Ok, I want to buy a DSLR... But I need LOTS of help.

[Martin C]

You said that you wanted to keep your budget under $1,500 while getting the 18-55mm kit lens and a 70-300mm zoom.

Amazon.com
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Nikon D80 with 18-55mm kit lens: $1,017.90

Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S VR: $485.95

Total: $1,503.85

I went over four bucks, but I think that equipment should last you quite a long time.

If you substiture the D80 and kit lens with a D40x and kit lens, your total including the 70-300mm VR would be $1196.86

With that budget, you can get the lenses you want as well as a better body than the D40 and the discontinuing D50.

 

[Abstract]

Thanks... i think I'm going to get the D40. I should be able to print good quality 8x10 or 6x8 right??

The D40 can pretty much print anything A4 or lower. If you want to print large prints, get the D40X, which has 10.2 megapixels instead of 6.

Yes, but arguably, if the photo is sharp enough, you can print a 8" x 12", or even 10" x 15" and not end up with horrid quality. Really, A4 isn't the limit. I don't really buy into the whole 300 ppi stuff anyway. It doesn't mean anything because you're not printing a magazine, and inkjet printers print likely print better than industrial printers anyway. Maybe they need 300 ppi to make up for a lack of dpi....

For yourself, I'd get the D40. The lenses you want can all auto-focus on the D40, which is good. Also, the D40 can accept SD cards with > 2 GB of space, while the D50 can't. It's not a big deal for these cameras since the file sizes are quite small, but still.....


PS: Christ, I answered this thread already and didn't even realize it!

 

[12991]

just to let you guys now, i bought a d40 a few days back, and its a lot harder than i thought. Still getting used to it. Thanks for the help

 

[Clix Pix]

The D40 can pretty much print anything A4 or lower. If you want to print large prints, get the D40X, which has 10.2 megapixels instead of 6.

Agh, the megapixel myth again! Actually, if you focus and shoot carefully, a 4 MP camera can produce wonderful images. The secret? Not depending on cropping after the fact. Learn to crop in-camera. Look through the viewfinder, study the subject and its surroundings carefully. What's around, behind, above and beneath the main subject? Can you move in closer? Do you need to back up a little? Would moving to one side or the other improve the image? Yes, the resolution on a 10.2 MP camera is going to be higher than on a 6 MP camera or a 4 MP camera but it's not all that signficant unless you plan to (a) crop extensively and (b) print massive poster-sized images. Learn to crop in-camera effectively and the whole megapixel thing isn't nearly as significant.....