Potential owner..

[maddyks]

Hey,

I'm not very sure if this is the right place to post it so tell me if I'm misplaced.

Anyway, I'm seriously considering a Nikon D80 in the next 3 weeks. But the problem is I dont have the budget to plonk down ~ 2k SGD. So, where can I get installment scheme with Citibank card and also is the price higher?

Another thing, as I'm a total noob in this area, is the kit lens good enough? Or should I discard it and go for another lens which may/may not be cheaper? As for what I am going to shoot, I am not so specific. I can shoot water droplets on leaves to mountain ranges covered in snow.

I hope I am not asking too much. Please try to help me out here.

Thanks for spending your time going through this and extra thanks if you can help me

 

[The Real Kal]

I am seriously considering a D200 pretty soon so if u want to get together and hopefully get a bigger discount somewhere we can meet up.

 

[maddyks]

I don't mind as long as I can get it on installments....he he. And anyway money saved is pretty much money earned

 

[The Real Kal]

If you want to get it in installments maybe Courts will be your store of choice but they dont sell cameras at low prices so cant save on there I guess.

 

[cpau99]

Just want to share my 2 cents worth of comments. Anyway, I'm a newbie, so u may want to take my comments with a pinch of salt.

I am now a proud owner of a D80+18-200mmVR . Was in a similar dilemma, whether I should start with the D80 kit, get some experience, then upgrade to a better lens. But I believe that this will be my final investment into a camera, so I had better get something that will last me a long long time so that I will not regret. So I decided to just get the D80 body with the 18-200mm VR.

Reason: If I take the kit lens now, which is 18-135mm, getting a 18-200mm VR in the future will mean I have 2 lenses with duplicate range. Confirm will not use the 135 anymore, and the only option will be to sell it, and I don't think it can fetch a good price, because though it is a good lens, it's not excellent to warrant any resale value. So it'll end up as an expensive paper weight :sweat:. Alternatively, can get the excellent 70-300mm which will cost $ and weigh more than a bomb, and will have the hassle of changing lens :thumbsd:.

Conclusion: Just get the D80 body and 18-200mm VR, which is not an excellent glass, but is a very very good carry-around lens with a good range and also VR for tele pics.

It sure is a much higher investment to start with, but as u said, money saved is money earned, and I believe u will save more this way than buying another lens later.

In the future, when I have more $$$, will buy lenses like 17-55mm/f2.8 :lovegrin:!

 

[John Teoh]

For Citibank CC instalment you can try CP. Not sure about the rest.

 

[jOhO]

i beg to differ. i don't like the 18-200vr at all, unless u prefer to have everything in all one lens (but then u said u wanted to get the 17-55 when u have money - it's heavier, and u have so little zoom....)

the only kit lens that can make it is the afs18-70, imo. no matter how newbie or pro anyone is, i still find a good reason to keep that lens, either to use, or as back up or since it's so cheap just keep. it's sharp (enough) and the range isn't bad.

ts: cathay offers installment plan on credit cards with no extra charge altho they may not be the cheapest around.

my advise for buying stuff on cc/installment plan is to call up all the retailers and add up all the surcharges then see which one is cheaper, that's assuming u have no loyalty to any particular retailer.

 

[cpau99]

i beg to differ. i don't like the 18-200vr at all, unless u prefer to have everything in all one lens (but then u said u wanted to get the 17-55 when u have money - it's heavier, and u have so little zoom....)

the only kit lens that can make it is the afs18-70, imo. no matter how newbie or pro anyone is, i still find a good reason to keep that lens, either to use, or as back up or since it's so cheap just keep. it's sharp (enough) and the range isn't bad.

ts: cathay offers installment plan on credit cards with no extra charge altho they may not be the cheapest around.

my advise for buying stuff on cc/installment plan is to call up all the retailers and add up all the surcharges then see which one is cheaper, that's assuming u have no loyalty to any particular retailer.

U are rite, I prefer everything in one lens, so when I travel, I dun need to bring so many lenses, and the 18-200mm has 11.1X zoom, which is a good range for travelling, especially when u go places like grand canyon, where u can't simply just walk nearer to the subject u wanna take.

IMHO, the AFS18-70 @ S$410 is not "so cheap" that I can just keep it. The 50mm/f1.8D @ S$170 will be cheap enuf to keep.

Reason I wanna buy 17-55mm/f2.8 is because of it's fix and big aperture, very good for indoor portraits and to maintain the atmosphere of the ambient lite. Since it's indoors, I can walk closer to subject, so low zoom is ok. The 18-200mm VR and 18-70 widest aperture is f3.5. Zoom a bit and the aperture closes further...

 

[vaxvms]

I am seriously considering a D200 pretty soon so if u want to get together and hopefully get a bigger discount somewhere we can meet up.

can I tag along for bigger discount also?

 

[tenpa]

U are rite, I prefer everything in one lens, so when I travel, I dun need to bring so many lenses, and the 18-200mm has 11.1X zoom, which is a good range for travelling, especially when u go places like grand canyon, where u can't simply just walk nearer to the subject u wanna take.

IMHO, the AFS18-70 @ S$410 is not "so cheap" that I can just keep it. The 50mm/f1.8D @ S$170 will be cheap enuf to keep.

Reason I wanna buy 17-55mm/f2.8 is because of it's fix and big aperture, very good for indoor portraits and to maintain the atmosphere of the ambient lite. Since it's indoors, I can walk closer to subject, so low zoom is ok. The 18-200mm VR and 18-70 widest aperture is f3.5. Zoom a bit and the aperture closes further...

Hi there,

I have the d80 with the 18-200vr and 50mm f1.8, I find that the 18-200vr is good for general travel use. I too was thinking of getting the 17-55 F2.8 but I ended getting the Tamron 17-50 f2.8... I had the 17-55 to play around for a fair bit, but I think the 17-50mm Tamron would be good enough... After all it's 1/3 the price of the DX version....

If your budget is budget is about 2k... why not get the D80 with the Tamron 17-50 f2.8... fast lens at a low price... it would be slightly over but I would recommand this setup....

BTW I sold the 18-200..... It an excellent glass... but depends on what you shoot... It replaces about 3 lens.... which is a bang for your buck...

 

[ahlow]

May i know how much is the Tamron 17-50 f2.8 ? and is the kit lense really that bad ?

Thanks

 

[scaredcloud]

U are rite, I prefer everything in one lens, so when I travel, I dun need to bring so many lenses, and the 18-200mm has 11.1X zoom, which is a good range for travelling, especially when u go places like grand canyon, where u can't simply just walk nearer to the subject u wanna take.

IMHO, the AFS18-70 @ S$410 is not "so cheap" that I can just keep it. The 50mm/f1.8D @ S$170 will be cheap enuf to keep.

Reason I wanna buy 17-55mm/f2.8 is because of it's fix and big aperture, very good for indoor portraits and to maintain the atmosphere of the ambient lite. Since it's indoors, I can walk closer to subject, so low zoom is ok. The 18-200mm VR and 18-70 widest aperture is f3.5. Zoom a bit and the aperture closes further...

If you are thinking of indoor portrait, you should consider 28-70 instead.
17-55 not really suitable for portrait, but it's a heaven lens for events n weddg

 

[cpau99]

If you are thinking of indoor portrait, you should consider 28-70 instead.
17-55 not really suitable for portrait, but it's a heaven lens for events n weddg

Thanks for the info. To clarify, what I like about the 17-55: from 23mm (equivalent to 35mm on film) to 55mm (equivalent to 83mm on film), good for portraits of 1-3 people, but I also want the range for bigger groups of 5-10 people (e.g. one table for family/wedding dinner ), so 17-23 range is just nice and not too much barrel distortion. :thumbsup:

 

[tenpa]

May i know how much is the Tamron 17-50 f2.8 ? and is the kit lense really that bad ?

Thanks

I got it for $660 at K13 Marketing, Kit lens is good... but this lens is faster esp those low light condition.

 

[Gizmo]

U are rite, I prefer everything in one lens, so when I travel, I dun need to bring so many lenses, and the 18-200mm has 11.1X zoom, which is a good range for travelling, especially when u go places like grand canyon, where u can't simply just walk nearer to the subject u wanna take.

IMHO, the AFS18-70 @ S$410 is not "so cheap" that I can just keep it. The 50mm/f1.8D @ S$170 will be cheap enuf to keep.

Reason I wanna buy 17-55mm/f2.8 is because of it's fix and big aperture, very good for indoor portraits and to maintain the atmosphere of the ambient lite. Since it's indoors, I can walk closer to subject, so low zoom is ok. The 18-200mm VR and 18-70 widest aperture is f3.5. Zoom a bit and the aperture closes further...

AFS18-70 @ S$410... is this brand new price? If so, which shop selling at this price?

 

[maddyks]

Hey thanks to all of you who took time to reply.

Well, the idea of a separate lens sounds good. But what kind of budget would I be looking at if I go for the body and the separate lens? Coz I'm damn sure that I have to put down the whole amount for the lens.

So the present vote is for D 80 body with the 18-200 VR lens? The portrait part I'm sure I can borrow a few lenses from friends....

 

[toda_k20]

Hey,

I'm not very sure if this is the right place to post it so tell me if I'm misplaced.

Anyway, I'm seriously considering a Nikon D80 in the next 3 weeks. But the problem is I dont have the budget to plonk down ~ 2k SGD. So, where can I get installment scheme with Citibank card and also is the price higher?

Another thing, as I'm a total noob in this area, is the kit lens good enough? Or should I discard it and go for another lens which may/may not be cheaper? As for what I am going to shoot, I am not so specific. I can shoot water droplets on leaves to mountain ranges covered in snow.

I hope I am not asking too much. Please try to help me out here.

Thanks for spending your time going through this and extra thanks if you can help me

Sorry but I please pardon me if I sound like I am pouring cold water.

If you buy a DSLR, it is a norm to end up spending on the extras (tripod, filters, lenses and more lenses etc..). If you are working on a budget, do give yourself more margin or you will not have enough for future purchases.

To answer your questions, kit lens will be adequate to start of until you find your preferred shooting style.

 

[maddyks]

Sorry but I please pardon me if I sound like I am pouring cold water.

If you buy a DSLR, it is a norm to end up spending on the extras (tripod, filters, lenses and more lenses etc..). If you are working on a budget, do give yourself more margin or you will not have enough for future purchases.

To answer your questions, kit lens will be adequate to start of until you find your preferred shooting style.

I totally understand what you are saying. But I want to start off simple and then pick up stuff along the way as I grow as a photographer...

And update: The lens is totally out of question man.. 1260$ :cry: :bigeyes:

 

[toda_k20]

I totally understand what you are saying. But I want to start off simple and then pick up stuff along the way as I grow as a photographer...

And update: The lens is totally out of question man.. 1260$ :cry: :bigeyes:

Do start off with kit lens first. At least you have a combi that is intended to work together wonderfully from day 1.


Next is a Nikon flash. IMO, very important for Nikon SLR photography. Not getting one is like driving a Honda without VTEC.

 

[ExplorerZ]

Do start off with kit lens first. At least you have a combi that is intended to work together wonderfully from day 1.


Next is a Nikon flash. IMO, very important for Nikon SLR photography. Not getting one is like driving a Honda without VTEC.

disagree on the flash part... it depends largely on what you shoot. if you shoot landscape, i highly doubt you wan a flash.