D60 as first DSLR

G

gduffy78

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Hi all.

Just after advice on the above referenced camera. Would it be good for a 1st time rot would you recommend something a bit more modern?
 
What sort of budget do you have? What sort of things you want to be shooting?

Whenever I pick up an older camera now the main drawback compared to newer ones is the ISO performance.

Main drawback with a D60(I am assuming its Nikon and not the 12 year old Canon?) is there is no in body focus motor so you limit your lenses choices but in the real world it's not a major gripe to the beginner.
 
Mrs moose has just started with that camera (a present from her father who has just upgraded to a D7100) - it seems reasonably capable , although obviously with the lens draw back mentioned above... (obvious bonus for me is that because i'm on the light side of the force she can't borrow my lenses :LOL: )
 
Budget is around £160 for camera and kit lens. Appreciate the comment re focus motor. I suppose I better price up lenses as well.

Subject will be mainly unposed portrait type stuff and landscape / buildings.

I can get a used nikon d60 with kit lens and lowe pro bag for the above price. Just wondering if I should take te plunge.

Currently using a compact.
 
Pretty much any lens you will consider buying will have a built in focus motor, so its really not an issue. They are are only a very few specialised and older lenses that don't. Any modern ( i.e., in the last 10 years or so) lens from Nikon will be AF-S and have the focus motor.
 
Would something like this be suitable?

Nikon 55 - 300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR Lens


By the way thanks for all the replies so far.
 
gduffy78 said:
Budget is around £160 for camera and kit lens. Appreciate the comment re focus motor. I suppose I better price up lenses as well.

Subject will be mainly unposed portrait type stuff and landscape / buildings.

I can get a used nikon d60 with kit lens and lowe pro bag for the above price. Just wondering if I should take te plunge.

Currently using a compact.
Click to expand...

Seller has dropped price to £150 now...

Forget about the mem card and bag for £160 you could get a Nikon D3000 and VR kit lens within budget from MPB and that comes with 6 months warranty
 
gduffy78 said:
Thanks for the heads up. What benefits does the D3000 have over the D60
Click to expand...

not huge differences, slightly bigger screen, 11 AF points (D60 has 3) but they are very similar.. its more about getting 6 month warranty and forefitting a small toplader bag and an 8gb card..

personally if I had your budget to get a Nikon DSLR it would be this

http://www.mpbphotographic.co.uk/us...s/used-nikon-digital-slr-cameras/nikon-d70s-1

absolutely one of my fave cameras of all time, I doubt many would agree with that recommendation though that's just a personal thing..
 
I started on a D60 and it is a very nice camera, produced very nice images indeed.

Sure, it's not up to the high ISO performance of newer models but the noise it does product actually looks quite nice - a bit like film.

However, if you can possibly stretch the the D3100 is quite a bit better (I wouldn't be overly concerned with the D3000).
 
Within your remit of wanting a dslr, consider how it is in the hand, what it's like to use the viewfinder, and how heavy is it to lug about? Cool it about lenses, you hardly need tons of stuff for your stated purposes. In fact you could go great guns with a single prime such as a 35mm (on an APS-C sensor). But a kit zoom's fine too. People will throw 'rules' at you but only by experiment will you find your own.
 
I have some nice gear now,but years ago starting out i had one of the cheapest camera on the market,with a couple the cheapest lens you could buy,i won my first competition with that lot,and i sold a couple photo stories to the local press as well .

:)
 
i have a d80 that I will sell with grip and for £120 plus delivery only done 6000 shots. I also may sell the 18-55 just depends if I can get a 35mm cheap
 
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