in-body or in-lens AF?

[ezechiel]

Hi,

thanks for the answer!

AFS - AF-?
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Oops, I made a mistake about the AF..
I know that D5000 needs AFS lenses (so, in-lens motor). I just made a mistake by
saying "lenses without AF". I should have said, AF lenses without motor (AF-I ?).

What is sure is that I will buy a kit with a 18-50 (or something) or x-108 or x-200 lens.
And in addition (later on), buy a lens for macro. (does it have to be a prime lens for
reverse-mount to use for macro? Or may a 18-50 do the job also?)

I heard people saying that AFS lenses are getting cheaper over time. And I wont buy an additional lens in the first two-three years I guess.
So if AFS lenses are getting cheaper, i maybe won't need an in-body motor?

VR
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About VR, Nikon says it is better in-lens (VR is not a big criteria for me, always took pictures without before and the result is satisfying for fast shutter speeds) because if the VR is in-body, the image is shaking also on the body mirrors, while in-lens, the image is shaking during a shorter period and less reflections, so it should be better.
(They say so, I'm not a specialist in opticals ^^ )

So, another question, why is the D90 better in low light? I thought they had the same sensors. Are there other criteria that change quality in low-light?
Or in general, why is the D90 better if they have the same sensor (besides the in-built AF motor)? I don't understand it really.. :s And that's why I also have difficulties to choose.

Pentax
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I will take a look at Pentax, but always preferred Nikon. (I get the Pentax i have from my uncle. He's a photographer and switched to Nikon at the time of the F1, so a loooong time ago. My pentax is thus a dinosaur ^^

vari-angle lcd
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Is this really helpfull? In some cases yes, but isn't it better to look in the viewfinder
to have a better idea of what the picture will look like?

A lot of questions, I know, but I don't have the money to say afterwards:
oh, I've should have bought the D90, which is a few hundred dollars more expensive.
And with that money I could buy another lens.. (I know, ebay exists ^_-)

[Franglais]

I don't think Nikon have introduced a single non-AF-S lens in the last 5 years. They are in the process of upgrading their whole lens line with AF-S motors and better optics to follow the resolution of digital sensors.

Reasons to buy the D90 rather than the D5000 are:

- ability to focus with older lenses (already said)
- better viewfinder
- better build

Apart from that they have the same sensor, image processor and focussing system. if I had the money I would go for the D90.

Get the 60mm f2.8 AF-S macro. Forget about reverse mounting. Apparently the kit 18-55 focusses quite close but I haven't tried it yet

Forget manual focussing except possibly for macro shots where the subject is still. For anything moving (sports, animals) you need the autofocus to follow the movement. Note one advantage of AF-S lenses (except the very cheapest ones) is the ability to retouch the focus manually just by moving the focus ring. You can't do it with the lenses that use the in-camera motor.

For VR - the in-lens system is better because the elements being moved are lighter but the in-body system is only about one stop behind (according to Chasseurs d'Images).

Afterthought: If you get the 60mm f2.8 then don't get a 50mm as well, it's almost the same view. The 35mm f1.8 DX is a great available light lens and it's only 220 Euros in FNAC