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D60 package or D80?

K

kwwill3

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 10, 2008
3
0
I am considering purchasing a d60 package with the 18-55 and 18-200 lenses with two instructional dvds. Or a d80 with an 18-135. This will be my first dslr but i have become very interested in photography via my canon p&s. Prices are about equal because i work at an electronics store. What would you all recommend?
thanks for your help
 
The D80 has the edge in terms of backwards compatibility with older lenses except pre-AI lenses, so if you may want to acquire and use some used lenses, that's the best choice, I think it has more AF points as well. The D60 may hold a slight edge in high-ISO shooting. I'd recommend reading the lens reviews at www.bythom.com if he's got them up for all three lenses, as that'll make more of an overall difference.
 
D80 is much better than the D60 for dozens of reviews, D60 is like a large compact, D80 is more of a full featured DSLR
 
eddx said:
D80 is much better than the D60 for dozens of reviews, D60 is like a large compact, D80 is more of a full featured DSLR
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Wow. That's nice and ignorant.

The D80 certainly has some more features and is the next tier up in the Nikon line from the D60, but the D60 is hardly a compact/point-and-shoot camera. It's a real DSLR and can fulfill most SLR shoppers' needs.
 
I have the D80 and I've tried out the D60...for the extra bucks I'd get the D80...it's a great piece of equipment and will last you for a long time.
 
wgilles said:
I have the D80 and I've tried out the D60...for the extra bucks I'd get the D80...it's a great piece of equipment and will last you for a long time.
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I don't know where you're coming from, or your perspective, but personally, I don't think I could fool myself into thinking a digital body would last me "a long time."

Of course, it's more than possible that you're made of tougher stuff than I.
 
kwwill3 said:
I am considering purchasing a d60 package with the 18-55 and 18-200 lenses with two instructional dvds. Or a d80 with an 18-135. This will be my first dslr but i have become very interested in photography via my canon p&s. Prices are about equal because i work at an electronics store. What would you all recommend?
thanks for your help
Click to expand...

If you are going to be serious abut photography you will REALLY want to focus motor that in inside the D80 body. The D60 limits you to only AF-S lenses and as of now none of Nikon's primes are AF-S

Much better lens choice too. he 18-135 is very useful. Skip the 18-200. It is a bit of a compromise. Shoot with the 18-135 and after 1,000 or so exposures then think about a second lens. You can't know which lens you will want for the second lens yet. Maybe a 50mm or a Macro or an ultra wide. You will find out later which shots the 18-135 can't get. My bet is you will want a faster lens, not a longer one.
 
It really depends on you, Say if you actually want to get serious and purchase many lenses. But if you just trying it out then I would really just get the D60 because even then most lenses are AF-S now anyways. I don' think the lens issue is as big as some people make it.
 
wgilles said:
I have the D80 and I've tried out the D60...for the extra bucks I'd get the D80...it's a great piece of equipment and will last you for a long time.
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"Long Time" is a relative term. Back with film bodies a camera might last 25+ years. I have a Nikon F2 made in the 70s It works fine.

But I think digital bodies are like computers. It is likely your current computer could last 15 years, maybe you would have to replace some parts but it could last that long. But would you want to be using a 15 year old computer? Not likely. Same here the D80 could last a decade but you will not really want to use it that long. Five years seems to be about right before you will want to replace it.

Techguy172 said:
It really depends on you, Say if you actually want to get serious and purchase many lenses. But if you just trying it out then I would really just get the D60 because even then most lenses are AF-S now anyways. I don' think the lens issue is as big as some people make it.
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No "most" lenses are not AF-S. Not only that, but worse some of the best most usfull lenses are not AF-S. And very few of the used lenses you might want would be AF-S. The AF-S lineup to stacked with f/5.6 zooms.

You can actually save money by buying the D80 if you think you might like a 80-200 lens. A good used non AF-S 80-200 sells for $650 to $450. if you have the D60 you'd be forced into getting the more expensive version of the lens

I always tell people to look at the TOTAL system they might want down the road.
 
Driver said:
At the same time he may be keeping it longer as a secondary/backup camera so that's good to keep in mind as well.
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That's a thought… I still have my D70 as a backup/alternate, although it's rarely used. And I had to put another $200 into it to replace the pop-up flash and card reader, both of which somehow failed.
 
I'll also be curious to see if the rumors of June lenses are true; and if so, what they'll be. Could be primes, since those are all rather old. Personally I'd like to see the 80-400 (decidedly not a prime) get updated to AF-S.

And of course there's the rumored D3x... shall we throw that into the mix as well? D60, D80, or D3x? :D
 
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