Comments for Best Professional SLR Digital Cameras

Comment on Can someone explain the different kind of camera lenses available for D-SLR cameras? by Bill P

Bill P — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 06:24:07 +0000

for normal people using a camera, 80%, or more, of your pictures will be made with the 18-55 lens on a nikon if that is what they have. The other 10% would use the longer lens. People are buying the extra wide angle lenses but they are of nominal use unless you want to play around and spend a lot of money. A lot of people want fisheyes – a lot of money, little use. On my 35mm camera, I have a 17mm lens that I purchased for one picture. One picture, $300 bucks.

You might want to look beyond the Nikon and Canon cameras and look for better deals with cameras like the Sony or Olympus. Olympus has had 2 lens kits for less than you can get a Nikon with two lenses. You can read all the data about Nikon’s capactity to put any lens tht they have made in 40 years on the camera, but that is about useless because you will never use those lenses and, if you do, you will lost several functions on your D40 when you put them on.

Find out about where the focus motor is. Nikon, if I am not wrong, has the focus motor in the lens, others have it in the camera body. That makes their lenses more expensive.

Comment on Can someone explain the different kind of camera lenses available for D-SLR cameras? by legalbgl

legalbgl — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 18:34:42 +0000

the numbers represent your different zooms. 18-55 is the zoom of your lens. 18 is pretty wide and 55 is pretty much standard. However, your 18-55 on a D40 is really 27-82.5 with the 1.5x crop factor. this will be good for most standard shots you want to take of your family and friends. the 55-200 is a telephot zoom lens. Its for getting shots from further away. Imagine your at a baseball game, the 200 lens will alow you to make the players look bigger, like looking though binoculars.

Other lenses get mose specialized. wide angle lenses are great for some landscape shots. Faster primes or zooms are used for various sports events or portraits. Depends on your needs. Faster refers to the apature of the lens (your 18-55 is probaly an f 3.5-5.6 or something like that, I didn’t look it up. The lower the f number the faster the lens, the better it is for lower light situations and the more expensive the lens is.)

I would take the 18-55 and then upgrade to a sigma 28-300 Image stabalized (IS) lens. That will most likely become your favorite all around lens, If the IS lens is to heavy, the non IS version is nice, cheaper and lighter. IT covers the most popular focal lengths and is a pretty sharp all around lens. I

Comment on Is a Nikon D60 good for an amateur photographer? by photo guy

photo guy — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 09:38:10 +0000

Yep it’s great to start. As another mentioned you can get the D40, or even better the D40x at a cheaper price. It’s a bit smaller but will do the same thing. Adding to a prior post, if you do have a Nikon SLR, like Nikon N80, you can use the lenses on your Nikon DSLR. You’ll eventually want to get better lenses, but it would work till then and save you some money now.

Comment on I’m considering a Nikon D40. This will be my first DSLR/SLR camera? by vienna2001

vienna2001 — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 19:05:11 +0000

—- All DSLRs take about the same quality pictures

—- The D40 is at the small end of the size range so you should handle one to see if it’s actually too small

—- The camera lacks a top side info panel, which I find annoying

—- Of all Nikons it can autofocus with the fewest number of lenses, a big deal when you go lens shopping

—- DSLRs are actually easier to use than compact cams because they use dials and buttons instad of menus

—- No zoom button, gotta turn the lens

—- The “kit” lens is usually the best choice when you are starting out

—- In my opinion the D80 is a better choice because it’s bigger, has a top panel and AF’s with all Nikon AF lenses

HTH.

Comment on I’m considering a Nikon D40. This will be my first DSLR/SLR camera? by Tech Guru

Tech Guru — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:26:19 +0000

STOP! Just because its popular does not make it good. One other camera you should compare it to as a first SLR is Olympus Evolt E-500. This is the camera I bought with lots of research involved before purchase. Unlike most cameras this one comes with two lenses. It is by far worth the money and costs less then $600. You will probably spend as much on a second lens for a Nikon. And yes you will need two lenses. You can find good camera deals at. Also if your SLR is a point and shoot type camera what good does that do? You could just buy a sony with a fixed lens and take just as good pictures and let if do all the artistic work for you.

Comment on Can someone explain the different kind of camera lenses available for D-SLR cameras? by scotinthemist50

scotinthemist50 — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 15:13:43 +0000

Basically a 55-200 mm long zoom lens or a telephoto lens will make subjects appear closer in the camera than they actually are by narrowing the angle of view.
The 18-55 mm lens is a standard style of lens covering a mid range and makes subjects look pretty much the same as they actually are.
Wide angle lenses make subjects appear farther away than they really are by widening the angle of view, they also help to capture more of a subject in confined situations.
You’ll find a Camera Lens Buying Guide which will explain things in more detail here -

Comment on Is a Nikon D60 good for an amateur photographer? by katsy

katsy — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 08:54:51 +0000

yes its great for an amateur photographer…
i’d look at canons too though. their cameras are equal in quality and you tend to get more for your money.

Comment on Can someone explain the different kind of camera lenses available for D-SLR cameras? by Stephen Brumfield

Stephen Brumfield — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 08:32:06 +0000

I have a d40, Actually for sale.. but I would recommend starting with the 18-55… That gives you the most widely used zone of zoom that you will need. Once you get used to using it.. You will find that there are a few pictures that you take that just dont seem to get you close enough…then add on a larger lens like 55-200 or even higher. Then your settings will change a little for the bigger lenses.. but i wouldnt confuse your learning curve just yet with multiple lenses.

Comment on Has anyone attended the Nikon digital photography school that comes to your city? by crsimon36

crsimon36 — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 03:25:21 +0000

I attended a one day session a number of years ago, before they had the school devoted to digital. It was very informative and enjoyable. For the one day it was $99, makes $150 for 2 days seem like a bargain, and the speakers and photographs were outstanding. I have thought about going again sometime. Oh, lunch was furnished and it was also outstanding.

Comment on Has anyone attended the Nikon digital photography school that comes to your city? by April First

April First — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 02:36:33 +0000

I have also thought of taking this class and wondered about the benefit of such a class. For me I learn so much from Dr. Sam here in answers and a few others who I consider pros along with reading photographer magazines and books.
You really can learn a lot just by asking questions here in Yahoo answers. I hope you take advantage of it as I have.