# Nikon DSLR help



## Spiderm0n (Dec 19, 2001)

swchang said:


> Thanks for the advice, everyone. We played around with her brother's D90 and checked out the D5100 and D7000 yesterday and today. I think we're going with the D7000.
> 
> As for lens, I'll probably get the 18-200. I saw a 28-300, but I wonder if that is overkill?
> http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002JCSV8A/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER
> ...


A D7000 with the 18-200 lens is going to be pretty big and heavy, especially for a woman. (As a father with a 6 and 3 year old, my fear is that once your wife starts carrying around a baby and a diaper bag she may have no interest in lugging a DSLR as well. A  Canon PowerShot S95  has a much greater chance of being in her hand to capture the magic moments).

What are the chances that she will use an old lens and make use of the built-in focusing motor? The reviews say the D5100 has the same image quality as the D7000, just less high-end features. Those features may never be needed....

I am currently shopping for a camera/lens as well. I just ordered this 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX Lens. Perhaps start with a prime lens and get a zoom later?

I currently have the D50, and am probably going to upgrade to a D5100. One of the reasons I am interested in the D5100 is the additional video capabilities.

*Does anyone here have a D5100? I'd be interested in your opinions, especially about the video.*


----------



## Dave 330i (Jan 4, 2002)

Spiderm0n said:


> A D7000 with the 18-200 is going to be pretty big and heavy, especially for a woman. (As a father with a 6 and 3 year old, my fear is that once your wife starts carrying around a baby and a diaper bag she may have no interest in lugging a DSLR as well. A  *Canon PowerShot S95*  has a much greater chance of being in her hand to capture the magic moments).
> 
> What are the chances that she will use an old lens and make use of the built-in focusing motor? The reviews say the D5100 has the same image quality as the D7000, must less high-end features. Those features may never be needed....
> 
> ...


Wow, someone saw the light seeing that a pee shooter is all that is required. :thumbup:


----------



## swchang (Oct 5, 2003)

Well, we have a bulky point and shoot already. It's the Canon PowerShot Asomething. 

I might buy the Canon PowerShot SX230HS in addition to a DSLR. I suspect I'll end up carrying the DSLR around. Either that or I'll get baby duty and let her carry the camera.


----------



## Dave 330i (Jan 4, 2002)

swchang said:


> Well, we have a bulky point and shoot already. It's the Canon PowerShot Asomething.
> 
> I might buy the Canon PowerShot SX230HS in addition to a DSLR. I suspect I'll end up carrying the DSLR around. Either that or I'll get baby duty and let her carry the camera.


So, in the end, it will be your toy. :rofl:


----------



## Spiderm0n (Dec 19, 2001)

swchang said:


> I might buy the Canon PowerShot SX230HS in addition to a DSLR. I suspect I'll end up carrying the DSLR around. Either that or I'll get baby duty and let her carry the camera.


We went with a powershot and a DSLR (the D50). And a video camera. And we both had cell phones. The powershot was usually in the diaper bag. I carried anything else.

6 years later I'm trying to simplify. A D5100 and an iphone should cover everything!


----------



## Dave 330i (Jan 4, 2002)

Spiderm0n said:


> We went with a powershot and a DSLR (the D50). And a video camera. And we both had cell phones. The powershot was usually in the diaper bag. I carried anything else.
> 
> 6 years later I'm trying to simplify. A D5100 and an iphone should cover everything!


My P/S Canon Powershot A550 is always in the car. It's relatively vintage, but it keeps on going. Then the good stuff (depending on photo shoot) is in a large DaKine daypack tossed in the trunk to assignment.


----------



## swchang (Oct 5, 2003)

Dave 330i said:


> So, in the end, it will be your toy. :rofl:


:angel:



Spiderm0n said:


> We went with a powershot and a DSLR (the D50). And a video camera. And we both had cell phones. The powershot was usually in the diaper bag. I carried anything else.
> 
> 6 years later I'm trying to simplify. A D5100 and an iphone should cover everything!


I was trying to decide if I'll need a video camera as well, but I'm hoping the video feature on the D7000 will suffice. Otherwise, maybe I'll get a Panasonic or Sony digital camcorder? :dunno:


----------



## Dave 330i (Jan 4, 2002)

swchang said:


> :angel:
> 
> I was trying to decide if I'll need a video camera as well, but I'm hoping the video feature on the D7000 will suffice. Otherwise, maybe I'll get a Panasonic or Sony digital camcorder? :dunno:


http://www.digitalcamerareview.com/default.asp?newsID=4589&p=4


----------



## Chris90 (Apr 7, 2003)

Dave600 said:


> Another vote for the D7000. I've been shooting a D80 for almost 5 years and am lusting after the 7000. Would love to upgrade to full frame, but then I'd be out a new lens collection, so I'll take the features and extra pixels someday soon, I hope.


If his wife had also been using a D80 for 5 years, a D7000 would be fine, but imo, it's too much camera for a beginner. I'd get an older camera like a D50, D80, D200 etc and let her learn to use it, spend the extra on lenses and a flash. She'd likely be driving the D7000 in 1st gear.

Unless she's experienced from the film days, or if money grows on trees.


----------



## Dave 330i (Jan 4, 2002)

Chris90 said:


> If his wife had also been using a D80 for 5 years, a D7000 would be fine, but imo, it's too much camera for a beginner. I'd get an older camera like a D50, D80, D200 etc and let her learn to use it, spend the extra on lenses and a flash. She'd likely be driving the D7000 in 1st gear.
> 
> Unless she's experienced from the film days, or if money grows on trees.


You guys lost touch. It's going to end up to be his camera (with 1080p video) :rofl:


----------



## swchang (Oct 5, 2003)

Everything ends up becoming my toy...


----------



## Chris90 (Apr 7, 2003)

Dave 330i said:


> You guys lost touch. It's going to end up to be his camera (with 1080p video) :rofl:


 There's a shocker.

For zoom lenses I'd try to dissuade you from buying a super zoom - I used an 18-200 for 2 years, and when I finally ditched it for a 16-85mm, I was bummed I'd used it for so long. It's hard to get any sharp shots outside of f/8 to f/11, and the telephoto end is just terrible. Get a 17-50 f/2.8 (Tamron or Sigma) or Nikon's 16-85, then add a good telephoto lens, you'll be much happier.

Keep in mind also, you need better lenses to do a D7000 justice, due to the much higher resolution. The D7000 will bring out the bad in an 18-200 much more than my D50 did.

For prime lenses I'd get the 35mm f/1.8, it's way more useful than the 50 on DX, though I have a 50 Sigma also and it takes beautiful pictures, the out of focus areas are so much nicer than the 35mm Nikon.

35mm Nikon (on D50)









Nikon 70-300VR (can't get this sharp with 18-200)









Nikon 16-85 VR (to illustrate corner sharpness, a big problem with superzooms)


----------



## swchang (Oct 5, 2003)

Thanks for the helpful advice. Awesome pics. 

I got my stuff today, actually. I ordered the 35 mm and it is awesome so far. I also got the 18-200 on the advice of a camera-crazy friend who loves it. I'll see if I can tell whether it's good enough (suspect it will be) for me or if I can notice the stuff you mentioned. If the latter, maybe I'll just have to get me a couple extra lenses... 

Really like the 35 mm, though. Can anyone suggest a good primer on how to take advantage of all the features of a nice DSLR, or should I just start reading wiki pages?


----------



## Chris90 (Apr 7, 2003)

swchang said:


> Thanks for the helpful advice. Awesome pics.
> 
> I got my stuff today, actually. I ordered the 35 mm and it is awesome so far. I also got the 18-200 on the advice of a camera-crazy friend who loves it. I'll see if I can tell whether it's good enough (suspect it will be) for me or if I can notice the stuff you mentioned. If the latter, maybe I'll just have to get me a couple extra lenses...
> 
> Really like the 35 mm, though. Can anyone suggest a good primer on how to take advantage of all the features of a nice DSLR, or should I just start reading wiki pages?


The 18-200 will suit you fine to learn on, and it's great for travel when you don't want to swap lenses. I guess if I was gonna give basic advice I'd say put the camera in Aperture Priority mode, and just adjust aperture, let the camera choose shutter speed and iso. The 18-200 will be sharpest at f/8 and f/11, so try leaving it at f/8 and start shooting. Don't leave it in Auto, it'll shoot at f/4 or f/5.6, where the lens isn't sharp.

Put the 35mm at f/1.8 and start shooting (you'll get good subject isolation). If you want extra sharpness use f/2.

And if I bought a D7000, first thing I would do is put the lens at f/1.8, iso at something high (6400?), and go into the city and shoot at night. The incredible high iso plus a fast lens means you can nearly shoot in the dark.


----------



## Dave 330i (Jan 4, 2002)

swchang said:


> Thanks for the helpful advice. Awesome pics.
> 
> I got my stuff today, actually. I ordered the 35 mm and it is awesome so far. I also got the 18-200 on the advice of a camera-crazy friend who loves it. I'll see if I can tell whether it's good enough (suspect it will be) for me or if I can notice the stuff you mentioned. If the latter, maybe I'll just have to get me a couple extra lenses...
> 
> Really like the 35 mm, though. Can anyone suggest a good primer on how to take advantage of all the features of a nice DSLR, or should I just start reading wiki pages?


any of the 35mm. 50mm, 85mm f1.8D is fine plus the 24mm f2.8D. That's my prime arsenal + 300mm f2.8. You will note that the cost of lens is directly proportion to weight. The cheapest is the 50mm f1.8D because it's the lightest.


----------

