brand new and diving in

[bxtzd3]

i am upgrading from a point and shoot to the real deal. my wife and i are tired of not enough zoom or low light and blurry shots and just not enough ummph. my buddy is a Nikon fan. he has a d200. so his advice is nikon. now the one thing i cant understand is some of the lower mega pixels are more than the higher ones. so not to be sorry in the end here is what i want,

1- good low light
2- i have kids so one that can keep up with the running about

also i am into electronics so im all about the more the better, but it seems not that way here.
any help will do. i saw some good deals on the d3100 but it also seems for a little more you can get more. but does one need it.

[Michael_2010]

I don't know much about Nikon cameras, but in general cameras are like most things. Get the best you can afford and go from there. Since it is your first dSLR, it would probably be a good idea to look at package deals that provide some type of zoom lens. However, none of the kit lenses are going to be fast glass for your low light situations. You could add a f/1.8 nifty fifty to your kit without a lot of additional expense and that should handle most of the indoor kid shots.

[bxtzd3]

thanks. i went ahead and got a nikon d3000. i have the kit lens and a 18-200mm on hold at a shop, they were demos for the shop and released by nikon for sale. the camera is great. still looking it over . i downloaded the d3000 for dummies and its real helpful.

[JFSanders]

Two more things you need. A sb-800 or 900 flash and Capture NX2. And if you want a Nikon specific forum PM me and I will give you the link.

Jim

[Michael_2010]

Ahhhhhhhhh...... the thrill of new gear!

Welcome to the magical world of dSLRs and I hope you enjoy the adventure. DPS has a lot of very informative posts both in the blog and the forum. Many seasoned master photographers also frequent the forums and happily share their expertise.

[inkista]

Originally Posted by bxtzd3

... now the one thing i cant understand is some of the lower mega pixels are more than the higher ones.

It's not just about the megapixels. It's also about the feature-set/tier of the camera. This Wikipedia page lays out the different Nikon camera tiers and generations of models. The higher up the tier, the better the ergonomics and feature set of the camera, and the more expensive it will be. Obviously, newer cameras are more likely to have higher megapixel counts, but may be on lower tiers.

Originally Posted by bxtzd3

thanks. i went ahead and got a nikon d3000.

Oh, dear. Umm... maybe the kids running around inside in bad light are going to have to wait a bit. More on this below...

i have the kit lens and a 18-200mm on hold at a shop,

Again. Oh dear. And Ummm....

There's something you should probably learn before buying any lenses. And that's the concept of maximum aperture. The aperture refers to the size of the shutter opening in the lens. It's given with f-numbers, which are ratios. Which means, the smaller the f-number, the larger the opening is.

The larger the opening, the more light, and the better the lens will be for low light and fast action, because you can use a faster shutter speed with a larger aperture. The rule of thumb for indoors no-flash photography is that you want an f/2.8 or larger lens.

The 18-55 kit lens and 18-200 VR are f/3.5-5.6 (i.e., not as large as f/2.8 at either end, and pretty slow with f/5.6 at the long end). Upshot: neither of these lenses is going to help you achieve better low-light performance or fast-moving rugrat shots, unless you increase the ISO a lot. And with a D3000, your high iso performance isn't going to be particularly fantastic.

Originally Posted by Michael_2010

You could add a f/1.8 nifty fifty to your kit without a lot of additional expense and that should handle most of the indoor kid shots.

Except that the D3000 has no focus motor in it, and the 50/1.8 AF-S hasn't been released yet (although it's been announced; June 16. $220). The 50/1.4 AF-S is about $500. The 35/1.8 AF-S is about $200. AF-S is what a lens has to have to autofocus with a D3000. If the lens is only AF, it must be manually focused. And that will work if someone wants to sit still for their photo. But if they're running around....

The two entry-level tiers on the Nikon bodies do not include focus motors in the bodies (D40/D3100, D60/D5100). The tiers above, the D70/D80/D90/D7000, D200/D300, D700, and D3 pro bodies do have a focus motor and will autofocus with both AF and AF-S lenses.

Originally Posted by JFSanders

Two more things you need. A sb-800 or 900 flash ....

+1 on the flash, but maybe not just yet. I tend to say wait until you're comfortable shooting in M mode on the camera before you get a flash.

[bxtzd3]

well i have a lens on hold. thats not to say it cant be upgraded. also we were point and shoot last week, so as far as a entry level, everywhere i read said this was a good start. my one buddy has a d90 and shoots semi pro. and he recommended this one as well.

[bxtzd3]

forgot to say thank you for the advice.