Is the selction of dx primes enough for a witch to Nikon?

First and foremost this is not intended to be a Canon vs Nikon post. I have gotten a lot of info from these forums, but I have never posted here before.

I currently shoot with a Canon Rebel t1i (500d). I have been into photography for about a year and a half (started out with b&w film in the dark room). At this point I would like to upgrade to a camera that is a better tool for photography. Ideally i want to move on to something that has better controls than the rebel as the 1 wheel setup is getting annoying to me at this point.

In looking around at the options, Nikon seems to have a better selection of reasonably priced prime lenses in the focal lengths that I am most interested in. I use a 50mm lens the vast majority of the time and I have been wanting a 35mm. it's rare for me to need anything longer than the 55 of the kit lens. For primes, Canon mainly offers the old lenses with buzzy focus motors or L lenses that are way outside of my price range. It looks like they have it going on with the long range lenses, but that's not something I use nearly as much

I'm not heavily invested in the Canon system. i only have my camera/kit lens, the nifty 50, and a sigma 70-300. The 50 and the sigma were both gifts. So I'm thinking of getting a used D90. The d7000 looks great but that's not an option at this point. Also the d5100 has a 1 wheel system which is something I'd rather avoid. Maybe I'm overlooking someting but the Nikon system seems to be a better fit for what I'm looking for.

Does this make sense to anyone other than me? lol

If you want a 35 1.8 it makes some sense yes. The D90 is a good body too if aging a bit now, I've never owned one myself but have used them and the forum is full of happy customers !

I'm just thinking that you have your start in canon world now, it seems there should be an answer within that system someplace. You will lose money jumping ship. But then maybe in the end it's worth it to you.
David

I am with you about the one wheel system. I have been using a D90 for three years and suspect from what you have said that it will suit your needs well. Like a good set of German knives, it is a joy to use something that is so responsive and precise. It might be lagging in terms of technological upgrades, but one rarely thinks of that when one is actually taking pictures. I am more of a zoom shooter, but there are plenty of moderately priced primes (35, 50, 85) along with some great macros (40, 60) that fall within or close to your preferred focal length zone. A kit with the D90 and a couple of these primes would be a great value--in my opinion.
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/brev00

I'm in the same position as you, just coming FROM Nikon a) to Nikon or b) to Pentax. For DX Nikon have $ €200 35 and 50 mm 1.8 primes which are very good (a friend owns them). Both have ultrasonic focusing. The 50 can be used on FF if you want to upgrade.

The Pentax system has a great selection of primes, but that's not for this forum.

You could buy it either mount ( Nikon or Canon), $390 at Amazon, with a Prime membership free shipping.
David

Yeah, you'll love having more controls at your fingertips, and also, because the D90 (or D80, or D7000) have internal focus drive motors, that opens up a whole ton of different (very good) older lenses that will AF. For example, I have the Nikkor 24mm f/2.8. I bought it to do reverse-mounted macro stuff (at about 3:1), but I've found it to be a great, very sharp semi-wide lens in general. There are tons more out there for cheap, too.

I would go for the new 40mm or better yet, the great 60mm macro Nikon (both f2.8).
Best
--
Ray Soares

See my pictures at http://www.pbase.com/raysoares

D90 body,

with 18-55 VR for general work.
with 35 f/1.8 G for moderate WA.
with 50 f/1.8 G for normal
with 85 f/1.8 G for portrait

Sounds like a versatile and capable system. And not very expensive either for what you get.

--
Catallaxy

David Grabowski said:

You could buy it either mount ( Nikon or Canon), $390 at Amazon, with a Prime membership free shipping.
David

Click to expand...

I prefer the Sigma 30/1.4 to the Nikon 35/1.8... I had both and sold the Nikon. The Sigma is optically better, faster aperture, excellent build quality, etc. Only downside is that the price is a bit more, but even then you can buy used for a reasonable price usually.

Cheers
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--Wyatt
http://photos.digitalcave.ca
All images (c) unless otherwise specified, please ask me before editing.

exactopposite said:

At this point I would like to upgrade to a camera that is a better tool for photography.

I have been wanting a 35mm.

i only have my camera/kit lens, the nifty 50, and a sigma 70-300. So I'm thinking of getting a used D90.

Does this make sense to anyone other than me? lol

Click to expand...

There's also an option instead of buying a used enthusiast-level APS-C DSLR, you can buy a slightly older but professional-level full frame DSLR for a similar price. Older cameras are bigger of course, and have less megapixels and high ISO performance and suchlike than today's models, but their IQ and results were 'professional' back then and that hasn't changed.

Research the Kodak DCS SLR/c and see if it's a possible option for you (visit the Kodak SLR forum). As to whether you stay with Canon lenses or go with Nikon is up to you because these Kodaks come in both varieties - the Nikon version is the SLR/n (n = Nikon mount, c = Canon mount, built on respective Nikon & Canon camera bodies).

Your 'nifty 50mm' F1.8 was actually designed for a full frame camera in the first place, which will give you the DX 35mm F1.8 you're actually after, so you already own it. To replace your existing 50mm focal length (75mm equiv), keep the Sigma 70-300mm to fill the role with a proper focal length of 70mm on FF instead of being a 105mm short telephoto so you don't have to buy any lenses at all.

Even your kit zoom will still work perfectly because today's apps like AfterShot Pro (which handles the Kodak RAW files) can easily remove the slight vignetting in the corners which these APS-C lenses produce simply by selecting the specific lens from a pull down menu.