Getting ready to buy a D80, but I'm confused about the kit pricing.

[jaydub]

Hi everyone.

I'm getting ready to buy a D80, and I've been looking at a good lens to accompany it. Usually I know the advice is to avoid the kit lens, but I haven't had the luck (or ability) to try out these lenses before I buy, so I'm going on a lot of the research I've done. I'm most certainly a beginner, though I've been using a Rebel XT for the past year or so.

As I started to put pieces together, I settled on the D80 body with the 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens. It's ~$200 and it seems like a decent lens for a beginner like me. The weird part is J&R lists the "kit" that is the D80 with this lens for $1049 (and is backordered). The combination separately costs $981.94.

I checked the descriptions and everything seems the same. Regardless, is there a suggestion for a better lens to accompany this body?

Thanks.

 

[taylorwilsdon]

No, the D80 kit is with an 18-135mm lens, not the 18-55mm lens. The 18-55 is not part of any (official) Nikon kit.

Thats why the price is different.

EDIT

If you're buying online, you can do better.
B&H has the kit you want (d80+18-55) for $879.95
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/484235-REG/Nikon_9425_D80_SLR_Digital_Camera.html

I would skip kit lenses entirely and go to nicer quality if you can afford it. If you have a higher budget possibility, let us know and we can find some good lenses. 50mm f/1.8 is always a great option.

 

[ChrisA]

There are two versions of the 18-55

Hi everyone.

I'm getting ready to buy a D80, and I've been looking at a good lens to accompany it. Usually I know the advice is to avoid the kit lens, but I haven't had the luck (or ability) to try out these lenses before I buy, so I'm going on a lot of the research I've done. I'm most certainly a beginner, though I've been using a Rebel XT for the past year or so.

As I started to put pieces together, I settled on the D80 body with the 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens. It's ~$200 and it seems like a decent lens for a beginner like me. The weird part is J&R lists the "kit" that is the D80 with this lens for $1049 (and is backordered). The combination separately costs $981.94.

I checked the descriptions and everything seems the same. Regardless, is there a suggestion for a better lens to accompany this body?

Thanks.

Maybe what is confusing is that there are two 18-55 lenses now. The brand new one is the "normal" 18-55 but the newst one has "VR" and from the looks your shopping cart is about $75 more expensive then the older 18-55.

At least in the Nikon line I always tell people to get the "kit" lens. The are very good, just low specs. Nikon sells the kit lenses at low prices in order to move more DSLR bodies. The advice you are remembering is to avoid the kit lens when New York camera dealers try and sell you a third party lens. These are typically junk. The ones Nikon has kitted with their bodies are a great value. Nikon has three kits lenses they bundle with varius cameras the 18-55, 18-70 amd 18-135
The 18-55 is very sharp and now with VR ought to be even better. the 18-135 covers a wide enough range that many (most?) peole would never need another lens.

I would buy the D80 with one of the about kit lenses and then wait to buy a second lens. Take 1,000 pictures first

 

[ChrisA]

I would skip kit lenses entirely and go to nicer quality if you can afford it.

The 18-55 is not a bad lens for what it is, an f/5.6 zoom. if you can get it for the normal $100 to $125 price it is a bargain too.

I spend a bit more and got the 18-70 because
I

• has "real" AFS with an instant manual override focus ring.
• The front filter ring does not rotate
• It is 1/2 stop faster then the 18-55
• I thought I'd use the extra range

I use the 18-70 for about half my shots the others are split mostly between my 50mm f/1.4 and 85mm f/1.8 and then I have quite a few others that see limited use.

When you ask about what lens to buy, you should tell us something about how you will use it. All the lenses are good, the trick is to match the tool to the job. We are going to have to know what the job is

 

[Kamera RAWr]

I spend a bit more and got the 18-70

I would send this one as a starter lens. I think its just a little bit better than the 18-55. To be honest, I've not heard much about the 18-135 lens.

How much can you afford to spend? What do you plan/want to shoot? Any experience with photography?

 

[Shacklebolt]

As a D80 owner with the 18-135 kit lens I can tell you that it's... quite weak. Maybe it's because I'm kind of spoiled with a few of the nicer lenses I have, but man.

The D80 is an introductory DSLR (as is the D40). Most people who buy it aren't looking to start a stellar lens collection, and in all likelyhood would be... moderately satisfied with the 18-135. But man - wicked distortion at 18mm, vignetting... if you can ditch the kit lens and get something better, I'd heartily advise it.

 

[jaydub]

I went out of town for the weekend and had no chance to check this thread! I'll address the comments I've gotten one by one.

I would skip kit lenses entirely and go to nicer quality if you can afford it. If you have a higher budget possibility, let us know and we can find some good lenses. 50mm f/1.8 is always a great option.

I am not averse to skipping the kit lens altogether in favor of something that would suit me better. Truth be told, I am a beginner, I have been shooting with a Rebel XT with the kit lens for about a year now, and I prefer the Nikon. I am willing to spend up to $1k, but I'd prefer not to go over that for the time being because, as I said, I'm just starting out.

Maybe what is confusing is that there are two 18-55 lenses now. The brand new one is the "normal" 18-55 but the newst one has "VR" and from the looks your shopping cart is about $75 more expensive then the older 18-55.

At least in the Nikon line I always tell people to get the "kit" lens. The are very good, just low specs. Nikon sells the kit lenses at low prices in order to move more DSLR bodies. The advice you are remembering is to avoid the kit lens when New York camera dealers try and sell you a third party lens. These are typically junk. The ones Nikon has kitted with their bodies are a great value. Nikon has three kits lenses they bundle with varius cameras the 18-55, 18-70 amd 18-135
The 18-55 is very sharp and now with VR ought to be even better. the 18-135 covers a wide enough range that many (most?) peole would never need another lens.

I would buy the D80 with one of the about kit lenses and then wait to buy a second lens. Take 1,000 pictures first

I wasn't necessarily confused about this particular kit offering the new VR version of the 18-55 lens. I was mostly confused because the "kit" I've seen on amazon and J&R cost about $60 more than buying the body and lens separately. However, it seems that in my absence this weekend, the lens has gone backordered on almost every site I've checked.

The 18-55 is not a bad lens for what it is, an f/5.6 zoom. if you can get it for the normal $100 to $125 price it is a bargain too.

I spend a bit more and got the 18-70 because
I

• has "real" AFS with an instant manual override focus ring.
• The front filter ring does not rotate
• It is 1/2 stop faster then the 18-55
• I thought I'd use the extra range

I use the 18-70 for about half my shots the others are split mostly between my 50mm f/1.4 and 85mm f/1.8 and then I have quite a few others that see limited use.

When you ask about what lens to buy, you should tell us something about how you will use it. All the lenses are good, the trick is to match the tool to the job. We are going to have to know what the job is

My shots are completely limited to candid family shots, pictures of my girlfriend and I while we hike and bike, etc.

I would send this one as a starter lens. I think its just a little bit better than the 18-55. To be honest, I've not heard much about the 18-135 lens.

How much can you afford to spend? What do you plan/want to shoot? Any experience with photography?

My experience is limited, though now that I'm done with school (psshew!) I'm going to have more time on my hands to learn the fundamentals.


Thanks for the advice all. So far a lot of what I've gotten elsewhere is, "Just get the 18-200 VR!" That'd be great, but I'm not nearly proficient enough for such an expensive lens, and I'd prefer to learn with what I've got before jumping up to something of that level.