Info On Nikon D-60

[mrbill62]

Thinking to up grade to the nikon D-60.It comes with a 18-55vr lens and 55-200vr lens.I now have a kodak Z812is.Do you think this is a good move and worth the money.Costco has the kit on sale for $875.00 Any pros or cons on this camera.THANKS FOR THE INFO.Taking a cruise to Alaska in Sept .This is one reason Iam thinking to upgrade.

[utah08]

I am thinking about going from a p&s to the D60 myself and was going to post the same question. I checked out costco and from what I have seen, Ritz may have a better deal. I spoke with a salesman yesterday and he was saying that next weekend, they are going to have a dad's and grad's sale that will save an extra $50. If you combine that with the same two lenses you listed (which are the ones that I want) the price came to $850. By going through Ritz, you also get a mail in rebate for a printer, a camera bag of some sort, and a few free prints. Just enough to make it worth going to Ritz/inkleys in my opinion. I am interested to see what anyone has to say about the D60. I was ready to get the new canon xsi but everywhere I went, it seems like the nikon is the preferred choice.

[kittymom2]

I use a d80 and was thinking of the d60 as a second body until I read this

 

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d60.htm

 

Now, I don't always agree with ken in his reviews, but I think he may be on to something here.

 

You should try the camera and make up your own mind though.

 

Have fun camera shopping.

[chipmaster]

Thinking to up grade to the nikon D-60.It comes with a 18-55vr lens and 55-200vr lens.I now have a kodak Z812is.Do you think this is a good move and worth the money.Costco has the kit on sale for $875.00 Any pros or cons on this camera.THANKS FOR THE INFO.Taking a cruise to Alaska in Sept .This is one reason Iam thinking to upgrade.

 

The D60 is a great entry level DSLR if you are a Nikon fan. The 18-55VR is a great kit lens and the 55-200vr is a very light/compact zoom that make it a complete combo. If you are looking to save a few extra bucks the D40 is also worth considering with the similar combo.

 

D40: 6 Meg, great price and probably soon to be discontinued as 6Meg isn't impressive spec wise but more then good enough even for 8x10!

 

D60: 10 Meg with a few extra features beyond the D40/D40x. Probably some of the dissapointment with its intro after the D40/40x was that adding any more features would have probably hurt the D80.

 

Here is a more complete review here: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond60/page30.asp

 

Take Ken with a grain of salt as he takes extreme views to try and stand out in the clutter of the web.

 

One other thing for Alaska you might really want a longer zoom then 200mm even with the 1.5x mag factor. If you go nikon the 70-300vr is a alternative to consider.

 

I'm biased to Nikon, own a D40 16-85vr and 70-300vr. Its a super combo, not big yet versatile enough to meet all my needs. I bought the D300 + 18-200VR but after using it for a week didn't really find that it really gave me better pictures. Sure it was fun shooting 6 FPS and 12 Meg, but in the end not worth the 2200 bucks, nor the extra weight, size, and lastly all the pp required to really get everything it would give me.

 

Happy shopping

[snowbird1]

I use a d80 and was thinking of the d60 as a second body until I read this

 

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d60.htm

 

Now, I don't always agree with ken in his reviews, but I think he may be on to something here.

 

You should try the camera and make up your own mind though.

 

Have fun camera shopping.

 

Ken and many others continue to recommend the D40 (not D40X) for the money as being a great choice. My neighbor has a Cannon Rebel XTI and for the money it seems like a nice camera as well. I recently bought the D300 and it is a lot more complicated than my old D70. Getting use to the focusing system has been challenging because it really works differently than my D70 or any previous SLR I have owned. Everyone says once you get use to it you will love it and I am getting there. The camera is heavy but nothing that I can't handle at this point. I also like Nikon but one of the reasons why is I carry my lens from one to the next. I think Cannon also has some very good products out there to consider as well.

[MeadMkr]

Costco is often hard to beat for price and their return policy is better than any big-box store I've run across. I bought my E300 there for about 20% less than I found it anywhere else. The only downside is that they don't typically have people there to answer techical questions on the gear itself. As to Ritz, BB and CC I've found the sales staff often to be either overly biased or less than knowledgable. Do your research before going into those places. Canon and Nikon spend millions on advertising and on getting shelfspace. There are several other very good lines of cameras that many folks aren't even aware of.

 

Unless you intend to treat a dSLR as a fancy point&shoot camera you want to remember that when you buy a dSLR is you buying into a system. This means the camera body, lenses, flashes and other accessories all work together to capture images. The dSLR body is getting to be a commodity and good glass (lenses) is typically the most expensive part of the system. The lenses that often are bundled with entry-level to mid-level cameras (aka kit lens) don't always have the best reputation for build or image quality. Camera makers like Olympus, Panasonic and Pentax realized early on that good kit lenses help differentiate themselves from the Canikon world (Canon/Nikon). However C&N have realized that and have come around as shown by having VR lenses as part of a kit.

 

I'm an "Oly guy" :D and bought into the 4/3rds system several years ago. For me the three of the keys to buying into a system were:

 

1) Ergonomics - does the camera fit well into your hands? Does it feel comfortable and can you use the controls? Unless you are always shooting on a tripod you will have to carry and hold to shoot.

 

2) Does the system have the components to handle your needs? What is the selection of glass like? Do they provide glass at different price/quality levels? In other words do you need to buy Nikkor L glass to get good images or given the right lighting can the entry to mid-level lenses give great results as well? Can you use legacy glass from older systems?

 

3) Camera features - last but not least do the features of the camera meet your needs for what and how you expect to photograph? Remember - every camera system has its strengths and weaknesses.

 

Cheers

Chris in VA

 

BTW - The Olympus E510 2-lens kit is a steal at the current price and the lenses are acknowledged as being very good for the price point. The E420 is also a great little camera and one of the smaller dSLR bodies available today.:cool:

[chipmaster]

Ken and many others continue to recommend the D40 (not D40X) for the money as being a great choice. My neighbor has a Cannon Rebel XTI and for the money it seems like a nice camera as well. I recently bought the D300 and it is a lot more complicated than my old D70. Getting use to the focusing system has been challenging because it really works differently than my D70 or any previous SLR I have owned. Everyone says once you get use to it you will love it and I am getting there. The camera is heavy but nothing that I can't handle at this point. I also like Nikon but one of the reasons why is I carry my lens from one to the next. I think Cannon also has some very good products out there to consider as well.

 

Canon has built a loyal and following and deserving so with their first round of rebels and their newest one is another great camera, but for entry level DSLR the newest Rebel is more advanced then most beginners probably need. As other posters mentioned for a compact beginning camera the Nikon and Olympus are probably the first two to consider for balance of value, size and capability

 

The last paragraph from the review of the latest Canon EOS450D "Canon may no longer be the automatic choice for the entry-level SLR user, and I possibly wouldn't recommend it over a Nikon D60 or Olympus E-420 for absolute beginners or anyone wanting 'point and shoot' access to well optimized JPEG output. But if you want to move to the next level of image quality and performance, and are prepared to take control of parameters (and ideally shoot raw) to get the best possible results, the EOS 450D is an easy recommendation."

[mrbill62]

Just got the nikon D-60 at costco and so far so good.A lot different from the point &shoot.At costco you can bring It back within 90 days and get your money back.The pictures are good buts Its a lot of camera with alot of features on it.Now Its time to study the book.