Stephen Fassman , Jul 30, 2008; 01:33 a.m.
My son would like to graduate from his trusted but dying P&S. Which D model, the 40, or 60, or 80(?) is recced for a beginner, with no
interest into learning more than the basics of what the camera has to offer? (meaning... very little: tweeking, post-processing in camera or
with software, customization for diff situations, etc., etc... maybe the camera will spark those interests.).
My D200 is overkill, so I can't give it to him to use that as an excuse to get a D700! My daughter already has my D70/ 18-70 kit lens.
His main interest is shooting his College (U. of A) basketball team, so my 180/2.8 will be going back to school with him in a few weeks...
and the camera will have to perform at high iso, if he's shooting indoors at Shutter priority.
....will the 180/2.8 work with these beginner D's?
... is the 18-55 vr kit lens any good? ...would some other "kit zoom" with a larger range be better, like the superb 18-70?
... is there any point to the 55-200, if he has the 180/2.8?
Lastly, are the prices at Camera addict.com for real?? $441 for a D60/18-55vr, $627 with the 18-135
http://www.cameraaddict.com/viewproduct.aspx?id=9790894
Thanks so much,steve
...
Tyrone Lavigne , Jul 30, 2008; 02:29 a.m.
Avoid cameraaddict, before you purchase anything it's always a good idea to check resellerratings.com....example http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Camera_Addict they look pretty bad to me. Have you given any thought to perhaps a D50? I think it performed better at high ISO than my D200 does, and they can be had for pretty cheap now.....the only reason I hate the 40 and 60 is the lack of AF motor in the body. Haven't used the 80, but I was close to buying one for reasons that probably aren't important to your son (mainly lcd status window and ergonomics). If buying af-s lenses from now one doesn't bother you, go for the 40, if it does go for the 80. Or if your daughter is a bit more serious about photography you could always give him her D70, give her the D200, and you upgrade to the D700 :-)
Eric Arnold 
, Jul 30, 2008; 03:09 a.m.
get him the d80 if you can. that way he can build up his glass collection with older lenses without spending a mint. the d80 can af with the $120 50/1.8, the d40/60 can't. a 50 will teach him about composition in a way a zoom can't.
Cory Burke , Jul 30, 2008; 03:10 a.m.
D80 if you think he will truly take up photography.
the 18-70 lens will make a better walk around lens. No kit lens will make a good sports shooting lens and he is likely to be disappointed with any results he gets with a kit lens. The lens you're giving him may be good enough since it is fast though. The D40 and D60 are good cameras but I would find it really frustrating to shoot quick events like sports on them because they do no not autofocus older lenses which is very important for sports on dx viewfinders without split prism focus screens, and they also have interfaces that are really designed more for snapshots/travel shots than serious sports photography. It can be a pain to change the ISO digging through menus..
Matthew Brennan 
, Jul 30, 2008; 03:22 a.m.
The D80 is going to drive that AF 180mm f/2.8 better than the D50 and for basketball the AF is a must for a beginner photographer or else too much frustration will ensue.
Rob Piontek , Jul 30, 2008; 04:25 a.m.
The D40 is cheap and a great camera. You can assign ISO to the Fn button, and you only then push Fn and rotate the command dial. No problem. The menu system is pretty good, too, because you can customize it. If you leave out all the stuff you don't use very often, it's much faster to go through the menus. The thing that really bugs me is I have to push the same button twice to change the important stuff like flash mode, metering mode, white balance. The first push lets you look at these settings, the 2nd lets you change them.
I would think you really want a fast zoom for basketball, rather than a prime, so look for one with AFS and it will be fine with the D40.
Richard Driscoll , Jul 30, 2008; 05:31 a.m.
The D40 generally has around 1 stop less noise than the D40x, D60, D80 or D200. For some strange reason it is
less good at HI-1 (3200 approx).
See, for example, www.imaging-resource.com and www.dpreview.com
As well as assigning ISO to the Fn button you can use auto ISO with shutter priority. This means that after
setting a particular shutter speed the aperture will open up as the light gets less and after it is fully open
the ISO will increase up to a programmable maximum of 1600. I prefer to do this and use the Fn button for white
balance.
The non-VR 18-55 kit lens (AFS DX II) is pretty good optically. In some respects (vignetting and distortion) it
is better than the 18-70. See www.photozone.de.
Shun Cheung 
, Jul 30, 2008; 05:32 a.m.
For the purpose of shooting basketball, which is mainly indoors, I wouldn't say the D200 is an overkill. In fact a D300, D700 or even D3 would be a much better choice. Indoor sports is one of the biggest challenges to DSLRs. Whether your son is interested in learning how to use a D200 or D300 is another issue, though, and of course your daughter may want an upgrade also. :-) But I would suggest get him the best DSLR you can reasonably afford.
I am adding Camera Addict to the bozo filter for this forum so that you can no longer post a link to that store that has a horrible user rating.
Pankaj Purohit , Jul 30, 2008; 05:53 a.m.
D80 would be better to begin with but it is a crop sensored camera, and the next trend would be the FX, so I would suggest you to get a FX body like D3 or D700, you may also cosider a second hand FX body for the learning process.
Ronald Moravec , Jul 30, 2008; 07:38 a.m.
A D200 is not overkill. Turn it to auto and it works better than any P&S and it is no more complicated than a D40/60, but it can be made complicated if you desire. When I first got mine, I told the sales person I needed to use it right away. He said put it on program and shoot.
A 180 2.8 is a waste of time for sports unless it is autofocus. Screw drive AF does not work with D40/60, but they work well with 180 2.8 AFS lenses.
The only other problem is security at college for expensive items.
Now if you donate the D200, you need a new camera. Solution is simple for me.
