Hello from N Ireland

Truth be told, I'm not a Nikonite yet.

I've been away from photography for years (19 to be precise), and in an effort to get back into it, I've been researching different cameras. Time and again, whilst searching for a new camera, I kept coming back to Nikon, and in particular the D90.

I know it's now discontinued officially, but I can still get one brand new from Calumet. It, and the standard 18 - 105 lens, fitted nicely into my budget, and allowed me spare cash.

Now however, I'm caught between a rock and a hard place, since discovering the D5100 and D7000. I know the two have considerable differences, but I really cannot make up my mind which would be the better option.

I hope to use the camera within the context of my hobby, local history, as well as getting back into taking nice landscape shots. I dont want to buy something I will regret buying in 6 months time, so I have to make the right choice now. I hope eventually to be able to produce shots good enough to sell, although primarily my images will be going into local interest books and guides.

If I opt for the D5100, I will most certainly be able to afford the Nikkor 16-85 VR lens giving me a wider wide angle, but if it's going to be the D7000, the 18-105 VR will have to suffice for the time being.

Has anyone any advice that might help me choose?

Greatly appreciated.

I had the same dilemma a few weeks ago, I wanted to upgrade my 8 year old D70, the 7000 is a cracking camera, but I just didn't need the extra functions it offered, and the 5100 was a no go for me, as I had a cracking 28-105 AFD that wouldn't work on the 5100, and I managed to find a brand new D90 body for £449.00, so that's what I went for ... the cheapest I had seen a F7000 body for in the U.K was £725.00

I faced a similar situation when I went digital. I knew about the new cameras but because of budgetary concerns I had to choose between the D5000 and D90 (which is like choosing between the D5100 and D7000) and I was needing the capability to use all of the old MF lenses. So I ended up going for the D5000 and I am happy with it but for one thing - no built in AF motor. Nowadays there are a few cheap AF lenses I would like to get and can afford but without that blasted built in AF motor they are only MF on my 5000. Should have bought the D90 and had my lenses AI'd that would have been the best choice for me but like a lot of choices I have made in life I missed it on that one. Be patient is my biggest piece of advice for you.

I would say get the D90 and spend your money on lenses. A bunch of folks here are going to tell you to get a D7000 which is a good option also albeit much more expensive. The benefit to you with the D7000 is going to be it's high ISO performance so if you are shooting in dreary weather or in some dark pub or wherever that may be a lot of help.

You could also hold out for the new D600 which looks to be like a dandy in the making if it ever gets here.

I will tell you this for sure no matter what you get even if it is an old D40 you are going to find it a helluva lot easier to deal with than a film camera.

Welcome to the forum hope to see you making lots of posts and sharing lots of pictures!

Welcome aboard.

Hello and welcome to Nikonites. Glad to have you aboard!

Hmmmm....D5100 + 16-85 or D7000 + 18-105 - tough choice. If it were me I'd go for the D7000 option as frankly from an image quality stand point there isn't much to choose from between those 2 lenses. Frankly I'd say the 18-105 might be the slightly sharper of the two. However, if you prefer your lenses to have a bit more heft to them, then the 16-85 would be a better choice. Honestly, there is no bad option here - you'll have a winner no matter what you choose!

Welcome!

I have a D5100 and the 16-85. The D5100 shares the same sensor as the D7000 for about half the cost. The D7000 does have a better build quality and more features, it's a tough call. The 16-85 is considered by some reveiwers as nikon's sharpest non-pro midrange zoom, it is a fantastic, sharp lens. The build quality is significant over the 18-105. It really also comes down to shooting style, I like wide and the majority of my shots are at 16mm. If you like wide angles, those 3mm really make a big difference.

Wow, lot of responses there! Thanks for your welcome.

Considering all your responses, I'd love to wait to see what price the D600 will be, but I reckon it's going to be too expensive for me; it would be interesting nonetheless. This will probably mean buying a D90, for the simple reason that 12Mp is tons for my enlargements (I really can't see anything going bigger than 20" x 16"), plus I can get the battery grip, the 16-85 mm, and a polarizing filter for a tad over budget at £1200.

Go for the D90 instead of the D5100, you'll earn a lot as you'll be able to use AF-D lens with auto focus on the D90. Just the price difference between the 50mm 1.8 G and D is almost the difference between the 2 cameras.

Regarding lens, I owned a 16-85 for over 3 years and only recently sold it as I''m moving to FF lens, and as previous said it was one of the sharpest lens I worked with. The 16mm are a great wide angle and 85mm is also great for portrait. If possible, try to see the price of the D90 with the 16-85

Or you and buy just the body and aim for a 17-50 2.8 Tamron, a great lens to begin with. It is a bit shorter than the 18-105 but very sharp and the 2.8 are very useful.

My 2 cents...

Well I jumped today...

On the way back from a short business trip I called in at Calumet and looked at the D90 and the D7000, and looked, and looked... I had to make a decision, so I did!

I left the shop the proud owner of a new D7000 + 18-105 lens. The 16-85 was just a little too far to stretch with the D7000, but I'm sure I won't be disappointed.

So I'm charging my battery tonight (both mine and the camera's), tomorrow will hopefully bring some nice opportunities for those first photos!

Look forward to sharing a few nice pics from N Ireland with you all soon!

AntrimHills said:

Well I jumped today...

On the way back from a short business trip I called in at Calumet and looked at the D90 and the D7000, and looked, and looked... I had to make a decision, so I did!

I left the shop the proud owner of a new D7000 + 18-105 lens. The 16-85 was just a little too far to stretch with the D7000, but I'm sure I won't be disappointed.

So I'm charging my battery tonight (both mine and the camera's), tomorrow will hopefully bring some nice opportunities for those first photos!

Look forward to sharing a few nice pics from N Ireland with you all soon!

Click to expand...

Welcome to Nikonites and congratulations on the new camera!

Congrat's...I have the same camera/lens! I also added a 50mm f1.8D off a local buy and sell site for $100...so right now those are my two lenses while I save for my first f2.8 lens.

Love this camera...you won't be disappointed...steep learning curve with it, but so glad I chose it over the D5100.

A few examples I've taken with my D7000 / 18-105







...and one with my 50mm




Jason

PS> Welcome

AntrimHills said:

Truth be told, I'm not a Nikonite yet.

I've been away from photography for years (19 to be precise), and in an effort to get back into it, I've been researching different cameras. Time and again, whilst searching for a new camera, I kept coming back to Nikon, and in particular the D90.

I know it's now discontinued officially, but I can still get one brand new from Calumet. It, and the standard 18 - 105 lens, fitted nicely into my budget, and allowed me spare cash.

Now however, I'm caught between a rock and a hard place, since discovering the D5100 and D7000. I know the two have considerable differences, but I really cannot make up my mind which would be the better option.

I hope to use the camera within the context of my hobby, local history, as well as getting back into taking nice landscape shots. I dont want to buy something I will regret buying in 6 months time, so I have to make the right choice now. I hope eventually to be able to produce shots good enough to sell, although primarily my images will be going into local interest books and guides.

If I opt for the D5100, I will most certainly be able to afford the Nikkor 16-85 VR lens giving me a wider wide angle, but if it's going to be the D7000, the 18-105 VR will have to suffice for the time being.

Has anyone any advice that might help me choose?

Greatly appreciated.

Click to expand...

Good to meet another Northern Irish person here on Nikonites.

Derek


http://whitecanvasimages.wordpress.com/

hello and welcome from an ex norn iron man