I was wondering if someone could offer me some advise on which camera to buy. Currently i have read many reviews and my initial instinct was to go with the new Nikon D90. Would i be better off paying less and buy the older d80 or spend a little more and buy the d300? Either way i am thinking that i want to buy just the body and match it with the nikon 18-200mm VR lens. Any suggestions? Is there any other option that i might be over looking?

I would be relatively new to the SLR photography but i dont want to spend the money on something cheaper and want to upgrade down the road. I would want to use it mainly for lifestyle and nature photography.

I'll be interested in the responses you recieve as I just made the same decision.

The movie feature was somewhat interesting to me so I went with the D90.

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You'll never know if you don't go. You'll never shine if you don't glow.

Boy that is a loaded question. I am sure you will get 100 different thoughts on this. I don't think you will go wrong with either one...I would say buy the best you can afford...Be sure to learn all the features...Don't go accessory happy...Be sure to use it...

I am not a big fan of the lenses that are included in the kits, so if you can, try to buy the body to meet your requirements, and invest in a great quality lens.

If you want to read reviews, and possibly get more information check out this site: Digital Camera Reviews and News: Digital Photography Review: Forums, Glossary, FAQ.

Thank you for the link, i will take a look at it tonight.

The problem is when you sit down to it and you decided to buy a camera, you look at well if i spend a little more $$ i can get this model. But really does that model warrant the higher cost. I guess im just looking for the best bang for the buck without knowing how much i want to spend.

I have a friend that has the d80 and loves it but he keeps egging me on to just step up to the d300 (which he wants to do at this point as well)

Can anyone suggest another good lens?

I went from a D70 to D90 and it is a big improvement. I also have the 18-200VR lens and am happy with it. Hard to beat the versatility it offers. There are many lenses that are better in that range, but then you are switching lenses and caring them around.

There are so many ways you can go with this. But have to ask what you budget is. Can give you many different lens suggestions at different
budget levels.

As for the D300 vs D90, there are many threads at dpreview discussing that.

IMHO emphasize better lenses. Any of the midrange to high end bodies will yield outstanding results. Look around the Internet and you'll see that talent and great optics are represented better than crappy pics taken with top of the line bodies.

This is especially true if your main display is on the Internet. If you're blowing up beyond, say, 20x30" then maybe a higher pixel count might become important.

John


John

good link, thanks

A lot of people love the D90 because of it's ability to take HD video. Of course, the fact that it doesn't auto-focus is a bit of a drag, but it's handy for those "holy crap I gotta film this!" situations. Most hardcore Nikon users, however, would tell you to stay away from the D90 and go with the D300.

Personally, I'm a Canon guy. I shoot with a 40D and a variety of different lenses, ranging from a 15mm f2.8 to a 70-200mm f2.8. I just love the ease of use that comes with the Canon cameras. Very intuitive and easy to use.

But as someone else mentioned, you'll find that most pro-sumer DSLR cameras will take equal quality photos. The biggest contributing factor to your image quality is going to be your lenses. When you're in the camera store holding two lenses in your hand trying to decide whether it's worth the extra money......it is, get the better one, you won't regret it!! Then once you settle on a body and lenses, go out and shoot TONS of pictures, of anything you can aim at! Become familiar with the "look" that each lens gives you. Play around with your manual settings, get familiar with shooting in different lighting, etc. That way, when you get your chance at the money shot...you'll be prepared.

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dubaudi

I just bought a D90. Love it a lot. My last cam was a D80 which was a great cam also, but this seems to be made much better when I shoot with it. Also the video is pretty cool. I have some pictures I took with it on my Flickr...Flickr: F1Photography.net's Photostream

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www.F1Photography.net

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I agree about the video on the D90, great for when you need it. But is hard to use and will not replace a HD camcorder. Was at a show and already put my HD camcorder away and got this clip of the Pininfarina designer doing a drawing.

Speed and Motion/Enderle Concours/mauriziocorbi

As for the D300 vs D90. Unless you need the fast continuous shooting, weather sealing and more AF points of the D300 (so maybe hard core sports shooting), the IQ seems to be comparable with some saying the high ISO of the D90 is better.