Fair Question

tclune · May 9, 2011

I agree with the people who recommend the D5100 for you, but would suggest that the Tamron 28-75 f/2.8 would make a better portrait lens than the Nikon 18-105. The Tamron unit has the advantage of being much brighter (goes up to a larger aperture) than the 18-105, which allows you to more easily blur the background of a portrait and will let you take more photos without using flash.

If you can afford it (and you can if you could have purchased the D7000), you should also get a flash unit. If it were me, I would opt for a third-party iTTL flash unit, but just about any flash unit will do. The most important things are that it support at least the on-camera part of the iTTL (the D5100 doesn't do the off-camera flash support anyway) and that the unit swivels and tilts to support bounce flash (tilt for landscape orientation bounce, swivel for portrait orientation bounce or angled bounce off a side wall). With that equipment, you can get well-lit indoor portraits without needing to learn a lot about lighting.

Cytokine · May 9, 2011

dom33 said:
JCB123 said:

Hi

Lenses (good lenses) are a long term investment. The D7000 will be history soon enough.

The 85mm f1.4 is a top notch lens good for portaits on any Dx or Fx Nikon camera or at any time in the forseeable future.

The D90 is perfectly capable for portrait work. It is more than capable of capturing memorable images of your children as they grow up.

The D7K has advantages for sports and High ISO - you don't need these for portait work.

Does this help ?

Regards
John

Click to expand...

I agree completely. Also, I would trade a D7000 for a D90 AND an 85mm f1.4 in a millisecond! (the OP said that going with a D7000, she would not be able to afford an 85mm f1.4)

Do you really think that a newbie should have an effective 127.5 mm lens as an only lens. I suppose she could always open the window and take shots from outside. not to mention the weight.

dom33 · May 9, 2011

Cytokine said:
dom33 said:

JCB123 said:

Hi

Lenses (good lenses) are a long term investment. The D7000 will be history soon enough.

The 85mm f1.4 is a top notch lens good for portaits on any Dx or Fx Nikon camera or at any time in the forseeable future.

The D90 is perfectly capable for portrait work. It is more than capable of capturing memorable images of your children as they grow up.

The D7K has advantages for sports and High ISO - you don't need these for portait work.

Does this help ?

Regards
John

Click to expand...

I agree completely. Also, I would trade a D7000 for a D90 AND an 85mm f1.4 in a millisecond! (the OP said that going with a D7000, she would not be able to afford an 85mm f1.4)

Click to expand...

Do you really think that a newbie should have an effective 127.5 mm lens as an only lens. I suppose she could always open the window and take shots from outside. not to mention the weight.

She will have a 35 mm as mentioned in her post:

....
"
D90 instead of the D7000
85mm 1.4 instead of the 50 mm 1.4
35 mm 1.8
Sb 700
..
"

Jim Hess · May 9, 2011

You are wasting a lot of time worrying about which camera you should get. Any of the models you are considering will take perfectly fine images. They talk about old technology. That's ridiculous. I have a D90 and a D40, and I use them both. They both take excellent photos. It really isn't the camera that is going to make the BIG difference. The difference will be in how well you learn to use any camera and concentrating on composition. I would buy another D90 in a heartbeat. If you're big concern is getting "good" images, just purchase one of the cameras and go to work. Regardless of what camera you purchase, you won't get perfect professional images immediately. Those kinds of results, from practice.

The D90 will serve you well for many years. And it would take super-intensive image comparison at high magnification for you to see any difference in the image quality IF you take the time to learn how to use it.

sweetbutterfy1973 · May 9, 2011

jumpingjack said:
jumpingjack said:

Really, I know there is no perfect answer. But it makes it hard for a first-timer to make up their mind. I dont have the "technical" knowledge yet so I am just relying on people's opinons and reviews. But it really can make you feell crazy!!!

Click to expand...

I have been where you are. The problem is you end up getting sucked into specifications and analysis paralysis.

As a first timer without the technical knowledge a D7000 in my opinion will blow your head off and is complete overkill. Yes at the advanced end it has a lot of options but right now those options will serve to hinder you and not help.

Look at the D5100 which has the same sensor as the D7000 and it has more than enough manaul options for you to learn before you "need" more.

The money you save on the camera (around £200 her in the UK) put towards a better quality lens than the kit lens that comes with the D5100, although I hear that isn't bad.

With my D5100 I havea Nikon 16-85 lens, a 35mm f1.8 for low light and the compact and tiny SB-400 compact flash. For me it is a quality and great set up.

Hope that helps.

It does help, thank you. However, I still dont have my mind made up. I went from D90 or D7000 to now considering the D5100.

Here in Canada the kit comes with AF-S 18-55 mm VR lens. Is that a good lens to have? Does it replace the 50 mm 1.4? Should I still get the 35 mm ? Which is better for the 5100? the 35 or the 50?
Thank you

sweetbutterfy1973 · May 9, 2011

This was my thinking exactly.

I need to ask someone- what does the S mean when you see AF-S?

jumpingjack · May 9, 2011

sweetbutterfy1973 said:
Here in Canada the kit comes with AF-S 18-55 mm VR lens. Is that a good lens to have?

The kit lens is an ok lens in that it will get you started. Personally I'm not a fan of kit lenses and bought body only with the 16-85. It's a more expensive lens but the extra 2mm at the wide end makes a big difference and of course 30mm extra at the long end.

sweetbutterfy1973 said:
Does it replace the 50 mm 1.4?

No it doesn't. the 50mm 1.4 is a large aperture lens that will be great for low light when you don't want to use flash. This is a limitation of the kit lens.

sweetbutterfy1973 said:
Which is better for the 5100? the 35 or the 50?

That depends what you want to photograph. I use the 35mm 1.8. Personally I think the 50mm on a DX is just a bit too long to frame everyday indoor shots.

sweetbutterfy1973 · May 9, 2011

Cytokine said:
dom33 said:

JCB123 said:

Hi

Lenses (good lenses) are a long term investment. The D7000 will be history soon enough.

The 85mm f1.4 is a top notch lens good for portaits on any Dx or Fx Nikon camera or at any time in the forseeable future.

The D90 is perfectly capable for portrait work. It is more than capable of capturing memorable images of your children as they grow up.

The D7K has advantages for sports and High ISO - you don't need these for portait work.

Does this help ?

Regards
John

Click to expand...

I agree completely. Also, I would trade a D7000 for a D90 AND an 85mm f1.4 in a millisecond! (the OP said that going with a D7000, she would not be able to afford an 85mm f1.4)

Click to expand...

Do you really think that a newbie should have an effective 127.5 mm lens as an only lens. I suppose she could always open the window and take shots from outside. not to mention the weight.

Excuse me for not knowing what you mean....but what do you mean? Are you referring to the 85mm? Do you mean I need a lot of space when I use it? Thanky ou, I am just learning!

sweetbutterfy1973 · May 9, 2011

jumpingjack said:
jumpingjack said:

Here in Canada the kit comes with AF-S 18-55 mm VR lens. Is that a good lens to have?

Click to expand...

The kit lens is an ok lens in that it will get you started. Personally I'm not a fan of kit lenses and bought body only with the 16-85. It's a more expensive lens but the extra 2mm at the wide end makes a big difference and of course 30mm extra at the long end.

jumpingjack said:

Does it replace the 50 mm 1.4?

Click to expand...

No it doesn't. the 50mm 1.4 is a large aperture lens that will be great for low light when you don't want to use flash. This is a limitation of the kit lens.

jumpingjack said:

Which is better for the 5100? the 35 or the 50?

Click to expand...

That depends what you want to photograph. I use the 35mm 1.8. Personally I think the 50mm on a DX is just a bit too long to frame everyday indoor shots.

Yes, this is what I want to use it for. Indoor shots. And I have a new baby so I want to practice lots of "studio-type" portraits on her. I have the baby, why not use her for practice! She is so cute

When you say it is a bit too long, do you mean that I would need more space to get her into the frame? Like have to step back further?

Thanks so much for continuing to respond to my beginner questions, I really appreciate all the help here!

So, you say 35 1.8 then?

jumpingjack said:
oh, and I can get the D90 cheaper than the 5100 (bodys only)....does that sound like a good plan?

jumpingjack · May 9, 2011

The D5100 does not have a focusing motor in the body. All AF-S lenses have a focussing motor built in. Therefore to achieve auto focus with the D5100 you must buy (if buying a Nikon lens) and AF-S lens.

jumpingjack · May 9, 2011

sweetbutterfy1973 said:
When you say it is a bit too long, do you mean that I would need more space to get her into the frame? Like have to step back further?

Yes, exactly.

sweetbutterfy1973 · May 9, 2011

jumpingjack said:
The D5100 does not have a focusing motor in the body. All AF-S lenses have a focussing motor built in. Therefore to achieve auto focus with the D5100 you must buy (if buying a Nikon lens) and AF-S lens.

good to know that. thank you

Jack Hogan · May 9, 2011

sweetbutterfy1973 said:
Excuse me for not knowing what you mean....but what do you mean? Are you referring to the 85mm? Do you mean I need a lot of space when I use it?

Yes, the 85mm brings things very close: in a regular sized room you will be able to get good head shots, but not much more

If this is your first DSLR, get a kit lens before you look at the primes - trust me.
Jack

sweetbutterfy1973 · May 9, 2011

sweetbutterfy1973 said:
jumpingjack said:

The D5100 does not have a focusing motor in the body. All AF-S lenses have a focussing motor built in. Therefore to achieve auto focus with the D5100 you must buy (if buying a Nikon lens) and AF-S lens.

Click to expand...

good to know that. thank you

another question...I promise I am almost done with all the questions
So, if I bought the D90 does that mean I DONT need AF-S? Just AF?

Jack Hogan · May 9, 2011

sweetbutterfy1973 said:
sweetbutterfy1973 wrote:

the kit comes with AF-S 18-55 mm VR lens. Is that a good lens to have? Does it replace the 50 mm 1.4? Should I still get the 35 mm ?

The kit lens is wonderful for your purposes (alternatively consider the 18-105). It can replace the 50mm 1.4 in all but a few, specific situations - if you do not know/understand what they are, you should not be thinking about a 50/1.4/1.8 before a kit lens.
Cheers,
Jack

jumpingjack · May 9, 2011

The D90 (like the D7000) has a built in focus motor so yes, you are not restricted to an AF-S lens. It does mean that you can buy older lenses that will be fine. Don't let that be a major factor though. There are many AF-S lenses to choose from.

Cytokine · May 9, 2011

sweetbutterfy1973 said:
sweetbutterfy1973 said:

jumpingjack said:

The D5100 does not have a focusing motor in the body. All AF-S lenses have a focussing motor built in. Therefore to achieve auto focus with the D5100 you must buy (if buying a Nikon lens) and AF-S lens.

Click to expand...

good to know that. thank you

Click to expand...

another question...I promise I am almost done with all the questions
So, if I bought the D90 does that mean I DONT need AF-S? Just AF?

The D7000 can use both AF and AFS lenses the D5100 can only use AFS lenses

sweetbutterfy1973 · May 9, 2011

Thanks everyone!

I am going to get the D90.

I can get the D90 with the 18-105 mm or the 18-55 mm. Which one is more useful to me?

I am also going to get the 35mm 1.8 as well.

Mind made up

Cope · May 9, 2011

Get the ad7000 and 16-85 lens.
--

'A man will occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of the time he will pick himself up and continue on.'
Winston Churchill

sweetbutterfy1973 · May 9, 2011

Are you saying this because I just made up my mind? What is your reasoning? Did you read the whole post about what I want to use the camera for? Mostly portraits, close up of newborns and babies? Can you explain to me why you say I should get that lens and the D7000 instead of what I was going to go with??

Fair Question

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