nikon d60 70 80 or 90

shawnee

Hi am looking at buying a secondhand nikon slr. Thought that I might buy one for around 500 with lenses etc. However I am not finding many secondhands in Limerick/Cork area. Almost bought a new d60 on Sat but friend of mine advises me to wait and get a d80. Is there much difference in quality in these cameras ?;)

GhostInTheRuins

The D60 has a newer sensor than the D80 so has slightly better image quality. The D80 (And D70) is considered out of date now but it's still a great camera, which means you could probably get a good deal on a second hand one. The D90 is the newest and is the best of the bunch, but to be honest you can't go wrong with any of them.

melekalikimaka

scratch the d60 off for one. d90, too much...d70 kinda dated... i'd go with d80

Panda

melekalikimaka wrote: »

scratch the d60 off for one. d90, too much...d70 kinda dated... i'd go with d80

any particular reason to scrath off the d60 melekalikimaka?

melekalikimaka

Panda wrote: »

any particular reason to scrath off the d60 melekalikimaka?

no internal af motor... thats it really

Stephen

I don't think you'll find many D90s going second hand, they've only been out a few months.

shawnee

Tks for the help, The af motor would make a difference.;)

dreamer_ire

melekalikimaka wrote: »

no internal af motor... thats it really

Does that mean that there is no point buying an AF lens or does that mean u really should buy an AF lens with the D60?

melekalikimaka

dreamer_ire wrote: »

Does that mean that there is no point buying an AF lens or does that mean u really should buy an AF lens with the D60?

it means you cant use a 50mm 1.8, for starters... I dont quite understand your question tho... yes the d60 will work with all the wonderful and plantiful lens with built in motors, but personally speaking, a 50mm 1.8 at 70 euro, rarely leaves my camera, and if i had a d60... i would be required to mf it all the time... something that would put me off

njburke

There are two types of Nikon Autofocus lenses, designated AF and AF-S.AF lens are mechanically driven from a motor within the camera body, AF-S are electrical driven as the motor is in the lens.

A design choice was made on the D40 and D60 cameras (cost,marketing, size ) NOT to include a body motor, therefor AF lenses will not auto focus on these two bodies. You can still operate and AF lens on these bodies, but you need to use your fingers to focus it.

Nikon has produced AF lenses for far longer than AF-S, so a camera that supports both AF and AF-S (D50,D70,D80,D90) will autofocus with a huge range of lens.

matood

Not true with that MF anymore. Nice 35mm 1.8 and i think 50mm also. Beatuful crispy pictures... and less than 200 euro.

matood

Ok so no 50mm for DX yet but 35mm is equivalent of 50mm on DX so it`s nice and really not bad.
D60 is not bad, it`s nice one and what you save you get lens, you can get set 18-55 and 55-200 set for affordable price, your whole range is covered with very good lenses and if you want get some prime, many people is buying 50mm anyway even if autofocus doesn`t work but you can use it without much hassle.
Go to shop, try and see.

red_ice

melekalikimaka wrote: »

no internal af motor... thats it really

The one drawback, other than the 3 focus points and an exposure setting that i cant think of right now. Other than that i find my d60 great.

melekalikimaka wrote: »

it means you cant use a 50mm 1.8, for starters... I dont quite understand your question tho... yes the d60 will work with all the wonderful and plantiful lens with built in motors, but personally speaking, a 50mm 1.8 at 70 euro, rarely leaves my camera, and if i had a d60... i would be required to mf it all the time... something that would put me off

I have a 50mm 1.8 on my d60. Works fine. As you said previously, theres no interior motor. The 50mm wont focus as it is not a dx lens. But it still works fine.. People managed for many years without auto focus...

dreamer_ire wrote: »

Does that mean that there is no point buying an AF lens or does that mean u really should buy an AF lens with the D60?

Once its a nikon fit (d and dx), then the lens will fit on a d60. My grandads been shooting with nikon for DECADES and all his old ass nikon lens' fit on my d60. With the newer lens the only thing your missing is the auto focus. I dont really see it as a massive problem...

I've linked a couple of shots with my d60. the first 2 pics are with a 50mm 1.8 on MF. The rest are on the standard 18-55mm lens you get with the d60

1
2
3
4

GhostInTheRuins

^^ Good post

I've never had any problems using my 50mm on my D60

melekalikimaka

red_ice wrote: »

I have a 50mm 1.8 on my d60. Works fine. As you said previously, theres no interior motor. The 50mm wont focus as it is not a dx lens. But it still works fine.. People managed for many years without auto focus...

is it not that the nikon needs an af-s lens? people managed for years yes, but thats a poor defence

red_ice wrote: »

Once its a nikon fit (d and dx), then the lens will fit on a d60. My grandads been shooting with nikon for DECADES and all his old ass nikon lens' fit on my d60. With the newer lens the only thing your missing is the auto focus. I dont really see it as a massive problem...

its lot massive but enough to make me wanna look at a camera that doesnt have this issue

Cosmo K

Here is a "50mm" lens, that will work on a D60

http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/2538832/art/nikon/af-s-dx-nikkor-35-mm-f-1.html

matood

The defence is, people shoot ages without it, now is necessary? On 50mm i find out, i rather focus manually, then i know exactly what is in the focus and is good training for me because no fucusing points => then i`m composing bit differently. And to those 3 focusing points, before was just one, but anyway, just focus on what you want, use lock and then recompose, it`s just very few seconds...so is not an issue. Just need more practice to find out how to do some stuff. Even if you buy D300 there will be somebody telling you go for FX or so...Every camera has something different and only way how to find out which suits to you is go to shop try all of them, chat with people who already use them (don`t listen people in shop, they usually want sell things...) and choose THE ONE. I have D60 and don`t need anythinh else, shooting city, landscapes, day night even people around and is really enough.
And if shop my advice is Conn`s cameras, owner is very nice guy and usually don`t have problems give a better deal.

matood

here too...
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/606792-USA/Nikon_2183_35mm_f_1_8G_NIKKOR_DX.html

or

http://www.adorama.com/searchsite/default.aspx?searchinfo=35mm%20dx

dreamer_ire

melekalikimaka wrote: »

I dont quite understand your question tho...

What I meant to say is that I'm saving for something like a 70-200 f2.8 for my Nikon d60 to take rugby pics. I have a 70-300 f4-5.6 but it has not auto focus so it's tough to get anything moving with the right shutter speed and aperature, espicially in dull weather. Am very much a newbie and wasn't sure if an AF lens would focus on moving objects for me with the D60 or whether I needed to go for the AF or AF-s. From some of the posts I'm reading that I should be going for the AF-S... am I right?

Atomic Pineapple

The D60 is a great cheap camera if your a beginner and want to get used to using a DSLR, it has minor slight drawbacks that would only really affect someone who knows exactly what there after in a photo and the D60 doesn't allow for it.

If your a beginner, its a perfect entrance camera, if your not and you know what your after maybe you want something with all the features

Ricky91t

Cosmo K wrote: »

Here is a "50mm" lens, that will work on a D60

http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/2538832/art/nikon/af-s-dx-nikkor-35-mm-f-1.html

That just totally eliminates the best point of the 50mm f/1.8

The price.

melekalikimaka

matood wrote: »

The defence is, people shoot ages without it, now is necessary? On 50mm i find out, i rather focus manually, then i know exactly what is in the focus and is good training for me because no fucusing points => then i`m composing bit differently.

i really think the 'option to auto focus would be invalueable to almost anyone else on the planet

matood wrote: »

(don`t listen people in shop, they usually want sell things...)

matood wrote: »

my advice is Conn`s cameras, owner is very nice guy and usually don`t have problems give a better deal.

Conns are one of the most expensice camera shops in Dublin, and there has been threads on their knowledge and customer service before... and locked due to some less than plesent reviews of said services

matood wrote: »

I have D60 and don`t need anythinh else, shooting city, landscapes, day night even people around and is really enough.

thats all well and good to say... but in reality each of those styles require certain elements, that require different lens, and requirements from camera... ie mutipal af points, high iso control, bracketing, saying it is enough is not quite true... any camera... can be enough to take a photo...

af_thefragile

d90 is the best if you can afford it...

sorry for not being very helpful there...

mloc

Personaly I'd go with the d80 in that situation. I would personally avoid the D60 because of a lack of internal AF motor; so many legacy Nikon lenses, which are relatively cheap, would not autofocus due to the lack of this motor. That mightn't affect some people, sure, but the 50mm 1.8 AF-D isn't the only non AF-S lens out there.

The D60 is a good camera, but would need replacing as you get more serious. Given the lower price of 2nd hand gear, my advice would be to get the D80 and even if you grow out of it, you can keep it as a backup that will AF with all your lenses.

Cosmo K

Ricky91t wrote: »

That just totally eliminates the best point of the 50mm f/1.8

The price.

You can pick one up on ebay for 199€, which in my book, is still relatively cheap.

melekalikimaka

Cosmo K wrote: »

You can pick one up on ebay for 199€, which in my book, is still relatively cheap.

not when the 1.8 is closer to 70

Cosmo K

melekalikimaka wrote: »

not when the 1.8 is closer to 70

And where can you get a new 50mm 1.8 for 70€? Last time I checked, they were around 100€ on ebay from HK, or 130€ in a bricks and mortar shop.

Thirdfox

mloc wrote: »

Personaly I'd go with the d80 in that situation. I would personally avoid the D60 because of a lack of internal AF motor; so many legacy Nikon lenses, which are relatively cheap, would not autofocus due to the lack of this motor. That mightn't affect some people, sure, but the 50mm 1.8 AF-D isn't the only non AF-S lens out there.

The D60 is a good camera, but would need replacing as you get more serious. Given the lower price of 2nd hand gear, my advice would be to get the D80 and even if you grow out of it, you can keep it as a backup that will AF with all your lenses.

So go back further - my 50mm F2 costs 35 euro, but will only mount on the D40 and D60 (will mount on pre-AI compatible film cameras too). Having a D40/60 opens the whole range of Nikon legacy lenses (except those that require full time MLU - I doubt many people will be mounting ultra-wide lenses that cost 20,000 euro on the D40/60 series).

Every Nikon lens released for a long time has been AF-S/AF-I (with the exception of some PCE lenses - but that doesn't AF anyway).

And with all due respect - I think the D60 (if it's any way similar to the D40) will be perfectly happy in "serious" situations. Mount a 70-200 f2.8 on it and it can shoot sports too (in fact, in good light the 55-200 vr does almost as well).

I went with the D40 as I don't want a bigger camera (and indeed I would like the D40 even more if it was smaller). And I've managed to source really cheap lenses for it - 28mm f3.5 for 20 euro; 50mm equivalent on my D40, wide-angle for my FE film camera.


And as my final parting shot :P Canon hasn't had an AF motor in their cameras since the 1970s I believe (or at least a few decades now). I'm glad to see Nikon is catching up with the times.

Sorry to seem to be picking on you mloc - it's just that it really grates on me when people dismiss this really good camera (in my opinion) on one issue, that in my belief, isn't very important.

And OP - consider the Sony A200, Pentax and Olympus (their E620 seems like a great package for cheap) etc. See which one suits your requirements best (unless you're hell bent on getting a Nikon)... if you're desperate you could always try Canon :pac:

mloc

I agree with a lot of your points there it must be said. My own personal background is a fair bit of gig stuff for which the 50mm 1.8 is a fantastic lens and cheap for people starting off. AF is also somewhat of a must in many gig situations also.

I would agree with you though that for many, if not most situations the D60 is a fantastic camera.

Thirdfox

I'd agree that for many gig situations (also sports etc.) AF is quite necessary. Though it would depend on the gig - guy standing at microphone vs. guy running around stage smashing guitars

Hey, there must be some reason that the D40/60 is one of the best selling dSLRs Nikon has right? (And don't say soccer moms :P )

melekalikimaka

I'd say it's it's price, not it's quality to be honest, people at that end of the market are looking for cheap slr not quality would be second. I quite like it also but back on point, given the choice I'd pick a d50 d80 or d90 over it anyday

matood

Like i said, go to shop, touch, shoot, do whatever you want and decide. From here, you`ll never get answer. Everybody likes something else, you have to find your way.
All those cameras are great and you need to know for what you have to use it. If there is no hurry, take your time, maybe rent some stuff and you`ll see.
D60 is great, D80 is great, D90 is awesome but cost twice that much so?
In this thread
http://www.shutterasia.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2859
you`ll find all lenses they will autofocus with D40/60.
And don`t forget enjoy your camera, it`s not about buying stuff...it`s about passion capture moments...