Newbie Post - Choosing a Nikon for my son

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My 16 year old son has asked for a DSLR for Christmas. He has only used compacts before, though his siblings have had Canon 350D's in the past.

I am looking at second hand equipment as our budget (around £250) won't stretch to a new unit. I am looking at Nikon as his older brother, who is at university, already has a Nikon D7000 and I suppose there might be scope to share lenses in the future if we start him on Nikon kit.

The obvious choices in the price range are D70's and D40's - perhaps a D40x if I can find a bargain and similarly a D80 at a knock down price.

I've looked at the website of "the only specialist canon and nikon used dealer's" and there are plenty of D70 bodies. Since I can only afford a single lens at this stage, I was wondering if I should get a more versatile lens than the kit 18-55 .

So, newbie questions are;

Assuming Nikon at this price point, D70, D40, D40x or D80 - the D80 is really too much but is the D70 too old now? Which would you go for?

Should I look at the 18-55 kit lens or get something like the Nikon AF 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5D Macro lens instead ?

Cheaper prices seem possible on EBay - but is this a risky way for a novice to buy?

Is it sensible to buy a Nikon lens rather than, say, Tamron ?

Any help much appreciated

Simon
 
I certainly wouldn't opt for a D40[x] as you are limiting the autofocus lens range you can use [the body has no built in focusing motor so the lens must have it and not all do, especially if you are looking at budget lenses to begin with].

My 17yr old daughter is currently using my D70s together with the 18-70 kit lens [reputed to be one of the best kit lenses Nikon have produced in digital times, even I will pop it on the D300 occasionaly and still get amazed by its sharpness & clarity] for AS Level photography. Yes, compared to more modern stuff, it is dated, but tbh, as a learning tool it is amazing, will print easily upto A2 and even A1 if he wanted enormous posters on his wall.

A D80 would be equally good, but like you say, may push the budget too hard for now. D70 too old? No, not at all imo. ;)
 
I wouldn't dwell too much on the motor issue. There are plenty of cheap AFS (built in motor) lenses about, including the excellent 18-70 mentioned above. If you're happy to buy used private rather than from one of the dealers, you'll open quite a few options. I sold a mint D5000 for £250 a couple of months ago. D3100 and D3000 are an option. I've even seen good D200's go on ebay for around £250 though you'd have to be a little lucky. You should definitely be able to get a D80 for that budget if you shop around.
 
The in-body motor is indeed a minor issue, there's plenty of great AF-S lenses. You can't really go wrong with anything from Nikon, the baby D40 does give great results and is astonishingly small. Its main limitation, and the main advantage of the larger DSLRs, is a relative absence of physical buttons and controls. But if the camera is for someone who is just starting out, with all due respect they wouldn't really know what a load of controls would be for. The D50 does seem a bit dated to me compared with the D40, so I'd go for a D40 and either 18-55 kit lens, or 35mm f/1.8, and your budget of £250 would be more than enough. Indeed I reckon a D40 kit is worth about £175 and it's capable of fantastic results. I've made A3 prints from a D40 and there's no concern about resolution at all.
 
I agree about the in-built autofocus motor being a minor issue.
I started out on a D60 (no autofocus motor) and switched to the D7000 (this one has an autofocus motor) shortly after its release. Amongst all my glass I still don't own a non-AF-S lens, although it's nice to have the option in theory. There are enough affordable AF-S lenses about by now, but if your son is only just starting out the kit lens will do for a while anyway. It'll be some time before he even gets interested in Non-AF-S lenses, and by then he might just be happy enough to focus manually (depending on the genres he'll be shooting). For me the body itself was eventually more limiting than the choice of affordable lenses, but a significantly better body comes at at a price and is best left until the skills are up to speed.

The D40 has an excellent reputation and would probably be a great choice.
 
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