Camera Advice Nikon D90 or Canon 550D

[Jonathan Gallagher]

Hello there

Wondering if anyone can help me, well guide me the right way.

Ive been using a Fuji S8000fd for years and its on its way out, and now soon il be able to dive into the world of SLR's with enough money to help along the way

Ive been looking at both Nikon D90 and the Canon 550D.
Now for the lens, i dunno where to start and was wondering a recomending lens to start with.

Thanks in advance
Jonathan

[mach one]

if you go for the canon I would say you want to go for somthing like this

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-70-300mm- ... 764&sr=8-3

that is a very nice lens that can be bought a bit cheaper than that but that is a good over view

if you go for the Nikon look for a 70-300 from the nikon range

[Jonathan Gallagher]

I am looking at the D90, in argos it comes either the body only or with a 18-105mm VR lens, is this any good at around £819.99
"Would this lens be ok to start of with"
Jonny

[mach one]

When i bought my canon 50D last year i had it from RGB photo in Middlesbrough and a quick look at their web site tells me that they sell the Nikon D90 with the 18-105 for £749.00 and this will be a UK sourced Nikon camera so an immediate save of £70.00, they are out of stock at present but it may be worth a call

http://www.rgb-photo.co.uk/cameras-lens ... lens-p2695

also if they sell it for that you may also find it cheaper elsewhere a quick Google shows that you can get it for £679.96 from Amazon but that may be a European sourced camera rather than a uk sourced one but for the £140.00 saving over the Argos price I may be tempted

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B001EO6WAI/r ... B001EO6WAI

that would be a good body and lens to start but you would really need to look at a 70-300 lens to go with it to give you the extra reach when shooting aircraft, you could buy a sigma version of the 70-300 for the money you save buying from Amazon rather than Argos and your kit would be good to go

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sigma-70-300mm- ... 073&sr=1-2

now I dont know what your funds are like but if you could run to it and if it was me I would try and push to the Nikon 70-300VR that runs about £350.00 but if you save £140.00 on the camera it is only £200.00 to find not a lot if you say it quick

but if funds are tight the Nikon D90 with the 18-105VR and the Sigma 70-300mm f4-5.6 DG Macro from Amazon would be a good starter kit

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sigma-70-300mm- ... 754&sr=1-2

Then if you did feel that you wanted to save for the Nikon 70-300 VR which is a better lens then you would get a fair bit of your £120.00 back when you sell the sigma second hand, a quick look at e bay suggests you will get about £85.00 back when the time comes to upgrade

But if you can push the boat out and go for the all Nikon kit first off

[mach one]

I am not really up on Nikon kit as the last Nikon camera that i owned was a Nikon F301 manual focus 35mm film camera from the mid 80,s so i am a bit out of touch

I was just looking on Amazon and Nikon do an entry level 70-300mm lens cheaper than the one from sigma which comes in at under £100.00 now this will be there entry level lens that is bundled as kits by some suppliers and if it is anything like the Canon kit lenses it will be all plastic including the mount and it will feel very flimsy but will still give pleasing results

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nikon-70-300-4- ... 222&sr=8-2

So you could even save a couple of quid buying that over the sigma

Now I don’t know what you are like but most photographers soon want better glass to achieve better results that is why if you can stretch to the extra money then go for the dearer Nikon 70-300VR lens first off and that combined with the Nikon D90 and the 18-105VR in the kit and you will have a cracking outfit that should give you awesome results

[Jonathan Gallagher]

Thanks for your time to give the links, and help
Much appricated
Jonny

[flat cap]

Similar thread here with body only prices for D90 which have dropped recently.

http://www.civilianaviation.co.uk/forum ... =14&t=5529" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Can vouch for the 70-300mm VR, it's good. The Tamron 70-300 is poor in anything other than bright days but is cheap.

Other photo forums have suggested buying the D90 secondhand and using the extra cash for a new VR lens.

[Snow_Owl]

I use the D90 with the Nikkor 70-300 lens and it is briliant.

[Jonathan Gallagher]

Can vouch for the 70-300mm VR

The question when it comes to the bundled lens at some places......
I am gonna be looking at doing wildlife, landscapes and obviously aviation photography, will this lens do temporary till i get a decent lens further down the line, if i can get a good priced 70-300mm at the time i buy i will get that was well.

Its still of a few weeks/months yet, im looking at reviews, forums ect for advice, before i buy, also prices may drop between now and then so may change me mind on the body as well.....

Hope this makes sense
Jonny

[Jonathan Gallagher]

Hello there

Ive gone for the Nikon D90.

Ive found the body at £515 and the 70-300mm lens at £360. ( http://www.tradecamerasonline.com/default.asp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; )
Does anyone think getting a smaller lens as well or will the 70-300 be a great all-rounder
Some places have these in a bundle at just under a grand,

Now my next question is what SD memory card would be recommended (With fast processing) and also is there anywhere where i can get a cheap battery grip from.

Thanks Jonathan

[Snow_Owl]

Good choice with going for the D90. I am very pleased with mine.

I think you are onto a winner with the 70-300 as that will offer you the most flexibility.

It is rare that you can get so close at airports that you would need a smaller lens. If you are that close up then you may as well take a pocket digital camera with you for those very close up shots but for everything else then the 70-300 will serve you very well.

[Jonathan Gallagher]

Good choice with going for the D90. I am very pleased with mine.

I think you are onto a winner with the 70-300 as that will offer you the most flexibility.

It is rare that you can get so close at airports that you would need a smaller lens. If you are that close up then you may as well take a pocket digital camera with you for those very close up shots but for everything else then the 70-300 will serve you very well.

Thanks for that Snow Owl, that save me a further 100squids, can go towards a decent tripod or bag

Jonathan

[mach one]

if you want to shoot statics and museum exibits you will need a short zoom as well and the 18-55 vr will then give you pretty good coverage from 18mm wide angle right up to the 300mm zoom,if you dont want to buy straight off then run with the 70-300 and see how you get on and if you feel the need buy the 18-55 if and when

as for cards yuo should be OK with something like the sandisk SDHC ultra 8GB and they can be bought for about £12.00 each delivered

I use a mix of Sandisk ultra and sandisk extreme in my canon cameras and have never had a problem with the write speed on either, the extreme cards are dearer than the ultra but both are fine

[Snow_Owl]

Ken Rockwell wrote a superb guide to getting to grips with the D90 and explaining all the features.
Worth checking out:

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d90/users-guide/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Jonathan Gallagher]

as for cards yuo should be OK with something like the sandisk SDHC ultra 8GB and they can be bought for about £12.00 each delivered

May i ask where you got those cards from, only find them at over £20 before p&p,

Ken Rockwell wrote a superb guide to getting to grips with the D90 and explaining all the features.
Worth checking out:
http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d90/users-guide/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thanks for the link, very nice info there

Thanks to both
Jonny

EDIT : Camera now ordered, should recieve tomoz

[flat cap]

Cool. Where did you order it from in the end? I'm still umming and arring and they seem to be running low on stock in a few places.

http://www.camerapricebuster.co.uk/prod723.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Jonathan Gallagher]

Trade Cameras Online
http://www.tradecamerasonline.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Ordered mine with a bundled Camera bag, lens bag memory card, spare battery, a UV filter and Circ Polarising Filter

If needed in the future il get a smaller lens if the needs are to be .....


Touch wood il get my goodies in the morning

Good luck in your search 'Flat Cap'

Jonny

[mach one]

as for cards yuo should be OK with something like the sandisk SDHC ultra 8GB and they can be bought for about £12.00 each delivered

May i ask where you got those cards from, only find them at over £20 before p&p,

7 dayshop have them for £11.99 delivered

http://www.7dayshop.com/catalog/product ... _id=104850

[Jonathan Gallagher]

Thanks for that il get it ordered

[mach one]

amazon also have them for the same price

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sandisk-Ultra-1 ... 802&sr=8-9

I use 7 dayshop a lot and the ship from the channel islands so the aviod uk VAT on small items hence the cheaper price