D30 and "L" or D60

Time is running out and I want to decide. Should I wait a week or two and try to get a D30 fairly cheap and invest the difference in a more expensive lens or get a D60 and settle for less of a lens and upgrade later? My primary shooting is indoor sports so a fast lens is a big priority. My Nikon 990 (2.6) in inadequate.

Leonard, with this crazy market currently, you can buy a NEW D60 for about what you'd have to pay for USED D30. Buy a D60 and the best lens you can afford now. A D60 with, say, the 75-300 USM IS lens is still better than your 990. Upgrade the lens when you can afford to.

See my thread on D60s available next week from Best Price AV.
--I love my D30, but I've ordered a D60!

Leonard,

I think the people who are insisting on L glass must have stock in the company )

I think you should go for your second option. Get the D60 and an acceptable lens for use until you can afford to buy from the top shelf either new or secondhand (don't forget that option!!!)

I've been using a Sigma EX f2.8 lenses for quite some time now and, while they COULDN'T be as good as the L's of course, I'm still pretty happy with them all round.

HTH--RegardsAndrew McGregor'We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out.' -- Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962.

I've heard that because of the comparably low resolution on the d30 that you may not be able notice the awesomeness of L lenses enough to justify the cost. i would personally go with the D60 and the best lense you can get at the time and upgrade later.

Leonard Zaloga said:

Time is running out and I want to decide. Should I wait a week or
two and try to get a D30 fairly cheap and invest the difference in
a more expensive lens or get a D60 and settle for less of a lens
and upgrade later? My primary shooting is indoor sports so a fast
lens is a big priority. My Nikon 990 (2.6) in inadequate.

Click to expand...

BUY A D60 AND A SIGMA 70-200 2.8EX AND FOREVER HOLD YOUR PEACE!

Andrew McGregor said:

Leonard,
I think the people who are insisting on L glass must have stock in
the company )

I think you should go for your second option. Get the D60 and an
acceptable lens for use until you can afford to buy from the top
shelf either new or secondhand (don't forget that option!!!)

I've been using a Sigma EX f2.8 lenses for quite some time now and,
while they COULDN'T be as good as the L's of course, I'm still
pretty happy with them all round.

HTH
--
Regards

Andrew McGregor

'We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out.' --
Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962.

Click to expand...

--Andy C

My problem is I do mostly wildlife and bird work and I need the 100-400 IS lens for my work. So I am being forced to look at the L lens. Is there a cheaper version with IS that will still give me the same results???

GiBS said:

Leonard Zaloga said:

Time is running out and I want to decide. Should I wait a week or
two and try to get a D30 fairly cheap and invest the difference in
a more expensive lens or get a D60 and settle for less of a lens
and upgrade later? My primary shooting is indoor sports so a fast
lens is a big priority. My Nikon 990 (2.6) in inadequate.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Hi J,

I would say not, you can't have your cake & eat it too. The 100-400 is a terrific lens and you won't find anything disapointing about it, wildlife & nature is what it was designed for. Canon makes a 75-300 with IS, but it is really no match for the 100-400 for image quality/sharpness. It is about $430 from Delta and from the images I've seen, it is worth the price. The 100-400 is $1304 from delta and to me it is worth every penny. Where Lens/optics are concerned, I'm a firm believer in you get what you pay for.

Jack

J Becker said:

My problem is I do mostly wildlife and bird work and I need the
100-400 IS lens for my work. So I am being forced to look at the L
lens. Is there a cheaper version with IS that will still give me
the same results???

Click to expand...

Hi Leonard,

The price of the D30 is great right now and will only get better in a few weeks. The difference between the D30 & 60 is not very great, unless you make a lot of 24x36 inch prints & even the the D30 looks darn good. My opinion is to invest in top notch fast lens first. The Canon L lens are fast, sharp and very well built. They will hold their value for a long time and not depreciate. A year from now the D60 will be obsolete, but not the L lenses. For the price of a new D60 you will be able to get a D30 and a 28-70 f2.8 L lenses or something like it. I took the money I was saving for the new camera(D60) and bought a 70-200L IS, it should arrive on Tueday To me the D60 did not have more to offer than the new lens. I may however pickup another D30 in a few weeks if the price is right. That way I can use my 70-200 on one D30 and the 16-35 on the other and not have to keep switching back and forth ;-)

Jack

Leonard Zaloga said:

Time is running out and I want to decide. Should I wait a week or
two and try to get a D30 fairly cheap and invest the difference in
a more expensive lens or get a D60 and settle for less of a lens
and upgrade later? My primary shooting is indoor sports so a fast
lens is a big priority. My Nikon 990 (2.6) in inadequate.

Click to expand...

Consider this, buying into an SLR system is more about the lenses than the body. High quality lenses will last for a decade or more before something new takes it's place. Digital SLR bodies, however, seem to be replaced with something better about every 12 months or so. The sharpness, color fidelity and contrast quality of the L series lenses cannot be denied. They will provide you with better images even on the D30 and when the time comes and you update to the D60 (or whatever is available at the time) you will instantly have glass that can use the new body's potential.

Personally, I think you would be better off investing in L glass that will be around for the long haul instead of a body that is going to be outdated in 12 months or less and have to live with lesser quality glass that can't take advantage of the bodies potential. If you picked up a good used or refurbished D30, you could put the savings into L glass and upgrade the D30 later. The D30 produces awesome images. Check out http://www.dlcphotography.net or http://www.fredmiranda.com . Don Cohen and Fred have been producing incredible images with the "lowly" D30 for some time now. The D30 was THE digital body that so impressed everyone when it first came out. It STILL produces images that are close to film quality.

The used market is beginning to open up for the D30. You can also get one refurbished for about $1500 with warranty.
Just my $.02

Leonard Zaloga said:

Time is running out and I want to decide. Should I wait a week or
two and try to get a D30 fairly cheap and invest the difference in
a more expensive lens or get a D60 and settle for less of a lens
and upgrade later? My primary shooting is indoor sports so a fast
lens is a big priority. My Nikon 990 (2.6) in inadequate.

Click to expand...

--Doug Walker

Rather than ebay, which I may wrongly consider a shot in the dark, the refurbished D30 with a warrenty has a real appeal...

Do you know who is selling refurbished D30's?

Thanks,

Traveller

Samy's (www.samys.com) and Canoga Camera (www.canogacamera.com) both in L.A. CA were selling the refurbished units not long ago. They didn't have them on their web site, you have to call.

Traveller said:

Rather than ebay, which I may wrongly consider a shot in the dark,
the refurbished D30 with a warrenty has a real appeal...

Do you know who is selling refurbished D30's?

Thanks,

Traveller

Click to expand...

--Doug Walker