Educate Me - DSLR

so last night, the minute hubby walked in the door, he asked me how much was the DSLR camera I wanted. Foolish guy, asking for the one I wanted. So I told him approximately what I thought it would cost, and he told me to get online and start searching for real prices.

So ... I am undecided between the Nikon D60 and the D80. I plan on sticking with Nikon, every single 35mm camera we have owned has been Nikon, and same with our families, so it's drilled in our heads. Unless of course, you can tell me some obvious advantages of any other camera.

And I know there are fancier camera's, but honestly, those are just not in our price range. I will not be getting body only, that I know, we are looking at bundles that at least include the 15-135mm lens.


oh, and what prompted this? ... camera envy!! Des got to see his boss' DSLR and take some pics and stuff, and he loved it! And, huge surprise, my hubby will start getting monthly bonuses on his paychecks, for working 6-7 days a week - he's only the second from the bottom on the totem pole at work (his words), and he is the one that works the most out of the other 8 guys!!! He's been there two years and normally they don't start getting "incentive" until they have been there 3-5 years.

I don't even know why I didn't look at the D60. I skipped right from D40 to D80, lol. Almost got the D40 based on ken rockwell's site too. But there were some advantages to the D80 so I went wtih that.

But I know Nikon is pushing the D60 a good bit. That's the camera in the commercial with Ashton Kutcher at hte wedding.

I got mine through Ritz a month ago, when they were running a Mother's Day special. And I know they are offering a Dad's and Grads sale right now. I just looked it up, and it's the same sale as I got. D80 Body + 18-135mm on sale for $999.99 and you get a free Quantaray 55-200mm lens. It doesn't have the VR like the Nikon's do, but it's a damn good lens to get for free.

I went to dpreview.com and did a side by side comparison of the D60 and D80 for ya. Click Me! They are pretty much the same, looking at that. So it'll probably come down to how much you want to spend.

I'd say go for the D60.. D80 has been out for awhile now and I think rumor is there will be a D90 in the fall but I don't think its ever a good idea to get the first run of a camera.. I think the D60 would be a great choice

Put the extra money towards a 50mm lens and you'll be set

If you are just looking for a camera to take better pics, be economical, and nothing professional, I'd look into the Nikon D40. Ritz has a D40 with 1 lens (18-55) for $499 and with 2 lenses (18-55 and 55-200) for $599

You get a good camera and hopefully have some $$$ left over

ahhh hmm back to the D60.. i think that might be the camera that only accepts certain nikon lenses.. so that might not be a good option (50mm 1.8 is a must in my opinion)

I think the D40 can though..

edited: yeah with the D60 you would have to manually focus with the 50mm which isn't so fun with fast moving kids

I think you would be quite happy with either. I have a D80, but what I have heard of the D60, I think it's a great camera. The only difference I am aware of is that there are less focus areas/points on the D60 (The d80 has 11, the d60 has 3). But for $250 cheaper (at bhvideo.com anyway) I'd go with the D60 if I were buying now.

KristinCB said:

ahhh hmm back to the D60.. i think that might be the camera that only accepts certain nikon lenses.. so that might not be a good option (50mm 1.8 is a must in my opinion)

I think the D40 can though..

Click to expand...

The D40 doesn't accept all lenses either. That was why I went with the D80.
But if you don't planning on becoming a pro that takes photos for money, that might not be an issue. Not that I plan on going pro, but I like to keep my options open

ahh k.. back when i thought my camera was broken and i was going to have to get another camera I looked into used nikons, they had a D80 for $500 I think.

KristinCB said:

ahhh hmm back to the D60.. i think that might be the camera that only accepts certain nikon lenses.. so that might not be a good option (50mm 1.8 is a must in my opinion)

I think the D40 can though..

Click to expand...

Good point, I just did some looking, and the 50mm 1.8 won't autofocus on either the D40 or the D60, so that would be a good reason to go with the D80.

(I saw this on Ken Rockwells site: [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Lens Compatibility: Just like the D40 and D40x, the D60 autofocuses only with AF-S lenses, and does not meter with manual lenses. This means you have to focus older AF lenses by hand)[/FONT]

Sonja-
I read this blog:
http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/recommended-cameras.htm
and think I have decided that when I go SLR I am going to go with the D40-this is a professional photograher who has a ton of cameras and for the amature he is saying the D40 is the best bang for your buck.
Enjoy!
edited to add:
I don't have any aspirations of becoming a professional photographer.

I found this site very helpful. She has alot of info about photography and even offers online photo courses. Check it out, there is a ton of info there,

http://karenrussell.typepad.com/

I hate to make it harder for you, but you pretty much can't go wrong with those choices. My recommendation is to get the D60 and put more money towards a better lens. Like Scott Kelby always says in his books (which you should absolutely get when you get the DSLR!!), the quality of the lens will make a much larger difference than the camera body.

HTH and congrats on the new toy!