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I want to get into photography; I have been playing with the manual settings on my Canon point and shoot for a few months for various scene types and low light.

A year ago I purchased a Nikon D90, but regretfully lost my job soon after and gave it back due to finances. Now things have stabilized and I want to get back on the horse. I know the d90 is a great camera but it is kind of old and there have been many new comers to the DSLR game since then. I love the way the D90 felt, as opposed to lower end DSLR cameras that felt like plastic toys.

Should I get something now or wait to get the D90 successor when it comes out? Does anyone know when that will be?

I’m only really interested in either a Nikon or Cannon, no other make please.

The type of shooting I want to focus on is low light, controlled depth of field, portraits, and family/kids... that move fast so burst mode and sport mode is needed here.

My budget is in the region of $1,000 to $1,500.

Any thoughts?

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I'm curious where the "no other make please" requirement comes from. – mattdm Dec 19 '10 at 21:10
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Also I want to add that burst mode is not the best way to get pictures of fast-moving children. You can get lucky that way, but after practicing you'll do better being more engaged and taking one or two shots at the right moment. – mattdm Dec 19 '10 at 21:12
@mattdm i just want to stay with one of the 2 front runnersd in dslr arena. im sure sony and pentax are great but if i need service or parts or lenses, there is a larger aftermarket for these. – kacalapy Dec 19 '10 at 21:39
You do need service and parts or lenses, and for that reason all of the major brands are pretty okay in those areas. It is an advantage of the biggest two, but it really should just be one factor to consider, not an initial limiter. (That said, the fact that you were happy with your D90 is a great reason to tend towards Nikon.) – mattdm Dec 19 '10 at 21:44
1  
It becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy, of course. You're right that there's nothing wrong with going with the big two: they're big because they're good. But the fact is it's not so dire to be invested in a second-tier brand, and if you're "getting into photography", it's a mistake to start by limiting yourself in this way. – mattdm Dec 19 '10 at 22:20
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1 Answer

up vote 7 down vote accepted

A D90 already exists: it's Nikon D7000.

  • Burst mode is up to 6 shoots per second.
  • 39 points auto-focus is also much better than in D90.
  • Noise seems to be better than on a D90 when shooting at higher ISO, but you have to look at different reviews to compare both and find what to expect.

The problem is that it costs approx. $1 100 - $1 200. You can buy it with a 18-105mm kit lens, but the lens quality is quite low. A 18-200mm VR2 is much better for D7000, but this lens is about $700.

My recommendation is to get a better lens with a cheaper body; so maybe a used D90 with a better lens is a way to go.

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so my best bet is a d7000 body and seperate lens? what would be a realy good allaround lense to start with since the kit lense is poor choice... like headphones you get with any portable stereo... they dont bundle the goos stuff. – kacalapy Dec 19 '10 at 21:40
2  
The 18-200 is jack of all trades, master of none. If you're learning photography, you are probably interested in learning composition and focal isolation, both of which will be lacking with an all-in-one zoom like the 18-200. Other zooms will serve you well, take a look at bythom.com or naturfotograf.com for thorough reviews of Nikon lenses across a wide range of applications. – mmr Dec 19 '10 at 22:01
ok i made up my mind and can not wait !!!! to get the d7000 !!! – kacalapy Dec 19 '10 at 23:01
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+1 - If you aren't going to look at Pentax, then the D7000 would be my advice. The D7000 and K-5 sport the best APS-C sensor on the market right now, IMHO (as well as that of DxO and DP Review). The only funny thing is, you'll still be paying Sony as it is they who make the sensor! – John Cavan♦ Dec 19 '10 at 23:02
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@rfusca - Well, I have not tried that one, so it may be an exception to the rule but my experience is that price is quite proportional to quality. Sigma's excellent lenses tend to cost similarly to those of other brands. When they cost less, they tend to perform less well too. – Itai Dec 20 '10 at 1:49
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