What Camera? Help!

[Ramedge]

Cheers timread.
The things the i dont like about the D40x is the 3point AF, Noise and the fact it doesnt have an AF motor.
Ive never been a fan of canon and the 400d comes with a very basic lens for more money than the D40x.
any way these two cameras are doing my head in so its come down to the price and i think ive just made the mistake of looking on fleebay. People importing none european models and completly undercutting UK prices and including upto 4gb memory cards.
So having seen some low prices i thought i would have a look at the prices of the D80.
and you can get the body for around £419 ! and with a really nice lens you are looking at £520 and this falls right in my budget,
D80, nice lens, memory card cheap prices. Seems to good to be true?
And the other thing is there are loads of sellers selling them and seem to be lots of happy customers.

Can any one advise me on these import models.
Thanks.

[Spanamana]

Speaking as a D80 user and a lifelong Nikon user (film and digital) I can recommend them without reservation from a quality point of view. But having sold cameras in the dim and distant past I have found that there is a lot of difference in the actual feel and ergonomics of a camera.

For example, I borrowed a friends Canon SLR (A1) and loved the results but hated using it - it was too big and bulky for me. Couldn't wait to get back to my Nikon F301. I would suggest that you get them in your hands and try them.

Also, I found Bristol Cameras to be much better priced than Jessops, who treat you well when buying but who's after sales service sucks.

[Ramedge]

Speaking as a D80 user and a lifelong Nikon user (film and digital) I can recommend them without reservation from a quality point of view. But having sold cameras in the dim and distant past I have found that there is a lot of difference in the actual feel and ergonomics of a camera.

For example, I borrowed a friends Canon SLR (A1) and loved the results but hated using it - it was too big and bulky for me. Couldn't wait to get back to my Nikon F301. I would suggest that you get them in your hands and try them.

Also, I found Bristol Cameras to be much better priced than Jessops, who treat you well when buying but who's after sales service sucks.

I have held a D80 before and feels nice not to much different to the D40 body.

I am just worried about buying an imported model, are they up to the same standards as the UK models?


EDIT: Looking at referbed D80's - also what lenses do people recomend? I dont have a massive budget for a lens, the body is going to cost me around £420 and max budget is £580ish Was thinking of just getting the Nikon 18-135mm DX Zoom-Nikkor Lens to go with it as i dont know of many other lenses. I want something good and not to expesnive.
I would like something that has a bit of zoom is really good for macro shots.

[timread]

And there I was trying to stop myself saying "Get a D80!".

Be careful about amazing ebay deals on the Nikons. Most of them seem to originate from Hong Kong businesses and 'promise' avoidance of VAT. But if your shipment gets caught in Customs, you'll end up having paid ~£60 shipping, AND VAT. And any other admin charges HM Customs add too!

There may also be a question mark over the warranty on a grey import.

Where have you seen refurbed body - was it a UK business, or on ebay?

[BUFF]

EDIT: Just thought i would ask if there are any other makes of camera that you guys recomend? I ve got a few Pentax lesnes from a old film slr which are quite expensive. I know there are a few problems with using old lenses on new cameras but if there is a pentax dslr that is good i might go for that just so try out the lesnes.

K10D is a nice camera & may well be able to use those lenses depending upon which exact mount.

Sony's A100 is another good DSLR.
There really are no bad DSLRs so get down to a shop & handle them as handling is 1 of the most important things & what suits one person may not another.

[Ramedge]

Brought the D80 today in the end. couldnt decide which to get out of the EOS400d and then D40X, I knew i would never come to a decission over the two.
D80 does every thing i want although i have gone over my original budget haha, ohwell it always happens.
Should be delivered by wednesday so will have some fun then

Cheers for your advice every one its really helped my decission.

[Spanamana]

I love my D80. The picture quality, even as a jpeg, is superb (I use jpg high+raw as normal with a 4GB SDHC card). The 18-135 lens is more than capable of dealing with nearly any situation. Don't forget to get a UV filter for it though: better to scratch a filter than the front element of the lens, which always looks scarily vulnerable to me.

If I have one criticism of the D80 over conventional SLR's is its annoying habit of not letting me take a photograph in extreme circumstances - for example during the eclipse. I found out afterwards that I had not got one setting right. Wish it had a "take it anyway and I'll sort it out later" option .

Glad we were able to help.

G

[Ramedge]

What is the Best UV filter to get and do they make a massive amount of difference to pictures?
I was looking at a polariising filter.

Ive got the camera any way will post up some shots soon. I am really in need of a tripod. Will have to get one soon.

[vipernet]

Grats on the purchase. Nikon D70 user here, the D80 is an excellent choice. I use Hoya UV filters on all my lens'.

P.S - post pics!

[Saracen]

What is the Best UV filter to get and do they make a massive amount of difference to pictures?
I was looking at a polariising filter.

Best are probably Lee filters ..... at a price. UV filters from about £30-ish, and circular polarisers up to £160-ish for glass, screw-in .... and you need the holder on top of that. Oh, and in case you're not aware, for an auto-focus camera, make sure you get a circular polariser not a linear one, because the latter will mess with the AF.

Are they worth it? Yes .... if you're a high-end pro doing cover shots for Vogue.


For standard stuff, you'll get various recommendations. I've had good results (and no bad stories) with Hoya so I tend to stick to them, but I've got others, including Tiffen and even Jessops. They're OK.

The UV filter is useful, both as a lens protector and to remove the haze that you'll often see on bright days. The Polariser will bring out the vivid blue is skies on bright, sunny days, provided you adjust it properly and are at the right angle to the sun.

Oh, and a lot of people use a UV or Skylight filter (similar results, but slightly different) as a lens protector, on the basis that if you knock the end of the lens, it's cheaper top replace a filter than a lens.

A purist, on the other hand, will tell you :-

1) Why stick ANYTHING in front of the expensive optical glass in a lens if you don't have too
2) A lens hood acts as as good a protector as a filter, and doesn't put anything in the optical path.
3) Any filter, no matter how good, will cause some image degradation and the only issue is how much it causes.
4) Treat your equipment carefully and don't knock it in the first place.

I tend to agree with the purists ... .but I have Hoya filters on most of my lens as standard.

Your choice.

[Ramedge]

Okay, Well will look in to these filters then for sure!

Knowing how careless i can be i better get my lens protected asap! I dont really want to have to buy another one.

Thanks for the advice Saracen!

@Vipernet - I will get some pics up soon, When i take some worth showing I am just getting my head around the camera. I am sure there are more buttons on this camera than your standard keyboard!
Plus my 4gb SD card i ordered last week has not arrived so i am having to make do with a old 256mb card i found lying around!

Cheers.

[Saracen]

Given that they are SLRs I'd think it would be unusual for dust to get past the mirror

And if it did, just lock the mirror up and give it a squirt of compressed air.

Dust on DSLR sensors is a common problem. But I'd seriously advise against using compressed air. Firstly, unless you use a product that is pure compressed air, you're risking spraying propellent into the guts of the camera and that's really bad news for the sensor. Secondly, compressed air can be very cold, and there've certainly been reports of compressed air destroying the sensor to the point of rendering the camera junk. Even a blower brush isn't recommended, since you tend to just dislodge any dust, even that that isn't currently on the sensor, and can end up worse off than you were when you started.

Most enthusiasts tend to rely on a either sensor swabs or 'PecPads', and Eclipse cleaning fluid. Just be sure the get the right variants for the camera it'll be used on.