Nikon body

[Mark]

Hey folks! Long time no see.

I'm looking at purchasing a new Nikon body; I would like a D90 but unless I can find a real deal on a used one I can't afford it. I'm thinking about lowering my standards and buy a cheaper body so I can afford the lens I want. Does anyone have experience with the newer Nikon bodies? Everything I've read was positive.

I will be using it mainly for portrait work, and I do mean work, this will not be a hobby! If money was no object this would be an easy decision.

thanks for any/all input.

[Tracey]

Hi Mark
When I visited New York last year there was a huge photography store that seemed to sell stuff at reasonable prices. (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/ )
I have no experience of Nikon equipment, having always preferred the lightness and smaller size of Olympus gear, but I know some people on my photography course were Nikon users and they seemed happy with their equipment. Have you gone into a store and tried the combo you want, to see if it fits you hands and feels comfortable to hold, (there should still be plenty of stores within a short drive of you that sell that sort of gear to try)

I am a member of a very friendly Olympus forum and they offer advice and guidance (and equimpent rental) for people like me, they also allow members to sell their equipment to other members... I can only assume theres one for Nikon. It might be worth looking into a Nikon forum to see if they have a buy/sell area.

Good luck with this, and I'd like to hear how you get on

[Hedgehog]

I'm a Canon man I'm afraid Mark, but you're definitely doin' it the correct way round... camera's are the cheap(ish) disposable bit on the back of the lens which should last you a lifetime if looked after properly.

[Mark]

thanks for the info. 

[Dent Cermak]

Mark, I have the Nikon D80 and I love it!! It's all the camera I'll ever need.
Best price on a Nikon body, check 2 places. First, eBay. There are some good deals there. Some arw cheap because they atre "gray market" cameras. What does that mean? It's sold by a seller that is not an authorized Nikon dealer. You cannot register it nor get warranty work done on it. (When was the last time you got warranty work on a camera? I never have, so gray market cameras are not an issue for me.)But it's the same camera as the other. it's like the rewd headed, , step-child. I still love it anyway.
The other place to look is Amazon. com. I ki\d you not. Often Amazon will have them cheaper than eBay.
I got all of my lenses off of eBay. Look for the guys with the highest feed back rating and you will not have any problems. Buy no camera equipment from any eBay seller with less than a 98.9% favorable feed back score.
Also, just to be sure that all goes well, buy ONLY the Nikon glass. You can get third party glass, but none that I have looked at are as sharp as the Nikon lenses. That may sound elitist, but it is true.

[Mark]

I ended up with the D90 kit. I purchased it from my local camera shop even though it cost a few more dollars. It's a good thing I did too. I took like 3-4 photos with it the day I brought it home, a couple days later I went to use it and the SD card would not stay in the camera, the little locking mechanism was broken, I guess. I took it back to the store and they swapped with a new one, no charge! BTW, I love this camera, lens too.

[Tracey]

Thats great.... looking forward to seeing some great photos from you