Woo, bought a D60 today!

MikeHunt79

MikeHunt79

MikeHunt79

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I've been thinking about getting a D40 for a while now but now Nikon do not make them any more I went for the D60.

I figured it was worth the extra as you get a VR lens also, and I always found it hard getting a steady shot with my compact before.

I've never used a DSLR before now and I must say I'm really impressed by the detail in the photo's, here's one where I managed to catch a bee doing it's thing:
dsc0046l.jpg


Right now I've got everything set to auto, but once I get to grips with what everything does I'm going to try experimenting a little.

Also, I guess I should have asked before buying it but what other bits should I get?

So far I've only got an SD card, but I'm thinking some sort of case and a Hoya UV filter to protect the lens from scratches?

I was also thinking about a bigger gorillapod, as I already use one with my compact but I think the D60 may be a little heavy for it! What other (preferably cheap!) bits and bobs are worth getting?
 
I would use a lens hood rather than a UV filter, it will offer protection to the front element, reduce flare, cost less and won't reduce image quality at all.

The 50mm f1.8 is an excellent lens for low light, 55-200 VR or 70-300VR are great telephoto lenses that don't cost the earth.

A decent bag is always useful, ND/ND Grad filters for landscapes, shutter release remote, macro tubes, seperate flash... the list goes on and on :p
 
Raikiri said:
I would use a lens hood rather than a UV filter, it will offer protection to the front element, reduce flare, cost less and won't reduce image quality at all.
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Good call, I'll go for a hood. :)
Raikiri said:
The 50mm f1.8 is an excellent lens for low light, 55-200 VR or 70-300VR are great telephoto lenses that don't cost the earth.
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The D60 has pretty much cleaned be out, so I doubt I'll get any lenses for a while. I'm really impressed with the kit lens tho, so I think it do me for now.
Raikiri said:
A decent bag is always useful, ND/ND Grad filters for landscapes, shutter release remote, macro tubes, seperate flash... the list goes on and on :p
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Yep I was hoping to get some sort of bag and flash... Any recommendations?
 
I was in the same situation as you about 2 months ago when I got mine, and I agree, it's an awesome camera!

I want to get a lens hood too but it wouldn't fit in the bag I've got :(
 
MikeHunt79 said:
Yep I was hoping to get some sort of bag and flash... Any recommendations?
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If you haven't got much money to spend go second hand, I got a basically new Sigma EF 500 ETTL for less than £50, if you want to buy new the Nissin DI622 for about £75 is meant to be fairly decent.
 
As for a bag, i got a Crumpler prettyboy XXXL from ebay and its great. Looks good and fits all my gear nice and snug and yet its still easy to carry about. Would highly recommend it.
 
Raikiri said:
If you haven't got much money to spend go second hand, I got a basically new Sigma EF 500 ETTL for less than £50, if you want to buy new the Nissin DI622 for about £75 is meant to be fairly decent.
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Getting a 2nd hand one doesn't worry me. :) The only one I've looked at so far is the Nikon SB-400, but I'll have a look at some others.
Mark A said:
As for a bag, i got a Crumpler prettyboy XXXL from ebay and its great. Looks good and fits all my gear nice and snug and yet its still easy to carry about. Would highly recommend it.
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Thanks, that does look like it's more than big enough for a D60, do you normally remove the lens before putting it in the bag or do you keep it attached?
 
MikeHunt79 said:
Getting a 2nd hand one doesn't worry me. :) The only one I've looked at so far is the Nikon SB-400, but I'll have a look at some others.
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I wouldn't bother with the really compact ones myself, they offer much less control over the direction of a shot.

Look at the difference between a direct flash:

k0kbyw.jpg



and bounced from the ceiling (apologies for the subject but you can see what I mean):

23w8uh2.jpg


The set up:
30wo3lw.jpg


You can improve a direct flash by diffusing it but it will never be as good as bouncing the light.
 
Yep, one of the reasons I was thinking about getting the SB-400 that you can tilt it up at different angles and bounce it from ceilings. :)

Admittedly it's not amazingly powerful but I'm trying to keep my set up compact (for now at least).
 
I didn't realise it could be tilted up 90 degrees, my mistake (I'm not too famililar with Nikon stuff). Looks decent enough.
 
MikeHunt79 said:
Yep, one of the reasons I was thinking about getting the SB-400 that you can tilt it up at different angles and bounce it from ceilings. :)

Admittedly it's not amazingly powerful but I'm trying to keep my set up compact (for now at least).
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I don't think the Sb-400 can be tilted up to the ceiling. Maybe I'm wrong.

I would definitely go for the SB-600 over the Sb-400 though.

you can then use the flash off the camera. TBH, the sb-400 doesn't make much sense.
 
SB-400 can be tilted upwards to 90°, but not sideways.

SB-400 is much smaller than the SB-600. It has no manual controls on the flash (unlike the SB-600), but can be controlled manually through the camera menu system (on D40 and presumably all newer Nikon cameras).

SB-400 also can not be activated remotely, and therefore must remain attached to the camera for operation.
 
In which case, the SB-400 can not be tilted to the ceiling when mounted on the camera in portrait orientation, which would be one of the main uses for a flash!

And the inability to work off the camera is extremely limiting. Hence the Sb-600 is a much more sensible option.
 
I've only ordered a few cheap bits and bobs so far; Lens hood, 16gb card, bag and gorillapod.

I'm not sure how often I'd use the flash off the camera, I'm guessing you'd have to fix the flash on a tripod or light stand when using remote firing?

It seems both the SB-400 and SB-600 are good options, but I can't really afford either at right now. I guess that gives me plenty of time to decide until I can afford one (Photography certainly isn't the cheapest of hobbies!).
PESolution said:
i have the exact same camera and kit vr lense :) Am also newish to the DSLR scene :)
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Nice. :) Got any top tips or good links for a beginner? So far I've just been going thru the manual and while it does the job it's not exactly exiting!
 
Get yourself the book Understanding Exposure. I recently got my hands on a cheap 2nd hand copy and I've only had time to have a quick flick through but I've already learnt a lot more!

If you can't afford a tripod or bipod, check this out:

http://www.instructables.com/id/1-Image-Stabilizer-For-Any-Camera---Lose-The-Trip/

I am yet to try it but I've been told it works.

Bang the camera on manual and just start playing with settings (start with aperture and shutter speed, then look at exposure and ISO).

Check the sticky in here for some links to training guides online.

Oh, and i've got the same camera. I only really use AUTO if I am just taking a quick snap shot of something otherwise I keep it on Manual. Try turning AutoFocus (AF) off and try doing it manually!

check out the TalkPhotography fourms as well.

While discussing flashes, can anyone confirm that the SB900 works on the D60 and is it really worth the extra over the 600 or 800?
 
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