canon and very fine shooter. Oh, let's add a couple of Drew Estate Naturals. Ahh, with jazz in the background and our wives putzing around, we would each shoot into the back of our property, which is forest.

Other than that, is there really any other glass than Nikon??? Or, Canon?

No.

ps: Noise? It's not just me, watch ESPN in HD during a sporting event. . .

Both technologies suffer in this area.

Ilkka:

Not. If you buy right and RTFM.

We do video as well as the other half of our business integrating photography into many of our projects. Noise

is the same issue as a DSLR and it will depend upon the model, post software (total price with NR for under

100.00), etc. to control it. We do not shoot stills with a vid cam and neither do we shoot vid with a DSLR.

As to audio, to quote many noted movie producers, audio is half of what makes a movie great.

And yes, many do 24p. Your comments are limited to silly cheap cams maybe on the lower end of superstore

purchases rather than silly cheap vid cams smartly purchased.

Want one? I have one for sale for 400.00 that answers every objection you posted?

Do your homework.

Having had one. . .then a second. . .

Well, I do love Nikon, but this lens is a dud as you say. Poor optics, not sharp, not befitting of a D700. I was very surprised Nikon paired this with the D700 at all. I eventually sent the first copy back, got another to only find the same.

Not a good word at all.

Here is a review from one of the few I trust with another option for you: http://www.bythom.com/24120ens.htm.

You have not mentioned in general your subject matter for your work. That might help in suggesting replacement(s) lenses.

Good hunting.

Here is a link (page 2) to the specs from Nikon: http://www.nikonusa.com/Assets/Digital-SLR/25446-Nikon-D90/PDF/25446_D90_Nikon_Sell_Sheet.pdf.

What Clive said is a good observation. Yes, there is a move in the industry toward integrated video and still digital, but a bit of a way off before arrival that is affordable for most of us. Note the file format is AVI, large files and yet is compressed by mjpeg and audio is in mono. . .zzzzzzzz and no AF in this mode. Video eats memory at any level. All to say, too many holes for me.

Would have rather seen Nikon put it's efforts and design in the cam. Currently, even HD consumer cams are silly cheap.

FWIW, Explorer and Safari do not run motion jpeg without plugins. Hence the AVI final file format?

It's cute. Kinda like my camera phone that I keep waiting for lenses.

Clive, I'll call you sometime from my GPS/Phone/Camera/Microwave/Vid Cam. . .

Here's the user line from a use who uses this lens with a D200 for all major sports.

You need speed.

You need a monopod.

80-200/AF D/

It's a tank of a lens. Thanks to Jeremy Gray.

Either camera will do per the reasons stated. Again, if you have the money, I'd get the D300. Here is probably

the best review I have read: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond300/. On page 23 of Askey's review, he

compares it to the D200.

Yes, metering is key. Nikon's manuals do not do the subject justice. You can Google metering with a digital

camera and find plenty of material. Best thing is to do what Elliot and Robert suggested for a start.

Also, if you do go with the D200, the camera is still in Nikon's lineup and can be purchased online at reputable

dealers or eBay by several reputable dealers with a full USA New warranty.

Your other option is to purchase either camera used and get a Squaretrade warranty. They offer a one year

warranty for 10% of your purchase price.

Enjoy your time in South America.

Thanks Shun, we are cool. You couldn't know. Reading post and replying to posts can be difficult at times. No harm, no foul.

Andreas, the little pro shop we do have here has a lot of Sigma lenses. I could try one out and may.

Kent: yes, I have been reading about the new lens. Would be very interesting.

Eric: you hit the bullseye and no offense to anyone else, for your reasons stated and others, we sold off all of our variable aperture lenses. We are not snobs, it's just a job. However, I just want light and a bit of range. I do have the Sigma 24-60mm I bought for a backup to my 17-55mm. It is a blessed surprise. I did a job with it Monday for just taking candids at a corp party to test the lens and it did very well.

Last thing, budget is a somewhat of a concern, not financially, just practically and we do have excellent post skills, software, and puters, so we can take an average photo (not blurred past "that" point) and put some pop in our flash.

Thanks for confusing me--a joke. I am glad and thankful for all your info.

Shun. Whatever. you did assume I had the lenses mentioned, but does it really matter? There are plenty of new

lenses out since we let go of all variable aperture lenses, save one, the Sigma 10-20mm. As a business owner, I

found most of them lacking for one reason or another. But that's me and for another post. I had let go of the

two aforementioned lenses more than a few months ago and yet would recommend them both and have here per the

right application.

Suffice it to say for our work we need fast, sharp glass with great bokeh, decent AF, and well built. But, that

is not new for us either. All of our current lenses are application specific and get a lot of good use.

I want a lens for me, not our business. One lens in a LowePro Toploader with an extra battery, card, a few other

small items. A just for fun snapshot lens. What a concept. A fun lens as I am starting to have more time to

shoot for fun and really--a camera, never leave home without it.

Right now I am leaning toward the 18-200mm VR II. I understand the newer copies are sharper than the initial few

runs. Has anyone else experienced that? I wasn't until this post and thanks.

ps: I would rather start wider than 28mm. I just saw the Sigma and Nikon had several offerings starting at that point.

Thanks again. Good info.

To Shun and Robert. I no longer have those lenses (been awhile) and was curious about some of the new lenses as I have mentioned in the past. . .not such a great pro shop here.

Shun: apparently before you make assumptions, you might consider that life and business are a constantly moving rather than remaining static. We spend time selling our services, processing, post, marketing, accounting, traveling, keeping a small office, and al the other things to make a business stay in the black. From time to time I come here because in all reality, many "amateurs" and "enthusiasts" are not only better photographers than we are, but have more time to pour over lenses and the like. P.net and other places have been good resources for us to gather info rather than buy lenses and send them back. I sincerely hope that is the explanation you were looking for. I did not see a reason to post this as I was simply taking the temperature of what was being used currently which seems to change often.

To the rest, thanks for great info on a very fast moving technology. Robert Hooper: right on and yes. That is the lens I am considering, but with Tamron and Sigma with a new bevy of lenses. . .I was only asking a simple question.

Just wanted a grass roots opinion of current thought. BTW--I despise the distinction between a "pro", an "amateur, "an enthusiast." It's all good, as long as we all have a camera in hand shooting.

Hi and thanks in advance.

I have a great collection of pro lenses for our business: tanks, fast, heavy, love them.

However, rather looking to upgrade, I am looking for ONE lens to attach to a D200 for general walkabout day

shooting. Most important factor for me is IQ. I really don't care about AF speed or having another low light

lens or f/2.8 zoom. Would be nice to at least start at 28mm with a bit of reach. I am Sigma friendly, but a

Nikon lover.

I want light, durable, affordable and not at 24-120mm.

And please, refrain from a D300 or D700 upgrade discussion. This is a lens question as I have little knowledge

of consumer lenses. Again: one lens for walkabout, out with the wife, etc. lens.

Thanks and no tanks.

David

Speaking from an unfortunate experience, the D80 is not environmentally sealed. I would get a raincoat for the camera and lens. Try to keep the camera dry as even with a coat, there may be condensation on the inside as well.

If you are not wanting to shell out dollars for a permanent lens solution, you might consider renting a lens if you can in your area. A superzoom might be in order as suggested even though you will sacrifice IQ a bit, you will can wide and length and can repair most shots if not blown in post.

There are lots of choices for you, but without knowing your shooting style and what you are after, it's hard to say. Wide with mountain, river, and fog can be quite stunning. But then so can what RL mentioned. Since your options for subject matter are extremely varied and numerous, Robert's suggestion is a good one as well.

Have fun and get your shots. . .that'd be immunized.

Howard, good luck. KEH is a good choice and my question was a bit sarcastic of which is difficult to see in text. Nikon still markets and sells the AF D new. KEH has some nice buys on used ones as you have probably seen.

My remarks to you concerning glass being a potential preeminent choice for purchase was based upon your current lenses and body. The D200 is still a fine horse and a nice lens will certainly up the ante for you.

If you don't have and this has not been mentioned, I would get a decent monopod for the lens. Better than VR...oops, another argument. Hah!

Have a great one.