Please advise which Nikon DSLR for £400

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Hi Chaps,
I wondered if you would be so kind as to advise which Nikon DSLR you would buy if you had £400 or so to throw at it?

I have a few E-series lenses I'm keen to be able to use but not too bothered if you have suggestions which negate this.

Tremendous Thanks in advance.

Second hand is fine btw.

fanger
 
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I'm not an expert on whatever E-series lenses are but if they are old manual ones you'll need at least a D200/D300 if you want metering. D200s go for less than £400 but they are pretty outdated in terms of sensor. It's a tough choice really as the Dx000 series are all a bit naff and the D90 is past your budget.

Dare I suggest Canon?
 
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edit: Just had a look at the old lens. It isn't Series-E it's a Nikkor AF 28-80.

It must be all of 10 years old but in excellent condition. Works with my old F-601 anyway.

Does this change my options. Hope so.

Thanks robertgilbert86 for drawing my attention to this blunder in my original post.
 
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You would need a D90 to AF the AF 28-80 but it should meter ok.
It will work on a D300 and D5000 but will need to be manually focussed.

The D5000 without lens would fit your budget.


You might consider selling the 28-80 and just getting one of the kit lenses which will perform well on digital.

28mm becomes 42mm on a cropped camera which is not very useful
 
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You would need a D90 to AF the AF 28-80 but it should meter ok.
It will work on a D300 and D5000 but will need to be manually focussed.

The D5000 without lens would fit your budget.


You might consider selling the 28-80 and just getting one of the kit lenses which will perform well on digital.

28mm becomes 42mm on a cropped camera which is not very useful

All good advice. Thank you.
I'm now thinking of upping my budget to accommodate the purchase of a D 90.

Would you be kind enough to suggest a good DX lens that specs to approx my old 28-80 - given this image size cropping business.

Many Thanks,

fanger
 
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A D90 does have many advantages over the lower end camera and if you have used Film SLRs you would appreciate the features of the D90.

The D90 has its own kit lens, the 18-105 VR lens. This will give similar quality to the 28-80. The Focal length equivalent will be 27-210mm -which is very handy.
(multiply the focal length by 1.5 to find the 35mm film equivalent)

There are other similar lenses. The 18-55 VR is the cheapest usable lens. Quality is fine for an amateur, very plastic build though. I would only get the 18-55 VR if you can find it really cheap though, form looking around D90 kits there is no real saving over the 18-10'5 so I would definitely stick to the 18-105 kit option unless there is a big saving.

The 18-70mm is very well built and has a relative fast aperture (3.5-4.5).
The best is the 16-85 VR II, the 16mm comes in really handy (24mm equivalent) and is more important than the difference from 85-105mm. Build quality and image quality are very good. The downside is it is quite expensive for a lens that 3.5 -5.6.

(there are a few other options 18-135, the Tamron 17-50 F 2.8 is also recommended but is different sort of lens having a wide aperture s opposed to a long focal range).
 
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Thanks again D.P.

would probably go for the 18-105 VR then.

Tell me, this VR, I would assume it would have an impact on photo quality? If that be the case can one toggle it Off/On if one is shooting from a tripod for instance?
 
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yes, VR stands for vibration reduction, a form of optical stablisation. In general this allows you to shoot about 3 stops (8 times) slower than you would otherwise require to have a good probability of blur free images.

The typical rull of thumb is the shutteer time should be one upon the effective focal length. So at 100mm on a DX cropped camera like the D90, the average person would need a shutter speeed of about 1/150 s to have a high chance of a sharpo image (say 9/110 images are sharp).
Some people can manage slower shutter speeds, some shaky people would require faster.

With VR this 1/150 requirement would be more like 1/20 s to get 9/10 photos sharp.


You are correct in that on tripods it is best to switch it off. Also, it wont stop the blur of subject movement, e.g. moving people.
 
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Thanks for all the info D.P.

The D300 looks pretty good and more what I'm used to, e.g; metal construction, easier Manual settings, seems to be more image focused with less fancy bits.
What do you think?
 
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hmm. I did make a long reply but it disapeared.

In Summary: The D300(s) is a great camera, but you gain more in functionality rather than image quality. The D300 is more pro, the D90 more amateur, but both can produce professional results.

D90:
Smaller, lighter body, but still solid, comfy and ergonomic. Not too small, not too big
Slightly slower focussing, and less focus points (11)
Slower continuous shooting.
No Mirror Lock-up


D300:
Professional grade metering
Professional grade focusing, the same as in the D3/D3x, 51 focus points. Faster focusing of screw-driven lenses. Focus fine adjustments, advanced focus modes
Larger heavier body, but very solid, weather sealed.
Slightly sharper images, but not really very different.
Faster continuous shooting (8FPS)


D300 is good for sports, wildlife. For landscape, macro, portraits, te D90 is more or less as good.
 
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hmm. I did make a long reply but it disapeared.

In Summary: The D300(s) is a great camera, but you gain more in functionality rather than image quality. The D300 is more pro, the D90 more amateur, but both can produce professional results.

D90:
Smaller, lighter body, but still solid, comfy and ergonomic. Not too small, not too big
Slightly slower focussing, and less focus points (11)
Slower continuous shooting.
No Mirror Lock-up


D300:
Professional grade metering
Professional grade focusing, the same as in the D3/D3x, 51 focus points. Faster focusing of screw-driven lenses. Focus fine adjustments, advanced focus modes
Larger heavier body, but very solid, weather sealed.
Slightly sharper images, but not really very different.
Faster continuous shooting (8FPS)


D300 is good for sports, wildlife. For landscape, macro, portraits, te D90 is more or less as good.

Hey D.P.

I have to say a big slobbery Thank You for all your advice today.
Expert...On The Case...Factual...etc,

Going to go D300 with the original lens suggestion of 18-105.
Yes, I know I've blown my budget but...Nikon, Nuff said.

Many Thanks indeed.
 
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Hey D.P.

I have to say a big slobbery Thank You for all your advice today.
Expert...On The Case...Factual...etc,

Going to go D300 with the original lens suggestion of 18-105.
Yes, I know I've blown my budget but...Nikon, Nuff said.

Many Thanks indeed.

No worries.

The 18-105 will be a fine lens until you ahve worked out what you want to do in photography. Even if you buy some expensive professional glass you will likely still find the 18-105 very handy for a light walkabout that you don't mind taking to the beach and getting and on it etc.

I'm just a little concerned that I have somehow convinced you to go from a 400DSRL to a D300!

Note, there is a new D300, called the D300S . The main thing this has added is a video function, which is not a deal breaker to me. However, it is usually found cheaper than the old D300 so it doesn't really matter. If you find the old D300 at a good discount then the moeny saved is probably worth it.
 
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