Which Nikon??

[jmcdc]

I know that everyone is probably tired of the which camera questions, so I thank you for your help in advance.

I currently have an older super zoom pns. I've grown tired of not being able to 'catch' the right photo. I have the most trouble with my son that doesn't like to sit still. I've been wanting to get a dslr for a while now. I really like the nikon. I've having trouble deciding between the d60 and d80. Is the d80 worth price difference? I don't want to get the d60 if in a year or so I'm going to want something else. Also, any recommendation on a good lens would be helpful.

Thanks again for your help!

 

[My2Girls66]

You would probably be very happy with either. The biggest advantage to the D80 is that you can use older autofocus lenses on it that won't autofocus on the D60. I have a D80 and am quite happy with it. A friend of mine has the D60 and 2 lenses(18-55 and 55-200vr) and she is very happy with her setup. Hasn't found the need for anymore lenses. If you think you are really going to get into it you may want the D80- if not the D60 would be great. I have an 18-135mm lens that I use mostly.

 

[jmcdc]

Thanks for the reply!

 

[El Nebuloso]

I agree with My2Girls66. Both are great cameras and are spec'd pretty closely to each other. The autofocus issue on the D60 is becoming less of an issue though as more manufacturers are making more lenses available with internal focus motors. The next big difference between the two is size. The D80 is about 150 g heavier than the D60 and is larger. I personally found that the D60 felt a little too cramped in my hands, but you may prefer a smaller camera. My advice would be to go and pick them up and decide which one feels better to you. Either way you choose, you can't go wrong imho.

 

[Poohbear5]

Only had my D60 a few weeks but really like it so far. Easy to use out of the box. I love the small size and it's lightweight so great for backpacking or just a walkabout.

 

[YesDear]

I would tend to lean towards the D80 and actually if you can swing it the D90.

All three are great cameras but the D90 is the most recent release and you will get the longest use out of it.

 

[annnewjerz]

I would tend to lean towards the D80 and actually if you can swing it the D90.

All three are great cameras but the D90 is the most recent release and you will get the longest use out of it.

Since you haven't purchased your Nikon yet, I figured I should give you fair warning. John is going to try to get you to spend money at every given opportunity. If you ever need someone to back-up a purchase you are thinking about making...he's the one to talk to. He's "helped" me a lot.

ALSO---I purchased the D60 in September and LOVED it. I didn't mind manually focusing the 50 1.8 and also purchased the 60 2.8 micro to manually focus on my D60. At the time, I just couldn't justify buying the D80 because I wasn't sure how "into" this whole photography thing I was really going to get. A few short months later and in late January I sold the D60 and upgraded to the D90. Even though I LOVED my D60, I LOVE LOVE LOVE the D90 that much more in comparison. It's been great and while I still like to manually focus those lenses sometime, having the option of autofocus really is nice.

In hindsight, I still would have picked the D60 because it got me to the D90. If I would have bought the D80 off the bat---I probably would have kept my first dSLR for a lot longer

 

[YesDear]

I resemble that remark Ms. Ann! LOL

I have always been willing to wait to get what I wanted. I have also found that most of the times I went for less, I ended up spending more money in the long run. You have to make your decisions about your needs and your budget.

Each of the cameras are good for what they were designed for. The OP mentioned not wanting to be disappointed in a short time. That was the reason for my comment.

 

[wenrob]

Since you haven't purchased your Nikon yet, I figured I should give you fair warning. John is going to try to get you to spend money at every given opportunity. If you ever need someone to back-up a purchase you are thinking about making...he's the one to talk to. He's "helped" me a lot.

Like you haven't done your fair share of NAS enabling!

I had the D40(the D60's predecessor) for about a year and it was a great camera to learn on but I felt I grew out of it fairly quick. If you think you're going to go all the way and really learn the camera and use it to it's full potential I'd say jump in and go for the bigger fancier camera. I don't know anything about the D80 but like Ann as much I adored my D40 I just couldn't imagine life without the D90. If you think at most you'll just be a casual shooter then go simple with the D60.

edited to add: The D90 is bigger and heavier but after a week or two of aching wrists you get used to it.

 

[jmcdc]

Thank you all for your replys.

I did really like the d90; it's just a bit out of my price range. Unlike some, I don't have the paitence to be able to wait until I can afford the d90. So, I went with the d80. Now I can't wait for it to arrive so that I can play!!!

 

[My2Girls66]

You'll love it!

 

[RCDisneyFan]

Thank you all for your replys.

I did really like the d90; it's just a bit out of my price range. Unlike some, I don't have the paitence to be able to wait until I can afford the d90. So, I went with the d80. Now I can't wait for it to arrive so that I can play!!!

I had a D80 before I upgraded to the D90 (love the faster ISO and for my shooting style, it was worth it.) The D80 is a GREAT camera. Have loads of fun!!

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

I had a D80 before I upgraded to the D90 (love the faster ISO and for my shooting style, it was worth it.) The D80 is a GREAT camera. Have loads of fun!!

Me too! I liked my D80, but I love my D90. So much easier to take nice lowlight photos.
ETA: OP I'm sure you'll have lots of fun!

 

[tiger95]

Like you haven't done your fair share of NAS enabling!

I had the D40(the D60's predecessor) for about a year and it was a great camera to learn on but I felt I grew out of it fairly quick. If you think you're going to go all the way and really learn the camera and use it to it's full potential I'd say jump in and go for the bigger fancier camera. I don't know anything about the D80 but like Ann as much I adored my D40 I just couldn't imagine life without the D90. If you think at most you'll just be a casual shooter then go simple with the D60.

edited to add: The D90 is bigger and heavier but after a week or two of aching wrists you get used to it.

Hey Wenrob,

I am looking at making the same move (D40 --> D90). What are the additional features of the D90 that you like?

Thanks,
JD

 

[wenrob]

Hey Wenrob,

I am looking at making the same move (D40 --> D90). What are the additional features of the D90 that you like?

Thanks,
JD

Let's see....
A small LCD on top of the camera where you can check your settings, dedicated buttons for ISO, Flash, exposure compensation, white balance, bracketing, continuous shutter, depth of field preview, meter settings and focus settings, two control wheels. You can get to pretty much everything without having to go through the menus. Live view (haven't really used it) video, (haven't really used that either) self cleaning feature. Handles high ISOs beautifully, higher resolution, bigger, better sensor. You have much more control of your settings overall. I'm sure I'm leaving stuff out but I'm sure you get the idea. There are less auto settings but that's a good thing, it gets you out of your comfort zone and actually using the camera to it's full advantage. As small as it is one of my favorite features is being able to switch the meter so it reads minus on the left and plus on the right, eliminates a ton of confusion. What can I say little things make me happy.

 

[tiger95]

Let's see....
A small LCD on top of the camera where you can check your settings, dedicated buttons for ISO, Flash, exposure compensation, white balance, bracketing, continuous shutter, depth of field preview, meter settings and focus settings, two control wheels. You can get to pretty much everything without having to go through the menus. Live view (haven't really used it) video, (haven't really used that either) self cleaning feature. Handles high ISOs beautifully, higher resolution, bigger, better sensor. You have much more control of your settings overall. I'm sure I'm leaving stuff out but I'm sure you get the idea. There are less auto settings but that's a good thing, it gets you out of your comfort zone and actually using the camera to it's full advantage. As small as it is one of my favorite features is being able to switch the meter so it reads minus on the left and plus on the right, eliminates a ton of confusion. What can I say little things make me happy.

Cool. I am not much into the video, but all the other features sounds great. I would love to make the move on up to a D300, but I don't think my wallet could that much right now.

Thanks for the info!!