Camera Geeks, lens me your ears

[Viney]

Nikon D90 (18-105mm VR Lens) £799 or D5000 twin lens kit? (18-55 + 70-300mm) £649 (Jesspos pricing) + cashback of £60 and £50 respectivly. If i got the 5000 say, would i honestly regret that i didnt get a D90?

The D90 is a great camera, but the 5000 has very similar features now and i am sure the D90 is due to be replaced

I got my D90 a couple of months ago, its brilliant.
Personally i have that one cos the reviews are all positive, its a far greater camera than i'll ever be a photographer.
Phil

[Viney]

Originally Posted by specialone

I got my D90 a couple of months ago, its brilliant.
Personally i have that one cos the reviews are all positive, its a far greater camera than i'll ever be a photographer.
Phil

Its that line there that makes me wanna get the slightly cheaper unit

Originally Posted by Viney

Its that line there that makes me wanna get the slightly cheaper unit

Always nice to have extra in reserve though lol

[keith_d]

There's a comparative review here which you might find interesting:

http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/28/n...head-with-d90/

For me, the D90 would be the hands down winner, but that's because I use my cameras quite a bit and would appreciate the extra ruggedness and the ability to autofocus with my older lenses. (yeah, I'm too cheap to buy new AF-S ones).

For what it's worth, my sister has the D80 (previous model) and she is very happy with it. I'd expect the all the same stuff from the D90, only better.

Just my thoughts,

Keith.

P.S. I bought a D300 and regret not knowing that the D700 would be coming out a few months later.

Viney, could you please check the second lens model on the D5000 pack again? I'm pretty certain it's not going to be the 70-200 (f/2.8 ) as that one is worth more than both the D5000 and the D90 put together. It's either going to be the 55-200mm f/4-5.6 VR or the 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 VR, and for the £649 price I'd bet it's the former.

First things first: cameras. The D5000 is a bit of a Frankenstein camera, essentially the D90 electronics on a D40/D60/D3000 body with a pivot screen thrown in... which kind of makes it a very good camera in it's own right.
On the positive side, you get the D90 sensor, autofocus and metering modules on a "small" camera, and on the negative side you get the smaller D40/D60/D3000 pentamirror viewfinder and a "small" camera (if you have big hands, you'll feel cramped). Moreover, the D5000 can't take the vertical battery grip and I believe the battery life is shorter even on a single battery (less capacity).

The D90 will take battery grip, comes with a proper pentaprism and bigger magnification viewfinder (brighter and less tunnel effect), has a bigger and better screen (albeit fixed), twin dial interface and a lot more direct access buttons to key functions without having to go through menus. On the other hand, it's a bigger and heavier camera, which is great if you have big hands.

As for the lenses, quality wise it's a bit of a tie. Build quality is about the same, and optically there's not a big difference between them. Obviously the 18-105 will take less lens changing when it comes to shooting long, but the tradeoff is a bit less reach than the 55-200 (I'm assuming that's the one due to pricing).

Putting everything together, my take on this subject is:

If you can live without the twin dial interface, don't really mind the slightly worse viewfinder and having to dig through menus (it's not as bad as it sounds, mind), if your hands don't feel funny with the smaller camera and you're not planning to upgrade / buy more lenses in the near future, go for the D5000 + 2 lens kit and enjoy yourself.

If the D5000 feels funny in your hands (I know it does in mine...), if you want the slightly faster interface and better viewfinder and don't really need the pivot screen (which is not as useful as it could have been...) and if you plan to get better glass in the future, then go for the D90. If / when you want a longer lens, the 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 VR is the lens to get (£400). Just ask Fizz.

Originally Posted by keith_d

There's a comparative review here which you might find interesting:

http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/28/n...head-with-d90/

For me, the D90 would be the hands down winner, but that's because I use my cameras quite a bit and would appreciate the extra ruggedness and the ability to autofocus with my older lenses. (yeah, I'm too cheap to buy new AF-S ones).

For what it's worth, my sister has the D80 (previous model) and she is very happy with it. I'd expect the all the same stuff from the D90, only better.

Just my thoughts,

Keith.

P.S. I bought a D300 and regret not knowing that the D700 would be coming out a few months later.

Keith beat me to it, and added the all too important fact I forgot to mention: built-in motor on the D90! D'oh!

And from what I can tell, the D90 runs circles around the D80 (based on the same body, though).

*sigh* D300... D700 *sigh* *drools* *sigh* *drools some more...*

good reviews here too

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d5000.htm

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d90.htm

[anna]

*sigh*

Originally Posted by Filipe M.

*sigh* D300... D700 *sigh* *drools* *sigh* *drools some more...*

no and no no no no. HTH

Originally Posted by Lucas

good reviews here too

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d5000.htm

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d90.htm

Be careful about what Ken Rockwell says, always take his comments with a large tablespoon of salt. He definitely knows his stuff, but he is a self-confessed wind-up merchant and contradicts himself a lot.

More "serious" reviews here:

http://www.bythom.com/nikond5000review.htm

http://www.bythom.com/nikond90review.htm

Have in mind that Thom Hogan has small hands, though!

Originally Posted by anna

*sigh*

no and no no no no. HTH

Did you still want that macro lens?...