Time to spend some money...advice please

[mouselovenfamily]

My daughter is 16 and I'm ready to get her a Nikon DSLR. I have a D90 and since she is ready to start learning how to use my camera I want her to get her own. What camera would be a good "first" camera for her and something we can exchange lenses on? I have a 18-105 kit lens that I would like to give her.

Then, I want to buy myself a 50 or 35 mm lens. I see 1.8 and 1.4 are used alot and also have a price difference. I shoot the standard, my kids, pets, sporting events...life. Any help here?


I also want a zoom of some kind. A friend showed me a Tamron 18-270. He really likes it but at a store I was talking to a sales person and they said Tamron is a slower lens, go with a Nikon.

Any input is appreciated.

 

[Brad M]

I had a similar situation last year. I shoot with a D90 and wanted to buy my wife a camera to learn with. I bought her a D60 body only online and gave her my 18-105 kit lens. I have no serious complaints about the D60 and the price is right! I had to use it as a backup to shoot a softball game when my D90 was in the shop. It's kinda small for the big 70-200/f2.8 lens I attached to it, but it worked fine.

5 noticeable differences for me:
- D60 has 3 point focus instead of 11 like the D90 (this was a slight issue when shooting moving softball players).
- Slower burst rate when shooting rapid-fire.
- Of course no video capability in the D60.
- Not all lenses will allow autofocus on the D60 (such as my 50mm f/1.8), but the 18-105 kit lens autofocuses fine.
- The D60 can't fire off-camera Nikon flashes without extra accessories (radio trigger, etc). The D90 has built-in off-camera TTL flash capability.

Despite the differences from the D90, the D60 takes good pics and is a great starter camera.

 

[mom2rtk]

Howdy neighbor!

Too bad you have a Nikon.... I'd let you try out my Tamron 18-270!

 

[mouselovenfamily]

Howdy neighbor!

Too bad you have a Nikon.... I'd let you try out my Tamron 18-270!

Hey there! Love the first day of spring snowstorm??

That would have been great! That's the reason I want to get my daughter a Nikon so we can share lenses. Try to save a little. She's not as technical as I'd like her to be yet (neither am I) but at least this way we can save some money sharing. I'll let you know if I head to my favorite camera store if you want to ride along and look.

 

[mom2rtk]

Hey there! Love the first day of spring snowstorm??

That would have been great! That's the reason I want to get my daughter a Nikon so we can share lenses. Try to save a little. She's not as technical as I'd like her to be yet (neither am I) but at least this way we can save some money sharing. I'll let you know if I head to my favorite camera store if you want to ride along and look.

That snow was amazing! I say WAS because fortunately it's melting already. I'm thinking we had at least 10". It's the first day in..... heck I don't even KNOW how long it's been..... since I stayed home all day!

I wish one of my kids would take an interest in photography. I guess there's still hope for the 9 year old. But the boys (15 and 17) have 0 interest.

I hope you have a great time sharing it with your daughter!

 

[Gianna'sPapa]

I'm not a Nikon shooter, but I think it would be best to go with the latest and greatest entry level. I believe that is the Nikon 5000. It only lacks the internal auto focus motor.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond5000/

Then again, it could be an opportunity for you to upgrade. That way you could teach your daughter on a camera you already understand and then get an upgrade for yourself!! I know its an excuse, but what the heck, if it works go with it.

 

[MICKEY88]

Then again, it could be an opportunity for you to upgrade. That way you could teach your daughter on a camera you already understand and then get an upgrade for yourself!! I know its an excuse, but what the heck, if it works go with it.

I think this is a brilliant idea..!!

 

[mouselovenfamily]

I'm just learning this camera and you want me to pass it offWOW! I thought getting new lenses (if I can decide what to get) was a big step.

Cameras seem to be like computers, as soon as you get one, a better one is just around the corner. Keep the input coming!! Thanks!

 

[JoeDif]

I'm just learning this camera and you want me to pass it offWOW! I thought getting new lenses (if I can decide what to get) was a big step.

Cameras seem to be like computers, as soon as you get one, a better one is just around the corner. Keep the input coming!! Thanks!

That's why I use Olympus...We only have to worry about every 3 or 4 years

 

[photo_chick]

On the salesperson pushing a Nikon product... I have a friend who is in retail at a large camera shop. She told me once to keep in mind that Nikon gives better than average incentives for sales people to push their products. I'm not saying all sales people will follow the money, just do your own research and take what they say with a grain of salt.

 

[pednurse]

On the salesperson pushing a Nikon product... I have a friend who is in retail at a large camera shop. She told me once to keep in mind that Nikon gives better than average incentives for sales people to push their products. I'm not saying all sales people will follow the money, just do your own research and take what they say with a grain of salt.

That's why I like our little local camera shop.....I have the Nikon D90 and bought a new lens for my Christmas/birthday/anniversary gift (hey, with the amount I spent...it had to cover several gifting events! lol). When trying out several at the camera shop...I tried both Nikon-branded & Tamron-branded lenses. The owner/salesman said there was really no noticeable difference with the speed...and in trying both out I really couldn't tell a difference. I went with the Tamron, which was a fair bit less expensive, and have been very pleased with it. (Oh, and the Tamron is the 18-270....and LOVE it!)

 

[Brad M]

I had a similar situation last year. I shoot with a D90 and wanted to buy my wife a camera to learn with. I bought her a D60 body only online and gave her my 18-105 kit lens. I have no serious complaints about the D60 and the price is right! I had to use it as a backup to shoot a softball game when my D90 was in the shop. It's kinda small for the big 70-200/f2.8 lens I attached to it, but it worked fine.

5 noticeable differences for me:
- D60 has 3 point focus instead of 11 like the D90 (this was a slight issue when shooting moving softball players).
- Slower burst rate when shooting rapid-fire.
- Of course no video capability in the D60.
- Not all lenses will allow autofocus on the D60 (such as my 50mm f/1.8), but the 18-105 kit lens autofocuses fine.
- The D60 can't fire off-camera Nikon flashes without extra accessories (radio trigger, etc). The D90 has built-in off-camera TTL flash capability.

Despite the differences from the D90, the D60 takes good pics and is a great starter camera.

I'm not a Nikon shooter, but I think it would be best to go with the latest and greatest entry level. I believe that is the Nikon 5000. It only lacks the internal auto focus motor.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond5000/

Then again, it could be an opportunity for you to upgrade. That way you could teach your daughter on a camera you already understand and then get an upgrade for yourself!! I know its an excuse, but what the heck, if it works go with it.

I like this idea better than mine! Hand down the D90 and get a D300s for yourself, or something better! I should have done that!

 

[mouselovenfamily]

That's why I like our little local camera shop.....I have the Nikon D90 and bought a new lens for my Christmas/birthday/anniversary gift (hey, with the amount I spent...it had to cover several gifting events! lol). When trying out several at the camera shop...I tried both Nikon-branded & Tamron-branded lenses. The owner/salesman said there was really no noticeable difference with the speed...and in trying both out I really couldn't tell a difference. I went with the Tamron, which was a fair bit less expensive, and have been very pleased with it. (Oh, and the Tamron is the 18-270....and LOVE it!)

Glad to know you like the Tamron. I'm leaning that way and then gettng the 35 or 50mm, 1.8 or 1.4...

I like this idea better than mine! Hand down the D90 and get a D300s for yourself, or something better! I should have done that!

That would be fun but I think I'll try to master this D90, get some lenses adn upgrade in a couple of years to the great one, whatever that may be

Any other lens advice???

 

[Zoesmama03]

I have to agree the best route seems to be upgrade and pass down. Seems like the best use of money as you will want to upgrade eventually I'm sure, if you don't already. I know I started off with my D80 2 years ago and would LOVE to upgrade to D700 or shhh even switch to another brand that carries a certain 5D mark ii .

My almost7 year old is developing an interest in photography already. I had bought her a Little Tykes camera a few Christmases ago but its total crap. This birthday(in July) she will likely be getting a Pentex waterproof optio or the Canon version of waterproof because will a 7 year old is not ready for an expensive dslr. That can come a little later when she learns to actually compose a photo. lol She already knows how to back button focus. HEHE But that's only because I told her she had to push that one first then the top. She has gotten some decent focus when I set up the exposure. She's always excited when she gets to use my camera.