Newbie Here

[Nikon Fan]

Hello All,

I am new to the world of Digitial photography. My old P&S Canon A70 died and decided to upgrade to my first real camera on Friday, a Nikon D60. I am very excited to learn and start taking photos that are actually compelling. Thank you for having me. ;-)

I had done some casual research over the last several months and this model seems to fit the bill perfectly for me. (Just getting started, looking for better quality pictures than a P&S, but is not shooting for National Geographic, but still wants to get creative)

I went shopping this weekend on Black Friday. I went to BB and saw that they had a package deal. This package included the d60 with 18-55VR, 55-200VR, a nikon camera bag, and an instructional video. I also purchased a san disk ultra II 8 GB memory card for "half price"

This total purchase price was 790 dollars.. It also received 18 months no interest. It was a very exciting moment to say the least. I was really giddy. My wife even offered to help me with the purchase as my Christmas gift. So, Im sold and plunk down my BB card and walk out a happy camper.

I felt safe buying the camera from BB, because I would not have to worry about internet vandals et al.

Now the family as asking me about my Christmas wish list, and obviously I am thinking accessoris for my camera, so I log onto Ebay and my jaw literally dropped. I am seeing packages like this one.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=350134205131

Free shipping and roughly the same price. However, I get a little nervous. Will Nikon Warranty this camera? Is it not worth it because the accessories are crap? I do want a tripod, and the wide angle lense attatchemnts seem good to have. Hard case even! I feel a little remorseful about getting my camera at best buy now. Can anyone vouch for these ebay kits? How can they give you all this for the same price as what I just paid for a bare bones starter kit? Buying all these things al carte will be more expensive, but Im not sure if these kits contain jumk, but a tbasic tripod is a basic tripod correct? I do still have enough time to return my camera to BB if I choose, But I don't want to open a can of worms. I look forward to dialogue. Thanks!

Edit: Looked into the ebay kit a little further. It makes no mention of the lenses being VR. I thought the lense with the d60 come as standard with VR?

[Photo-John]

There are some people here who shop eBay. I am not one of them. And I recommend not shopping for cameras by price. Take a look at our Dealer Feedback forum and you'll see why. There are too many bottom feeders trying to take advantage of Internet shoppers. Look for a dealer with a good reputation that has fair prices. I generally recommend B&H and Adorama. I've spent thousands with them over the years and I will probably spend thousand more.

You're right about the Nikon D60 kit coming with a VR lens. Some of the stuff in the eBay kit you're looking at is junk. The flash doesn't appear to be a Nikon and there are two screw-on adapter lenses that might as well be tossed in the trash. Do yourself a favor and keep it simple. Start with the D60 kit from a known online or local dealer. You'll pay a little more. But you won't have to worry about getting ripped off.

Glad I saw your post and I hope my reply helps. One thing I don't want is for people to get taken advantage of. It's absolutely unnecessary. Let us know what you decide on and please come back and share your photos and post a review for whatever camera you end up with

[EOSThree]

Like John said, a lot of those "kits" on eBay contain a lot of filler stuff that is practically useless. You are definitely taking a bigger risk buying on eBay and sometimes you can come away with a deal. I think your purchase at BB was fair, saving a buck here or there on a package of accessories doesn't really help you a whole bunch, especially if the accessories aren't something you really need or want. I find it's much better to tailor the accessories to a few items that are what your really want.

Like John I recommend shopping at the big boys, such as Adorama, B&H, BuyDig, Beach, etc., they may not have the best prices but they will give you a fair deal and stand behind their product.

[Nikon Fan]

Thank you so much guys for your replies. I figured as much. I will keep my best buy purchased D60. I called B&H today and spoke with them. I am in NY so I would have paid tax which honestly brought their package close to the price of the best buy pacakge. I might have gotten a fancier bag. Woop dee doo. As long as I did not get ripped off I am not upset. Alot of those accessories do look kinda cheap. I am not going to ketchup on my omaha steaks.

Anyhow,

I took some 300 frames over the last couple of days. Went to the park, the bay and took some nature shots. Its amazing how once you have a camera like this for even 48 hours, how everywhere your eye looks, it sees a photograph in the making. Unfortunately, I have not been able to have my creativity shine though into digital bits, but that will soon change. Some of my shots have been astounding for a complete novice like myself. Others have been pretty mediocore. I do plan on purchasing digitial photography for dummies or something of the likes, as I would like a one stop hard copy to teach me what I need to know. I will post on here, and learn from you all, and get the human interaction that a book just cannot provide.

I want pictures like the ones in the camera stores on laminated paper with children with insane detail, but I have not been able to unlock the potential yet. My pictures are sharp and clear with great color, but don't ahve that professional HD still look like the show off shots in the camera shops. - you guys know what I am talking about.

Couple of Questions.....
I have been taking the photos in JPEG large/fine and when I put them on my computer that is is hooked up to a very decent 52 inch LCD, im still scrolling. It is not fun. I was taking them big so in case I want to blow them up I would have enough resolution. However, I don't plan on making posters of my photos, maybe the accosional 8X10 or so if the picture is really nice. What do you guys recomend as a setting for size that is not insanely large? I feel that because the pictrue was taken so large that when the monitor tries to display the whole thing at once without scrolling, that it loses something, It's like what I had in the viewfinder does not come out on the monitor unless it is huge and I have to scroll. otherwise it has a snapshot quality. Do you understand me, the FNG? Would shooting the pic in smaller size preserve the personality of the photo? I hope you guys are understanding what I am trying to say here.

I knoiw the camera has a feature to nmake a small copy of a a photo to send on emal etc. But what If I just want to make a smaller size of the pic without making it too small? The settings seem to be a little toooo small. Im looking forwad to really unleashing teh potential of this thing. Lots of questions on the horizon, but basics first. Thanks for your help.

[Frog]

Congratulations on your purchase.
If you ever shop ebay for camera or lens make sure the dealer is an "authorized" Nikon dealer or you will not get a Nikon warranty..
What are you opening your pictures with? There should be an option to fit it to screen or smaller. Are you using windows picture and fax viewer or something else?
Vista or xp or mac? Always shoot the largest you can. Resize for email or posting.
Do you have an editing program? You'll need one to get the best our of your shots. I'm happy enough with photoshop elements 6 but haven't really used anything else so someone else may recommend something else.
Then when you get an editing program you'll want to start shooting in raw format. You'll have more control over the final output and won't ever lose what you shot. Jpeg deteriorates every time you save it.
Post some pics in the critique forum and you'll get lots of help, honest critique, and ssometimes even praise.
Finally, look at the digitutor sticky at the top of this Nikon forum and go to your D60 for very good instructional link. Its much easier to use than the manual.
Good luck and hope to see some shots soon.

[Nikon Fan]

Hey Guys,

I have had a little fun with the camera and have taken a few shots. Here are a few. Thanks again for your help. It seems that the really great shots alwayscome from my 52-200mm, rather than the 18-55. The shots seem crispier, they are both nikor lenses, but the smaller one seems inferior. Still nice shots, but not as nice.

[Nikon Fan]

A few more...

[Nikon Fan]

Last ones...

I Don't think that these are so bad for an stone cold beginner- what do you think? Constructive critisism welcome! The camera is very intuitive and perfect for a beginner like me.

[Frog]

Some pretty good ones there with the next to last being the best in my book.
Would be better if you cropped half of the water under the birds.
Put your shots up in critique forum and you'll get lots of great feedback. That's where I've learned the most.