Free choice of a DSLR

[philz]

My Nikon D80 I bought over a year ago failed and I was able to return it and sell my lenses, including a terrific 70-300mm VR. There have been a lot of new cameras and systems introduced since then that obsolete the D80, which I liked very much. But now I have a free choice of any system with money a factor but not a critical one. Given this situation and my major use of the camera being travel and family rather than artwork, what should I consider?

[kirbinster]

I would question your statement that th D80 is obsolete, but you are entitled to your opinion. That said, why did you sell your glass? Why not just pick up a D300 that would use all your old glass? Or do you really just want a P&S?

[techmonkey]

Whats wrong with the D80? My friend has one and to me its still a pretty good camera.

[chins]

There is no successor D80 yet, but expected soon (around Aug 08) I guess. You can consider D200 or latest hit D300. D300 is pretty expensive.

[Apophis]

yeah,d200 is pretty good,but man,the d300 is damn aggresive

[jdepould]

Warranty? Should be more than one year ...

[Sodaman420]

I resent that remark
my D80 smokes the competition all the time
it can't last forever,like chins said, but it's still a damn good camera
if I were you, I would get at D80 again loll
it's the perfect moderation between pro-and average, with most of the features of the D200.

[dakwegmo]

For shooting travel shots, you want a small, lightweight camera. If you have kids, for family photography you want something with minimal shutter lag. If you want one camera for both, I would consider the smaller dSLRs. I have a Nikon D40, that I use for family photography. It's fast enough to capture my 18 month old son who is always on the move. With a small lens like a nifty fifty, or the kit 18-55, it's quite small. Great for stashing in a carry-on bag and doesn't cause strain when carried all day. The most recent model in this line is the D60. If you consider the D80 obsolete, then you aren't likely to be happy with anything in Nikon's consumer lines.

I think selling your glass might have been premature. Since you've said money isn't an issue, the only reason to get rid of all your glass is because you've already decided to switch to a different system (i.e. switching from an SLR to P&S, switching from Nikon to Canon, etc). If that's the case, then it would be good information to have in offering advice.

[keyshka]

Okay, I need your advice as well.

I went to our local Ritz store and tried out the Nikon D60 for 10 days. I bought the DVD that pretains to Nikon D60, got somewhat familiar with the camera, and buttons. I was excited with the camera, to find out that it doesn't have the auto focus in the body of the camera. (Like many pointed out here, but didn't find this site until after I bought it, so I didn't know that until now).

Ritz has no problem in exchanging the camera for whatever I want. Well here is my dilema.

I LOVE the feel of the camera of the Nikon D60, actually LOVED everything about the camera, except the auto focus part. I hand-held the Nikon D80, in the store today and "yes" that feels a bit bulkier and heavier than the D60. I also tried the Canon XTI, it felt lighter than the D80, but I think I prefer Nikon over Canon. I have no specific reason for this choice, except that my gut says "Nikon".

I want to shoot my 5 month old daughter and take pictures on vacation, sports, etc. I may want to shoot other items, as I get better!!

I think I need to write to Nikon and say they messed up on the D60, all they had to do was add the auto focus in the camera body!!!

Which camera should I get know....after being heart broken over the D60??

[kirbinster]

Why are you so upset and why do you even care about the auto focus motor not in the body? The camera WILL AUTOFOCUS all lenses that are AF-S (Nikkor) or HSM (Sigma). The kit lens that came with the D60 autofocuses for you, doesn't it? The only issue you might ever have is with a lens like the 50mm that has no autofocus motor in the lens. It will work on the camera, and auto meter it just won't autofocus. But Nikon just came out with a 60mm AF-S lens, so you should be fine.

If you like the other parts of the D60 then be happy with it and keep it. As you can see from my sig, I have a D40 (no motor) and both a D80 and D300 and they are all fine. I love the D40 as it is so light weight.

You will love the D60 if you keep it.

[keyshka]

Thank you Kirbinster for you comment!!

I was looking at the AF 50mm f/1.8D lense and saw that it wasn't a AF-S and that I would have to auto focus it myself. And I think majority of my shots will come from this lense as I'll be photoing my daughter.

I'm just worried that I'll get more "out-of-focus" shots than "in-focus-shots" if I don't have auto-focus and I have to manual focus. But if I can find the majority of common lenses that newbies like me would use with the ability to auto-focus then I'll be fine. But I'm unfamiliar of what's available....

[inkista]

Philz, if travel and family are the main purposes, I'd say take a good hard look at whether or not a P&S camera might be a better fit. It cuts down on the luggage a fuss in a big way.

Keyshka, it's a matter of how much the autofocus thing bugs you. If you absolutely have to have all lenses autofocus on an entry-level (small) body, then go Canon. If you prefer the feel of Nikons more, and have to have autofocus on all lenses, then get the D80. If you love the D60's feel the most and have to have autofocus, then stick with AF-S lenses. Those are the choices. The chances are you can get used to and love all three of these possibilities.

I would also like to point out that autofocus has only been in cameras for the last twenty years. That means every photo you ever saw taken before 1980 was done with manual focus. It didn't stop Ansel Adams, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Richard Avedon, Diane Arbus, or Annie Liebovitz (or just about any other great photographer you can name) from taking great photos. It won't stop you from doing the same unless your vision is so impaired there's no other way for you to focus. It may limit you from taking certain types of photos, but I've done even bird-in-flight shots with manual focus. It's harder, but not impossible.

[mr_lemon]

Manual focus is not that difficult on these Nikon D-SLRs. In most cases I would think that you'd be able to focus faster and better then the camera sensor specially concidering you will be taking pictures of kids that don't stand around long enough for camera auto-focus :)

The 50mm f1.8 us a nice lense and once you get the general focus, adjusting it will be pretty quick. If your shooting a lot in out door sunlight, I would not discount the 18-55mm kit lens. It also takes great pics and does auto focus.

TOM...

[jdepould]

Manual focus is not that difficult on these Nikon D-SLRs. In most cases I would think that you'd be able to focus faster and better then the camera sensor specially concidering you will be taking pictures of kids that don't stand around long enough for camera auto-focus :)

The 50mm f1.8 us a nice lense and once you get the general focus, adjusting it will be pretty quick. If your shooting a lot in out door sunlight, I would not discount the 18-55mm kit lens. It also takes great pics and does auto focus.

TOM...

The last post in this thread was in June.

[Dr. WooD]

The last post in this thread was in June.


Yep....and the D80 is still a great camera.

[candleman]

Yep....and the D80 is still a great camera.
damn straight ;)