D80 + Kit Lens or D80 Body + Seperate Lens?

Krydel

Krydel

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Ollie Adams-Liggins
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Looking at buying a Nikon D80 Mid-August, but the only problem i have with buying one is that all the kits on ebay (where else can i get them for that sort of price for a refurb?) is the lenses are non-VR.

Not having the steadiest hands known to man, i figure it would be fruitless to not get one with VR.

Would it be better to buy a refurb body - £350, then spend £150 on a VR lens (again, where can i get one of these/which one? I am clueless as to suppliers)

OR, just buy the whole thing for £500 or so with an 18-55mm non VR lens on it?

Thanks for the ongoing help,

Ollie
 
It really depends on what you intend shooting, my hands are not that steady but i normally manage the 18-75mm range ok, but if i'm going for something like 70-300m i have the VR, or i also have the use of a monopod which is good in certain situations, D80,s seem to becoming rarer these days as they were discontinued a while back, have you considered saving the extra cash and getting a D90 ? the going price on ebay now seems to be £340/360 for a D80 body unless your exceptionally lucky :)
 
TG. said:
It really depends on what you intend shooting, my hands are not that steady but i normally manage the 18-75mm range ok, but if i'm going for something like 70-300m i have the VR, or i also have the use of a monopod which is good in certain situations, D80,s seem to becoming rarer these days as they were discontinued a while back, have you considered saving the extra cash and getting a D90 ? the going price on ebay now seems to be £340/360 for a D80 body unless your exceptionally lucky :)
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I had considered saving for the D90, but at the end of the day its nearly an extra £300 on top of the £500 i was going to spend which is an extra 60% of my budget :/

Intentions of shooting? Everything, really, no specific function as i'm just starting out. I do however take keen interest in night cityscapes, industrial based shots, natural landscapes and HDR.
 
Krydel said:
I had considered saving for the D90, but at the end of the day its nearly an extra £300 on top of the £500 i was going to spend which is an extra 60% of my budget :/

Intentions of shooting? Everything, really, no specific function as i'm just starting out. I do however take keen interest in night cityscapes, industrial based shots, natural landscapes and HDR.
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Most of those would be using tripod anyway. however VR is not the be all and end all. Good camera holding technique is important and I never had a VR lens until last year so 30 odd years of holding a camera did me well.

Yes I use it sometimes but not always.
 
The better kit lens is the 18-70, so body plus that.

You do not need VR at those focal lengths, VR at those focal lengths is for coffee drinkers ;)
 
Martyn... said:
The better kit lens is the 18-70, so body plus that.

You do not need VR at those focal lengths, VR at those focal lengths is for coffee drinkers ;)
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Heh, i use the computer too often so i have some computer over-use related hand unsteadyness - that coupled with RSI is great :LOL: and only 15 :thinking: ... I digress

The kits on fleabay are generally the 18-55mm or 18-135mm lenses, not the 18-70mm...

...Unless of course you mean buying the 18-70mm seperate, if that is at all possible? I'll check after submitting this reply, not that i really know where to check.
 
Krydel said:
Heh, i use the computer too often so i have some computer over-use related hand unsteadyness - that coupled with RSI is great :LOL: and only 15 :thinking: ... I digress

The kits on fleabay are generally the 18-55mm or 18-135mm lenses, not the 18-70mm...

...Unless of course you mean buying the 18-70mm seperate, if that is at all possible? I'll check after submitting this reply, not that i really know where to check.
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You started it by asking if you should buy a separate body :D

You should as that is what they used to be sold with, and you will struggle to find a new one, the D90 replaced it.

Mifsuds have a body and a lens LINK

If you want a really good pro body, only 4MP but stunning images there is THIS

Another used lens option which is great value for what they cost is the 28-105 f3.5 - f4.5D, about £150 used ffords usually have one in stock.
 
Martyn... said:
You started it by asking if you should buy a separate body :D Of course i did. Oops!

You should as that is what they used to be sold with, and you will struggle to find a new one, the D90 replaced it. Aye, so it did. It's a shame even second hand they still fetch a pretty penny.

Mifsuds have a body and a lens LINK cheers not buying until august though :(

If you want a really good pro body, only 4MP but stunning images there is THIS As much as MP isn't the be all and end all, i'm not so sure :) Thanks though

Another used lens option which is great value for what they cost is the 28-105 f3.5 - f4.5D, about £150 used ffords usually have one in stock. I'll have a gander, cheers.
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Martyn... said:
You started it by asking if you should buy a separate body :D

You should as that is what they used to be sold with, and you will struggle to find a new one, the D90 replaced it.

Mifsuds have a body and a lens LINK

If you want a really good pro body, only 4MP but stunning images there is THIS

Another used lens option which is great value for what they cost is the 28-105 f3.5 - f4.5D, about £150 used ffords usually have one in stock.
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The D2H is a good camera but surely, ISO performance and such would not even come close to the the likes of the D90?

Knowing what I know now, I would buy the body separate and research the choice of lenses VERY carefully! So many out there that are good.

Judging by the shots that you are looking to take, I would suggest a medium zoom with a bit of a wide angle at the low end, something like the 16-85VR. Very nice lens!! However will cost £430 which is pretty pricey!!

BTW - I have sold the 18-55mm kit lens and gone for 16-85VR :D
 
grahamc said:
The D2H is a good camera but surely, ISO performance and such would not even come close to the the likes of the D90?
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Probably not, but they take some beautiful photographs, something enchanting about the results from a D2H, in hindsight not the tool for the OP ... might be for me though :)

Krydel another link for a 18-70 LINK
 
Martyn... said:
Probably not, but they take some beautiful photographs, something enchanting about the results from a D2H, in hindsight not the tool for the OP ... might be for me though :)

Krydel another link for a 18-70 LINK
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Definitely a stunning camera and in the right hands will deliver fantastics shots :)
 
So it looks like D80 body + lens seperately at the moment as it appears the 18-70mm can be had for £150-200. Not too shabby

I was looking at the D90 (I wish!) and its around £550 just for the body :( so unless there are some really cheap lenses around im unsure its a possiblity at all.

There is what looks like the same one on Dad's D40 (Nikon AF-S 18-55mm F3.5-5.6G ED DX AF) available for around £60 on ebay atm but again im not buying until august, and as a 15 Year old kid i don't have the income to support much more expense.

EDIT** Looking through the sold items on ebay, there have been a few D90s that have sold for rather low prices. A body went for £400, and a couple D90s with 18-105mm VR lens went for £560 and £600 respectively. May just be a case of sitting around until i find a bargain :O
 
I'll assume i've been helped as much as i can be then, unless anyone has anything to add :) Cheers for the assistance.

D80 Body + 18-70mm lens seperately (im guessing if i get 18-105mm its gonna be better though, right?)

or D90 if i can get one ultra-cheap somehow.
 
sounds about right

or you could just buy a 2nd hand kit lens 18-55mm for roughly 60-70 and spend that little extra on the body
 
Krydel said:
D80 Body + 18-70mm lens seperately (im guessing if i get 18-105mm its gonna be better though, right?)
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Wrong 18-70 is the way to go, or the 28-105 f3.5-f4.5D, then the 18-105 (it has a plastic mount) (y)
 
Krydel said:
Ah ok. Thank you.

Does this mean the 18-105mm that comes with the D90 is the same plastic mounted lens as the above?
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Yes, not a bad thing as they produce a few with plastic mounts, just wary of them wearing with constant changing, metal seems more substantial, if you want that sort of range the 28-105 I mentioned is probably a better lens optically, albeit discontinued and only available used.

The 18-70 is a really good lens, and the choice if you want the wider angle.
 
Krydel said:
So it looks like D80 body + lens seperately at the moment as it appears the 18-70mm can be had for £150-200. Not too shabby
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You don't need to pay £150 - £200 for an 18-70mm. I picked mine up just three weeks ago and paid £95 for it, and although 2nd hand it's mint. Of course being a touch older I was able to jump in the car and go take a look at it before parting with my money. Even so they seem to rarely fetch much over £125 on eBay and I hear that someone one here (can't remember who) picked a minter up for £100 and one that was full of dust for circa £60 IIRC.

So your plan for a D80 body plus this lens is a good one methinks.(y)
 
James_G said:
You don't need to pay £150 - £200 for an 18-70mm. I picked mine up just three weeks ago and paid £95 for it, and although 2nd hand it's mint. Of course being a touch older I was able to jump in the car and go take a look at it before parting with my money. Even so they seem to rarely fetch much over £125 on eBay and I hear that someone one here (can't remember who) picked a minter up for £100 and one that was full of dust for circa £60 IIRC.

So your plan for a D80 body plus this lens is a good one methinks.(y)
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Rightio - Sorted then (Y) Thanks very much.
 
Thought I'd just quickly throw in my two pennies' worth to say that I've been using a D80 with the 18-70 for about a year and a half and have been really happy with the combo.

Only weakness is some vignetting when you have it wide open at 18mm. But aside from that it's great! Good range, good size. If you wanted something a bit faster you could add the 35mm 1.8 which compliments it quite well for indoor shooting.
 
Klopek said:
Thought I'd just quickly throw in my two pennies' worth to say that I've been using a D80 with the 18-70 for about a year and a half and have been really happy with the combo.

Only weakness is some vignetting when you have it wide open at 18mm. But aside from that it's great! Good range, good size. If you wanted something a bit faster you could add the 35mm 1.8 which compliments it quite well for indoor shooting.
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Is the Vignetting from the sensor/body itself or from the lens? I'm not good on this stuff :thumbsdown:

But again, thanks for the advice.(y)
 
Krydel said:
Is the Vignetting from the sensor/body itself or from the lens? I'm not good on this stuff :thumbsdown:

But again, thanks for the advice.(y)
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Nothing wrong with asking questions, that is how you learn (y)

The vignetting is caused by the lens, it means that the corners will appear slightly darker than the rest of the image, nothing to worry about, only happens on the widest setting 18mm.
 
Martyn... said:
Nothing wrong with asking questions, that is how you learn (y)

The vignetting is caused by the lens, it means that the corners will appear slightly darker than the rest of the image, nothing to worry about, only happens on the widest setting 18mm.
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Well, i can feel a little pride that i knew what Vignetting was :D but hmm, i'll take your word for it. Surely you may often use 18mm for some shots? What do you find the cutoff is? is it as little as 19 or 20mm to stop vignetting, or..?

I am guessing the darkness at the edges could be fixed via photoshop or otherwise?
 
Krydel said:
Well, i can feel a little pride that i knew what Vignetting was :D but hmm, i'll take your word for it. Surely you may often use 18mm for some shots? What do you find the cutoff is? is it as little as 19 or 20mm to stop vignetting, or..?

I am guessing the darkness at the edges could be fixed via photoshop or otherwise?
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Do not let it concern you, minor issue that you will need to go looking for in most shots (real world photographs), easily corrected if an issue in photoshop.
 
Here you go useful link to pbase, has images from every Nikkor lens (and others) page is for the 18-70 just click more to scroll through and have a look, click on an image for larger view and info on settings.

Click on Nikon at the top of the page, will take you to list of all bodies, and lenses.

LINK
 
Martyn... said:
Here you go useful link to pbase, has images from every Nikkor lens (and others) page is for the 18-70 just click more to scroll through and have a look, click on an image for larger view and info on settings.

Click on Nikon at the top of the page, will take you to list of all bodies, and lenses.

LINK
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Thank you, you have been very helpful once again. I will take a look.

And just because im paranoid... i am right in saying D80 is a better option than the D5000? Something about focus motor and viewfinder not being as good.
 
Krydel said:
Thank you, you have been very helpful once again. I will take a look.

And just because im paranoid... i am right in saying D80 is a better option than the D5000? Something about focus motor and viewfinder not being as good.
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D80 has a focus motor in the body, and will also meter with any Nikkor lens (AI and later) from around 1977 (some would be manual focus), the D5000 has no motor so you are limited to AF -S lenses, and I do not think it will meter the earlier lenses (not 100% sure on that one).

The D80 would be my choice ahead of the D5000.
 
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