Help a Travelling Nikon Newbie!

pinktrainers

pinktrainers

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John
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I'm probably going to go travelling for a couple of months once I've finished my degree, I'll be looking to take plenty of landscape shots, perhaps some wildlife shots, and plenty of candids, possibly in low-light (so basically everything short of macro).

I currently have a D60 with the standard 18-55 kit lens, a tripod which does the job (just about), a 4GB Ultra II SD card, the ML-L3 remote, and that's it.

I've got a budget of roughly £1000 to buy more equipment, but I can push this up if needs be - and needs would really have to be, since I am a student and will be in over £20,000 debt which I'd rather not push any further.

So since you guys have an amazing collective knowledge of absolutely everything (no exaggeration), I was hoping you would let me know what your suggestions for how to spend that money would be?

I was mostly thinking about lenses and filters, but if anyone has any suggestions for backup equipment/better equipment (up to and including changing my D60 for something else), I'd love to hear!

Thanks!
 
Definitely more memory! Well, you don't want to get too weighed down, I'd suggest perhaps upgrading the 18-55 for the stunning 18-70(roundabouts £100), getting a 55-200 VR(roundabouts £120) and, for low light work, the 35mm 1.8. Based on what you want to photography, I think that'd be fine. I've got the 18-70, 55-200 VR (though looking to upgrade to the 70-300 VR at some point) and an 85 1.8. I want to get a 35 1.8 so it will AF on my D5000. Ah, remember, if you choose other lens, only those wil AFS or HSM will AF on your D60. HTH :)
 
As Lawrence has suggested the 18-70 AF-S is a really good upgrade for the kit lens. The 70-300 AF-S VR is a cracking lens for the money and punches well above it's price tag. I have the above combo and used it on my D40 and now D300 and it works well and has given some cracking shots. The 70-300 AF-S will also take the Kenko 1.4tc reasonable well of you need more reach :shrug:

If you got those you could then look into some decent filters for the landscape stuff (search on here for loads of info about which ones) and then look at a nifty fifty or a 35 1.8 of some description.

Have fun :thumbs:

Nick
 
Thanks for the advice, guys! This may seem like a silly question, but advantage does the 18-70 offer over the 18-55 besides better zoom?

I am definitely leaning towards the 35 1.8 at the moment. Do you think I'd get much for selling the kit lens?
 
How about a Tamron 17-50 2.8 with a 55-200 VR? for traveling CIRCULAR POLARIZER +portable Hdrive and more SD cards
 
The 18-70 is a better quality lens, I would sell your d60 and lens. This would give you 1250 to play with. You could get the 18-70 for about 125 second hand, a new d90 for 600. A 70-300vr for 400. Then a 50mm prime for 100, leaving 25 for memory.

You then have a great camera with great iso capability, 18-300 range covered with decent lenses plus a prime. If u got the d90, 70-300 and 50mm second hand you could knock around 200 off.
 
pinktrainers said:
Thanks for the advice, guys! This may seem like a silly question, but advantage does the 18-70 offer over the 18-55 besides better zoom?

I am definitely leaning towards the 35 1.8 at the moment. Do you think I'd get much for selling the kit lens?
Click to expand...

It is sharper, almost professional build quality, and its a joy to use. So refined and the focsuing is great. The 18-55, while a fab little thing, is very cereal box build comparison wise.
 
I will be keeping my eye out for bargain D90s, I am definitely liking the idea of picking up an 18-70 to replace my kit lens, then a 70-300 and a few filters to have a decent setup.
 
The 18-70, as said above, is a craking lens and is one of those Nikon odditys that is a fantastic lens at a decent price (as is the 70-300 AF-S VR).

If you look on the first page of the Nikon classifieds there are both an 18-70AF-S and a 35 1.4 for sale in different threads at reasonably decent prices :thumbs:

Nick
 
I'd disagree abut the 18-70 - I don't think it'll get you any better shots than your 18-55. If you're short on funds, keep and use the 18-55. If you lose or break it, just get another - cheap as chips!! :)
 
I don't like the D60, it won't work with AF-D lenses which is regretful.
I don't like the 18-55 either, it maybe sharp, but its zooming is too limited, also it feel really cheap (it is!). The 18-70 is ok, I like its built, but its zooming is also limited. You either have to spend more money on the 70-300 and gotta change your lens quite often or live with it.


With £1000, my suggestion is that you should sell all your equipments, and get a D90 + the 18-105VR ( I will assume you get it all new), that would be about £550-600 spent (depends on how much can you sell your stuff!)
The remaining £400-450, you can spend on the 50 1.4D (~£210) and a SB600 (~£210) :)


To sum up, from 1000 + your current gear, you will get:
- A better All-In-One (in fact, one of the best) lens which has VR, better build quality, and can zoom to 105mm.
- One of the fastest fix lens that will allow you to do better in portrait / low light situation / sport.
- A much better body, that has better AF system, can use AF-D lenses, has great ISO ability, HD recording...
- A powerful/useful/must-have flash that help you controlling the light.
- You still can use your tripod + SD card.

And, believe me, that will pretty much be all you want :thumbs:
 
I have a Canon but am in a similar position to you...

I've pretty much decided on "swapping" the lenses in my sig to a Tamron 17-50 (~£200-250 used) for the walkaround, a Samyang 8mm (~£200) for the extreme wide and either a 70-300 IS (so you'd want the VR - ~£350?) or 70-200 f/4 and 1.4x TC. Light but excellent build and image quality as well as being pretty fast if needed...

With that kit you'd have a couple of hundred to spend on a small tripod, couple more memory cards and an extra battery or two.
 
The D60 is a brilliant camera, you'll have more limitations from the kit lenses than from the camera, with a thousand pounds you can get so much but depends a lot on how your travelling and how much time you have. If you have lots of space spare and time whilst your travelling then you can pick up some really good quality second hand prime lenses that will far outshine the kit lens, however you will find that you will have to manual focus with the AF-D lenses, but its not that bad as you have the electronic rangefinder in the viewfinder to tell you when its in focus and soon enough you get used to the manual focus. Going for even cheaper lenses you can get the old fully manual lenses, the Ai and Ai-s lenses where there isnt any metering, so you have to guess it all. Again you get used to that pretty quickly and its worth it in my opinion as you can get lenses that are as as good as if not better than the top line pro-spec lenses of today.
 
davekiddle said:
I'd disagree abut the 18-70 - I don't think it'll get you any better shots than your 18-55. If you're short on funds, keep and use the 18-55. If you lose or break it, just get another - cheap as chips!! :)
Click to expand...

I got better shots with it, then when I got my 17-55 2.8 I got better shots with that. The more you pay the better the lens is, all other things being equal. The 24-70 is the best mid range zoom and also the most expensive.
 
I am seriously tempted by the D90, but it isn't a huge step up from the D60 in terms of image quality (from what I can tell) - though it does offer a lot more options.

At the moment I'm torn between jacking the lot in and starting a new setup with a D90, or just swapping out the kit lens for an 18-70, a 70-300, and a 35 1.8. I'm guessing I need to set aside maybe £100 for spare batteries, better SD card, and squeeze in a circular polarizer and maybe an ND filter. So many options...

Thanks for the help, all!
 
Also, can anyone recommend a decent bag for holding a D60/90, plus three lenses (let's say 35, 18-70, and 70-300), along with a few filters, and a few spare batteries?

It's a nightmare trying to figure out the right dimensions from online shops.
 
I'm working my way through the list of kit to pick up - on recommendations I'm going for the 18-70 (purchased now, courtesy of MPB), 70-300 VR, 35 f1.8 (working on finding these used), and I've got a Marumi CP and hopefully soon a B+W 10stop ND on the way.

The thing I can't make my mind up about is the D60 vs D90 question. I have been keeping my eye on D90 prices here and on eBay (can't seem to find any used from second hand dealers). However, today I saw this rumour: D90 replacement on the way?

Now I'm really leaning towards hanging on to the D60 - it is nice and light if nothing else. Do you think all this equipment will be sufficient for travelling?
 
ive had my d60 for about 2 years now, the only place i find it limiting is when im under pressure to get some photos, so at events like family weddings or birthdays etc, and also with noise at isos 400 and above, to me if you're gonna be short for time or taking action shots where there isnt much time to get a shot then a d90 sounds good, however if you're taking your time, and its gonna be fairly chilled travelling then I dont think theres a problem with the d60
 
As far as memory goes, are you relying on the cards you can afford to buy and take with you, or are you taking a laptop/ netbook or suchlike with you?

out of interest, where will you be going?
 
Relying on the cards I'm afraid - this is a major worry for me. I'm hoping 12 GB of memory will be enough.

As for the route - roughly a big circle around the fringes of the EU covering Sweden, Croatia, Italy, and Spain. Can't be sure of the exact route until I meet with my mate, tomorrow.
 
pinktrainers said:
...
Now I'm really leaning towards hanging on to the D60 - it is nice and light if nothing else. Do you think all this equipment will be sufficient for travelling?
Click to expand...
Yes I do ... :thumbs:

pinktrainers said:
Relying on the cards I'm afraid - this is a major worry for me. I'm hoping 12 GB of memory will be enough ...
Click to expand...
You're probably right to be worried, but only you know how keen you will be to take lots of shots and how long you'll be there for. Memory is the least expensive of all the items you're looking for, so why spoil the ship? I'd save myself the worry and take some more.
 
12GB isnt too bad, maybe a little more but up to you. Shoot RAW only and delete rubbish shots straight away and youll have plenty of space I think. Also you're going round populated areas, should be easy enough to find a web cafe to burn some DVDs if you're running out. :)
 
My money would go on quailty glass as it will make more difference to the pix than a better body. D70s is still a great cam and cheap now.....
 
Ive read this with interest, I am about to purchase a D5000 and you get the 18-55 lens with it, what I would like to know is what zoom lens would you recommend to get?

I want something that extends my use of the camera, I will mainly take landscapes etc, and would like to do time lapse stuff as well as some close up, but mainly landscape.
 
Consider getting a flash if you're doing candids and low-light stuff. The sb-600 can be found for less than £200 new and opens up some great possibilities.
 
HornetSting said:
Ive read this with interest, I am about to purchase a D5000 and you get the 18-55 lens with it, .
Click to expand...

excuse the butt in......just got a D5000

sell the 18-55....£60?
buy Sigma 17-70mm f2.8-4.5 DC Macro HSM
add Nikon 55-200VR [or 70-300VR if rich]
add 35mm AF-S 1.8

I did the first 2 - well pleased for my landscapes with 72mm Marumi DHG CP.L
saving up for the 55-200VR
 
pinktrainers said:
suggest Cokin filter holder and HiTech ND Grad filters
with different adapter rings to suit each lens diameter

def need CP filter where you're going

also if swapping lenses around a lot, get a good dust blower/cleaner kit
Click to expand...
 
pinktrainers said:
Also, can anyone recommend a decent bag for holding a D60/90, plus three lenses (let's say 35, 18-70, and 70-300), along with a few filters, and a few spare batteries?

It's a nightmare trying to figure out the right dimensions from online shops.
Click to expand...

I have a similar amount of kit in my traveling bag :) (D90, Tamron 17-50mm or Tokina 11-16mm, Nikon 35mm and Nikon 55-200mm on the inside and loads of filters, cards, batteries and stuff in the outer front pocket). Crucially (IMO), the camera is stored face down with one lens attached, so it's ready to go at any time. Personally, I can't see the appeal of bags which only allow you to store a camera body (without lens attached) and have other compartments for lenses :shrug:, but there are plenty of them out there.

The bag in question is a Tamrac 'Explorer 2', although you might be better off with the 'Explorer 400' if you end with the 70-300mm lens, as it would be a tight squeeze in the smaller bag. Here's a link ... http://www.tamrac.co.uk/pages/products10.htm

I have multiple bags by Lowepro, Kata and Tamrac. Tamrac are my favourite brand of the three, as they use a coarser, stiffer and tougher material for the bag, which keeps it's shape nicely and they are generally easier to open and shut in a hurry than the models of bag I have from the other brands.

Good luck with finding something suitable and have a great trip :thumbs:.
 
Bag wise I personally dont travel with a dedicated bag, it gets in the way when you already have a big bag and youll need a small daysack as well. Just get some soft leather pouches for each lens and stick them in a normal daypack where you can stick normal stuff you need too.
 
Yardbent said:
excuse the butt in......just got a D5000

sell the 18-55....£60?
buy Sigma 17-70mm f2.8-4.5 DC Macro HSM
add Nikon 55-200VR [or 70-300VR if rich]
add 35mm AF-S 1.8

I did the first 2 - well pleased for my landscapes with 72mm Marumi DHG CP.L
saving up for the 55-200VR
Click to expand...

Thanks yardbent, appreciate your input. Didnt want to interfere with the thread, but not getting many answers that Im after elsewhere.

On with the thread :p
 
pinktrainers said:
... I'm going for the 18-70 (purchased now, courtesy of MPB ...
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If I'm following the thread correctly you now have both the 18-55 mm kit lens and the 18-70 mm (this was the kit lens with my D70). Looking on the net I see that the D60 was supplied with the VR version of the 18-55 mm lens. If that is the case for you, I'd be interested to know how it compares, in your opinion, with your new arrival.

Both lenses get pretty good write-ups, for what they are - kit lenses, so you're in a great position to evaluate how much use VR is to you.

Cheers ... and have a good holiday,
 
Appreciate the continued help, all. I've been finalising the route today and it's all very exciting!

As for the 18-70 versus the 18-55 - there are a few reasons I've gone to the 18-70, it matches the 70-300 VR well (same thread size, matching focal lengths), and it's slightly faster than the kit 18-55 at greater focal lengths, and it also just has a more reliable feel to it. As for the lack of VR, we'll see - but I will tend to be using it on a tripod for landscapes so hopefully it won't be too much of an issue.
 
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