One more time... please

[cj125]

I'm still looking at these cameras and have decided that I'll just go ahead and get one that will last but without knowing all the things that I might want or need I'm not sure which of these would be the best for me... so please help me pick the one that's the easiest to use and still be able to do different things with it like the prime & zoom lens. Oh, and short videos.

Thanks ladies - I really appreciate your help - reading about these things are giving me headaches!!! but I really need to get on the ball and get one - soon!

As for the price - I'm looking at the following.

D300S
D7000
D90
D5000
D3100
D3000

Digital SLR Cameras from Nikon

And do these come with the lenses? Do I need to buy caps for the lenses? Case & strap? Gez....

[boopster]

It's been a long time since I shopped for my digital SLR so I can't comment on these models. But I did read a lot of reviews at stevesdigicam.com and they helped me make my decision. Here's a link to the page with reviews of Nikon cameras:
Nikon Camera Reviews

Good luck with your decision!

[BonBon]

I have the D90 and I LOVE it. It's my very first DSLR and it does everything I can possibly think of for it to do and more. I highly recommend the D90 and I'd buy it again in a heartbeat.

You mentioned wanting to do videos - do all of these models have that capability?

Oh and with the D90, you can use less expensive lenses that do not have an autofocus motor in them. With the D3000-D5000, you either have to buy more expensive autofocus lenses or you'll have to manually focus your shots. Not having to manually focus my shots has been a huge plus for me. I'm not sure how the D300S or D7000 work with different lenses.

You can choose to buy just the camera body only and purchase lenses separately, or you can purchase a kit that includes a lens (or lenses). Lenses will come with caps but you'll need UV filters (to protect the lens when the cap is off). Some kits will include a strap and carrying case, some won't, it just depends on the setup you buy. Check out Amazon.com or one of online camera stores - you'll see that you can buy cameras in many different packages and combinations.

[Aviendah]

I have a Nikon D40 and I love it. I always check on Ken Rockwell's recommendations before I buy as well.

Recommended Cameras

[lisaly]

Any one of those cameras has the capability to take wonderful photos, so what I'm going to say next is what my preference or recommendation would be based on a number of factors that I think are important in a camera for me. I use the Nikon D300, and it was replaced by the Nikon D300S. I love it, and feel no need to upgrade from the model, even though there are nice improvements to the camera with the D300S. Technology keeps improving, and a camera's ability to capture images in low light has improved substantially. With lower light ability, cameras can take pictures with less grain or "noise" (in digital terms), and that, to me, is important. As much as I love my camera, if I were to buy a camera when both the D300 and the D300S were both available, I would have gone with the D300S, even though the savings on the D300 were substantial at the time. I think the new technology is worth the difference, not because I need to have the newest technology, but because I like the improvements that I can see as a result of it. When I buy a camera, however, I don't want to upgrade it every couple of years. My camera doesn't have video, and the D300S does. It's not important to me, but I think having the video is very nice. I like the magnesium alloy body of the D300 and D300S, which makes it more rugged, they both have great weatherproofing. You really don't have to worry about it in inclement weather, which is great. I probably wouldn't recommend the D300S, however, mostly because it's a bit of overkill unless you are very seriously into photography. I've been using SLRs for about 35 years, many of which are pro and semipro models. I still have not completely figured out the D300. The camera is optimized for someone who is more advanced, so it doesn't have any of the scene modes which many people like. The camera is also fairly heavy. It sits really nicely in my hands, though, and I like the balance and weight of the camera. If you aren't used to using a camera like this, you may not like it. I have small hands, and I'm only 5'2', and the camera is fine for me, but many people find it too heavy. I think it would be nice to have one smaller also, but I use some heavy lenses, so the weight is nicely balanced with those lenses.

I also love the D90, and it has a JPEG engine that is more optimized for someone that doesn't want to play around with postprocessing than the D300S. Straight out of camera using jpeg, the photos are usually nicer unless you seriously know what you are doing. I wouldn't put myself in that category, even though I have a lot of experience and am very serious about photography. It's lighter than the D300S and smaller, but not by a huge amount. It is made of polycarbonate, but it is a strong and nice body. I highly recommend that camera. I do think the camera will be out of the lineup in the not too distant future. That wouldn't bother me, but again, I would probably go with one using newer technology unless price was a big factor for me. The D7000 is a great camera, and if the price is not out of your price range of what you want to spend, I probably would go with that one. The D90 has video, but it was Nikon's first camera to incorporate video. There are nice improvements to the video and the camera is using the Nikon Expeed 2 engine for stills instead of Expeed 1. I am certain that you would love the D90, but I like some of what the D7000 has in it. It has a 100% viewfinder, which is important to me, and it also has two cards SD card slots, which is great to have instead of one. It is incorporating some of the improvements in the pro Nikons. I don't think it's necessary to get the D7000 over the D90, but if I were chosing, I'd go with the D7000 today. That said, I'd love the D90 also. The person that is most known for his insight about Nikon is Thom Hogan, and his website byThom.com is great if you are interested in anything Nikon. I highly recommend his e-books instead of the camera manual regardless of what camera you buy. He loves Nikon but is also critical of them, so when he irecommends something, I take him more seriously than most other reviewers. He wrote this on his website:

2010 Nikon News and Comments by Thom Hogan

"Sept 24 (news and commentary)--

I'll just state up front that I think that the D7000 is the most important camera Nikon has introduced for consumers since the D70 (and perhaps the D700 if you consider it a "consumer" camera; it's certainly a camera that a lot of consumers purchase). The 7 numbers have been important to Nikon in the digital generation. The D70 was what got them significant consumer momentum. The D700 stole the full frame momentum from other companies. The D7000 will…well, it should turn out to be right in the sweet spot of where the advanced amateur wants to be. The only thing the D7000 doesn't have that the target audience might (think they) want is full frame.
In case you missed the announcement details, the D7000 is a 16mp DX camera, 6 fps, 100% viewfinder, more metal and sealed than the D90, and has a number of features previously found only on the pro bodies (exposure measuring with older manual focus lenses, for instance). The D7000 also gets 39-point autofocus, double the pixels in the metering sensor, twin SD card slots, 1080P/24 video, and a new shutter tested to 150k activations, amongst other things. The D7000 is not the D90 replacement according to Nikon, but will slot in between the D90 and D300s in the lineup. That last is a wee bit of marketing chicanery: Nikon has a sufficient inventory of D90's still and has continued to make them as the D7000 started production. Still, I have no doubt that the D90 will be out of the lineup within a year, probably less. The D90 will likely be featured heavily in those weekly deals that Nikon does pre-Christmas, and once production shuts down and those cameras are gone, the D90 will be history."

If you want to read about any of these cameras, I would recommend reading his reviews to help you decide.
Nikon D90 Review by Thom Hogan

I read Ken Rockwell when I was first reading about digital cameras. I didn't know anything about digital, and that was only about 4 years ago. Since I've read a great deal since then, I've realized that there is so much misinformation that he spouts because he is so highly opinionated, and he changes his tune often. He has a lot of good information for an amateur, but because there is so much misinformation, I'd stay away from his recommendations unless you check into them a great deal. He is not well regarded by those who are knowledgeable in photography. I probably would have gotten a digital camera before I did if I had not read his website. Although technology is constantly changing and improvements are seen, it does not make your camera obsolete, and there is no need to keep upgrading your camera. Although I like a lot of the changes that I am seeing, I am thrilled with my outdated D300. When I do upgrade, it will be because I want to get an FX sensor instead of a DX sensor, but that's not something I'd recommend for most people. Since I've been using Nikons for over 20 years, a lot of the lenses I own can be used on my DX camera, but they are more optimized on an FX camera. I'm used to a full frame instead of a 1.5 sensor and I like how an FX sensor has less depth of field. Otherwise, I recommend DX camera, which you are looking at.

The other cameras are excellent, but they don't have a motor in the camera. You can use lenses that don't have motors in them, but they don't have autofocusing ability. There are plenty of lenses with motors in them, but it limits you. You can't use Nikon's 50mm 1.8 lens, which is a great lens for about $100. If price is a factor, they are great cameras that I wouldn't hesitate to buy. I just like the ability to use Nikon's extensive lens lineup and having the autofocus lenses having that ability. If you decide you like any of those cameras or want to stay in that price range, I will go over each of the cameras for you, including the pros and cons.

I tried to do this quickly until I knew more of what you were leaning toward, and I ended up writing more than you're probably interested in. I'd be happy to help you further once you hold each of these cameras in your hand and see what you like. The D3100 is a lot smaller than the D90, D7000, or D300S, and you might like that. You can't go wrong with any camera you choose. I like having the autofocus motor in the camera and not having to get all lenses that have motors in them. If size was a factor for me and I wanted a smaller camera, I wouldn't hesitate to get one of them. It's really what you like, and they will all take excellent photos. If you decide to go that route, let me know and I'll help you further comparing them. I'd be happy to talk to you about all of this, and I can PM you my cell number if you want to speak to me. Whatever you choose, I think you will love it. Canon has great cameras too and a more extensive lens lineup, but I like the quality control of Nikon and the fact that it has a lot of great kit lenses. Canon saves its better technology for its higher end cameras. Nikon filters down the higher end technology into its consumer line. They both take great photos, but I prefer the use of Nikons to Canons.

[lisaly]

I forgot to address a couple of things in my last post. You should check out Amazon.com to get ideas of the camera bodies and the kit lenses that you can get with them. It's usually cheaper to buy a camera as a kit . I can help with suggestions on the kit lenses and explain the differences once you know what camera you are looking for. It should come with a strap. I like B+H.com and Buydig.com. I got my camera at Buydig.com because I live in NY and I would have had to pay tax if I got my camera at B +H. Both are highly reputable camera stores, and they have excellent prices. Mostly anyone cheaper than them are probably not too reputable. You can check resellerratings.com to tell how good a retailer is. If you want help finding the camera, I can help with that, too. I spent so much time on this when I was looking for my camera, and there are a lot of questionable places to buy camera equipment from. Amazon.com is also good, and they have a great return policy. Just let me know if you need my help in any way.

[Aviendah]

Wow...excellent thread! Thank you for the additional information lisaly...I was considering a camera upgrade as well.

[lisaly]

More reviews by Thom Hogan:

Nikon D5000 Review by Thom Hogan
Nikon DSLR (Digital Camera) Comparison by Thom Hogan

"Nikon's DSLR lineup is now decidedly old/new. The D3100, D7000, D3x, and D3s are definitely pushing state of the art and are (mostly) very "current" in capabilities and performance. The D5000, D300s, and D700 are now looking a bit dowdy. It seems clear to me that the D5100 will take the D3100 sensor to update the tweener camera. Given Nikon's design propensities, the D5100 will likely stay a bit oddball, with a few features of its own (positionable LCD) while stealing from its neighboring models (sensor from D3100, a few features from the D7000). The D700 has a couple of ways it can go, but the most likely to me still seems to be to grab the D3s sensor and capabilities. Nothing wrong with the D3s and 12mp, though perhaps Nikon will move that sensor design up to 16mp, too (well, okay, the video needs work, too). That leaves the D300s replacement (D400) as the big question mark. Nikon has given themselves a bit of design room (18mp, 8+fps, powered grip, etc.), but not much. A D400 needs more than the obvious to take a slot between the D7000 and the D700 replacement, as the D7000 picked up a number of things (such as working with non-CPU lenses) that were previously the domain of the Dxxx bodies. But Nikon needs something between the D7000 and D700 replacement, as the price gap would be too big, otherwise. So we all wait to see what the D4 and D400 will bring to the table."



"Both the D3100 and D7000 are important cameras for Nikon. First, the D3100 needs to establish that Nikon can produce a fully featured, relatively high performance entry DSLR. The D40 to D60 to D3000 progression basically petered out, as each new camera didn't really raise the bar. The D3100 definitely raises a number of bars, not the least of which is that it had Nikon's best video offering to date when it was introduced. The image quality looks good so far (I'll have much more to say on this soon), so it very well may be that Nikon can truly go toe to toe with Canon at the bottom of the DSLR line for the first time in some while.


The D7000 is in the anchor position of the consumer line. The D90 was Nikon's most successful consumer DSLR, and the D7000 has to go a long way to take over that mantle. Fortunately, it seems to be ready to do just that (though I haven't yet seen image quality from it yet, and that will be the final important leg for it to stand on). If the image quality holds up, even D90 users are going to be tempted to upgrade, which means the camera should do exceedingly well for Nikon."


Nikon D3100 Hands-on Preview: 1. Introduction: Digital Photography Review
Rob Galbraith DPI: Nikon D3100 digital SLR includes 1080p video with continuous autofocus
Rob Galbraith DPI: Nikon to ship 16.08 million image pixel D7000 in October

[cj125]

Lisa - Thank You sooo very much for all of this info - I'll be reading through it all and getting back to you for a final "list" that I'll need SO much to look at - but I do want to get it right the first time.
Thanks again!

[Wylie's Mom]

I have the D90 and love it...it does all and more than I could ever want from a camera.

Others have already given great advice . Some main considerations to think about might be 1) do you want video? - 2) do you want more lens choices (if you want the most lens choices - then go with a body that *has* the focus motor IN the camera)

[FlDebra]

Sorry I am a Canon person! We only went Nikon once and there was something wrong with the image stablization from the start. Unfortunately, we were not savvy enough to catch on that the problem was in the camera until the warranty was up! There are just as many pro-Nikon though so it is probably about the same either way.

[gemy]

I have the D200 hubby the D300. I love the pics from both. Weight of camera body about the same.

For me I do find the camera body a little heavy, so I usually use with a tripod. There is no camera shake at all with that. And of course it works for the types of pics I take. And because of being able to shoot continuously you can even take good action shots, although low lighting would be a problem, with the action shots.

Now my D200 doesn't have video capability and at first I was disappointed. But I bought a light weight video camera, and for what I use it for; mainly dog training, dog shows, etc, I'm extremely pleased with it. Good quality videos (amateur of course), I now have two tripods, and if I can if I wish, set up my camera on tripod one, and take shots with it, while I video on tripod two!.

Go to your nearest good camera store, and pick up the cameras you are interested in, feel their weight, look and try to work the camera settings to get a sense of the fit for you.

GL with your decision

[gemy]

Some pics from D200

[Lisa and Pic]

Thanks for all the information everyone... I really need to keep rereading and figure out what would be the best for me. Would love to upgrade to a new camera for Christmas. Some people on YT are getting such crisp, clear shots. It is amazing.

I have always used a Canon in the past. Does anyone recommend that brand or do you like Nikon better?

[cj125]

Just wanted to say Thanks Ladies! I really do appreciate you taking the time to answer all my questions.

I'm still checking all of this out. The D7000 is really new so I'd like to see what people have to say about it after they actually use it. It's probably more than I need but there are a couple of features I liked.

Anyway I'll post more as I get closer to buying one. I'm excited but I get so nervous when I'm making such a big purchase.