# Buying a d60 tonight (i think!)



## Dave^ (Mar 22, 2007)

right, been putting this off for far too long, so this evening i'm going to look at a few dslr's.....

i'm thinking of a d60 with the standard 18-55 vr lens....

could some of you loveable people post up a variety of shots for me to look at? preferably the amatures!!! just to see what i should be aiming for.....

most of my pics will be at various shows/race events, although i don't think the lense will cope with distance, fast paced pics, am i right?

tia!!

oh and feel free to recommend any other dslr's i should be looking at instead of the d60..... £400 max tho please for starter kit


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## Davemm (Mar 9, 2009)

what about a d40, and then get a 2nd lens of your choice.

trying to find the page i spent ages on.
here it is http://www.kenrockwell.com

read his revies and theres lots of helpull tips on there.


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## lee. (Jan 16, 2008)

The D60 is a great little camera and the 18-55 VR is a good enough lens for starting out.

You might not get the distance you require but then again one mistake many make with a longer lens is zoom too far especially when at motoring events as when you pan round with the car side on half the car is out of the frame.

One tip when snapping at motoring events if you want side on shots always wind your body from the hip towards where the car is coming from with your feet pointing straight towards the side shot so when you follow the car round with through your finder you are unwinding your body as this is natural and it will feel more comfortable taking the shot. If you face the car entering the frame from the left or right and try to follow it you are in effect winding your body and this is not natural.

Hope you understand what I'm saying.

Not great at explaining things too well.

Happy snapping.

Sorry couldn't help with photos.

Lee.


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## Dave^ (Mar 22, 2007)

lee. said:


> The D60 is a great little camera and the 18-55 VR is a good enough lens for starting out.
> 
> You might not get the distance you require but then again one mistake many make with a longer lens is zoom too far especially when at motoring events as when you pan round with the car side on half the car is out of the frame.
> 
> ...


haha, yeah i know what you mean... (had a read it twice tho) :thumb:


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## Dave^ (Mar 22, 2007)

Davemm said:


> what about a d40, and then get a 2nd lens of your choice.
> 
> trying to find the page i spent ages on.
> here it is http://www.kenrockwell.com
> ...


i've been doing a bit of reading on pistonheads (i know, i'm sorry!!!) and his name cropped up, followed swifty by numerous people declaring him as not knowing his rs from his elbow..... lol


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## lee. (Jan 16, 2008)

Dave^ said:


> haha, yeah i know what you mean... (had a read it twice tho) :thumb:


Cool,

Twice is good going. I read it back to myself 3 times before I understood. :lol:

One more thing, Even if you do find your lens a bit short you have the quality to crop a fair whack without loosing too much of that quality.

Just make sure you have the settings up on the camera to get the full potential.


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## Davemm (Mar 9, 2009)

well he seems to make plenty of sense to me, and it helped me alot.


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## Dave^ (Mar 22, 2007)

lee. said:


> Cool,
> 
> Twice is good going. I read it back to myself 3 times before I understood. :lol:
> 
> ...


yeah hopefully i'll be able to turn a 10mp shot into a nice 1200x900 pic....

is it better to do this shooting in raw format or jpg?


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## Dave^ (Mar 22, 2007)

Davemm said:


> well he seems to make plenty of sense to me, and it helped me alot.


well the site wont work here (i swear that work have a 56k connection!!!) so i'll have a look tonight....


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## INWARD123 (Oct 28, 2007)

With respect to those on Pistonheads he knows a lot more about Cameras than them like you kmow more about detailing than him, I've always found people on pistons heads to be some of the most confused people on earth !!

Both the D40 abd the D60 are great. If your starting out the D40 is a very good camera. If you want to something with all the tricks the D60 is good.. the wise money though is to get the better lens.


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## lee. (Jan 16, 2008)

Dave^ said:


> yeah hopefully i'll be able to turn a 10mp shot into a nice 1200x900 pic....
> 
> is it better to do this shooting in raw format or jpg?


It depends on your photoshop processing skills really.

You can opt to shoot solo jpg, solo raw or raw & jpg on the D60 so you could try it first and see how you get on and if it goes wrong then you can stick with the jpg.

Lee.


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## Davemm (Mar 9, 2009)

but you will need s tripod if blowing up to that size or you will get shake.


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## Glynnbt (Jan 15, 2009)

This is some of my work, it is a Sony A350 with the kit lens, i only bought the camera in january. Tripods are a must, especially if you are goi to do long range work. Trust me on that i tried and failed.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/glynnbt/


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## Dave^ (Mar 22, 2007)

lee. said:


> It depends on your photoshop processing skills really.
> 
> You can opt to shoot solo jpg, solo raw or raw & jpg on the D60 so you could try it first and see how you get on and if it goes wrong then you can stick with the jpg.
> 
> Lee.


awesome! thanks!


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## lee. (Jan 16, 2008)

Glynnbt said:


> This is some of my work, it is a Sony A350 with the kit lens, i only bought the camera in january. Tripods are a must, especially if you are goi to do long range work. Trust me on that i tried and failed.
> 
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/glynnbt/


Just had a wee look myself.

Some great shots you have.


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## Glynnbt (Jan 15, 2009)

lee. said:


> Just had a wee look myself.
> 
> Some great shots you have.


Cheers, i wasn't trying to show off, just show how great pictures you can take even as a beginner


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## Rilla (Apr 5, 2009)

I use a D40 myself, and am very happy with overall performance. I would go for the D40 and get semi good lens with the saved cash. I can recommend the Sigma 70-200 F2.8 as an ideal lens for starting out. I have posted some pics in the Thruxton 2007 thread that I took with a D40 and the sigma, I got better shots than my mate I was with who had a 1DS and a canon 70-200 IS lens at Outlon Park for the BSB. My whole kits for the day cost aorund 1200 quid, his was over the 4 grand mark. Suffice to say he wasnt very happy lol.


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## Lloydy (Jan 13, 2009)

I just bought a D60, I myself am a beginner but I have found the Camera very easy to use and it takes some great Pics! Best thing for it is to get a tripod. I will be investing in new lenses but at the minute trying to find the best place for them. Any suggestions people? I know its kind of hijacking but it will also help


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## Rilla (Apr 5, 2009)

www.warehouseexpress.co.uk
Usually the cheapest and good delivery times. I use them for all my equipment and have never been disappointed.


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## kos (Jun 19, 2008)

i'm in the market for s DSLR, looking at both the d40 and d60, but the D40 with an extra seems a better idea.

its so so confusing at times


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## Dave^ (Mar 22, 2007)

kos said:


> its so so confusing at times


you're not wrong!!

well i still haven't bought one....

argos are doing the D40 with the 18-55 and 55-200 lenses... for £350!!

is this a good deal? note that the lenses are NOT VR...... do i need to spend so much more on the VR's?

edit - this one.... http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Produ...&jspStoreDir=argos&referrer=COJUN&cmpid=COJUN


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## spitfire (Feb 10, 2007)

Nothings a nesessity but can be advantageous.:thumb: VR will give you a few stops extra when you need extra speed. I've got the D60 and I like it. Got the 18-55 and a tamron 70-300 with macro. Both VR. Both lenses seem ok without being exceptional. Check out some of my pics in the photography zone to see what I've managed to achieve as a new amateur. I got it at christmas time.


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## Dave^ (Mar 22, 2007)

does VR help with close up stationary shots (such as a parked car) and/or moving/panning shots (such as a moving car)?

i'll pretty much only be using it for the 2 above situations, so i don't want to be buying higher spec kit that will be wasted on me, or buying kit that doesn't meet my demands and loosing out having to upgrade.....


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## spitfire (Feb 10, 2007)

If you use a tripod you won't need VR but for moving shots it could be an advantage. Then again people can get great shots without VR.


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## RP84 (Sep 3, 2007)

some good d40 prices on here

http://www.jessops.com/online.store...0 Black AF-S DX 18-55mm Lens-47076/Show.html


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## lanciamug (May 18, 2008)

Dave,
You can probably afford more than you think. From Jessops, I got a D60 with vr lens, Sigma 85-200 zoom, a 4GB card and a very nice bag for £399, A very nice starter SLR kit that I've been very pleased with. If you want to try some image editing, always shoot in RAW. You will have loads of space on a 4Gig card, the only comprimise is the slower write times which can limit continious shooting.


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## Dave^ (Mar 22, 2007)

lanciamug said:


> Dave,
> You can probably afford more than you think. From Jessops, I got a D60 with vr lens, Sigma 85-200 zoom, a 4GB card and a very nice bag for £399, A very nice starter SLR kit that I've been very pleased with. If you want to try some image editing, always shoot in RAW. You will have loads of space on a 4Gig card, the only comprimise is the slower write times which can limit continious shooting.


too late, i've just got back from picking up a D40..... damn!! oh well, lol!!!

wont be putting it to much use til next weekend.... (although i might sneak into the bathroom whilst our lass is in the bath later :lol: )

the D60's weren't in stock anywhere near me for a decent price, and i wanted one this weekend, i'm too impatient.....

anyway i'm sure it'll serve me well enough!

Thanks for the input all! :thumb:


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## kos (Jun 19, 2008)

rickparmar said:


> some good d40 prices on here
> 
> http://www.jessops.com/online.store...0 Black AF-S DX 18-55mm Lens-47076/Show.html


i'll be going into jessops as well and see what deals they can do

i want a tripod , and an extra flash that much i do know.

got some advise from a forum member about what to go for, and i think it will be D40 and get used to it, back in the flow of things etc, and go from there. some of the results from the D40 are pretty good and i dont think i'll need more. i'll just get some good accesoris to work with the camera, and which will work with any future possible upgrade

if i ever want to upgrade i will, and the D40 will be kept as the camra for all occasions.


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## Dave^ (Mar 22, 2007)

i took a few pics round the house last night and i was shocked as to how good they were straight out of the box....

not disapointed one bit, but i suppose only time will tell.....

oulton park this weekend, so i'll be trying my hardest to fill my 8gb sd card.....

:car:


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## Silver R26 (Jul 19, 2008)

I have a D40 nice camera, spent ages on choosing then I thought bugger it buy the cheapest one then see how you get on, no point in spending a fortune to realise you dont like photography or you are crap at it :lol::lol:. There will always be a market for beginner DSLR's if I want to upgrade and sell the D40 on.

I have the 18-55 lense and the 18-105 VR which is my everyday lense. Going to get the 70-300 vr sometime soon which will be enough lenses to keep me out of trouble for a while.

Have fun with it.


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## Dave^ (Mar 22, 2007)

i got the 18-55 and the 55-200, both non-VR, but they were cheaper, in stock, and it'll force me to use a tripod and hold the camera better....

(i hope!)

might go for a drive tonight and get a few snaps as practice for saturday, lol



(mods, we need to get some photography smilies!)


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## Multipla Mick (Feb 5, 2006)

Mooching about a bit I've found a couple of smileys for you...
















Have fun with the camera! :thumb:


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## Dave^ (Mar 22, 2007)

Multipla Mick said:


> Mooching about a bit I've found a couple of smileys for you...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


haha, cheers pal!!! :thumb:


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