[Rocket]

Hi Guys,

After much searching for a good quality dslr camera I have purchased a Nikon D90 camera with 18 - 105 zoom lens.  I understand that it has been superseded by the Nikon d7000 but funds were limited and I need to purchase everything from scratch i.e. bag etc.

I have had bad luck buying electronic equipment over the internet (warranty issues) and decided to purchase the Nikon locally.  The deal included the nikon d90 body, lens, lowepro bag, 8 gig sdhc, 3 year extended warranty and $200 gift voucher for free photographs at the camera shop.

I'm going overseas in the next couple of weeks and I can recoup the gst when leaving Australia.  I will be holidaying in Thailand and will be visiting the Burma Railway where a relative died during its construction and I will be taking lots of photographs.  I've just bought Nikon D90 for Dummies  and have a lot to learn.

I've toyed with slr cameras in the past but I find digital cameras so much better because I can chose what I have developed.

Regards

Rod

[Early B.]

The Nikon D90 is a great camera. If you're planning to go overseas in the next couple of weeks, you should learn as much as you can about your camera as quickly as possible. You don't want to be fumbling around with the settings while you're on vacation. Take at least three thousand shots -- it doesn't matter what you shoot. The goal is to learn the camera. Also, buy another battery and at least one more card just in case.   

[viggen]

I have the same camera with a 50mm 1.8 and a 17-55mm 2.8. 

I think it's a great camera that's easy to use.  It's hard to goof up when you're in auto mode.  I use mainly aperture priority mode in order to take advantage of my lenses abilities.  I prefer using high aperture/low ISO.  The auto mode likes to use high ISO.  I don't like this because the photo becomes noisy which is especially noticeable when editing on Photoshop.

Share some of your pics here after you're back from your trip.

[Rocket]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for responding to my thread.  I will take your advice and look at another battery and sdhc card for the camera.  I took a few photographs the other day and it was great deleting the one's that didn't work well for me.

I leave on my holiday in 12 days time and unfortunatley I will only have a basic understanding of its operation before I go.

Do you think the 18 - 105 zoom lens will be suitable for my needs during my holiday or am I better off buying a 50 - 300mm zoom lens as well?

Thanks

Rod

[zybar]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for responding to my thread.  I will take your advice and look at another battery and sdhc card for the camera.  I took a few photographs the other day and it was great deleting the one's that didn't work well for me.

I leave on my holiday in 12 days time and unfortunatley I will only have a basic understanding of its operation before I go.

Do you think the 18 - 105 zoom lens will be suitable for my needs during my holiday or am I better off buying a 50 - 300mm zoom lens as well?

Thanks

Rod

Rod,

I have the 18-200 VR II (http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/nikon_18-200_3p5-5p6_vr_afs_n15/) as my main lens and it is a great all-around performer.  Not sure if it fits your budget, but if it does, I highly recommend it.

What type of pics do you think you will be taking?  That will dictate what type of lens will work best.

George

[jvc]

My Tamron 70-300mm stays on my camera a lot more than my 18-105mm. But, as mentioned, it depends on your use of the camera. The 70-300mm just isn't usable in some situations.
Good luck!

[JohnR]

Hi Rod, my take is don't obsess too much about lenses until you learn the camera. My usual suggestion is to look into a macro lens next - the 60mm is a really great lens IMO, I usually just leave it on my camera as it doubles as an excellent portrait lens. But in other words, enjoy your holiday!!

[Pez]

Great camera regardless of price. Remember though, video is just ok on it. DSLR video seems to be the trend for reasons I don't quite get or appreciate. I'd much rather shoot on even a cheap camcorder than on a DSLR. For astounding picture quality you will love the D90! 

[jqp]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for responding to my thread.  I will take your advice and look at another battery and sdhc card for the camera.  I took a few photographs the other day and it was great deleting the one's that didn't work well for me.

I leave on my holiday in 12 days time and unfortunatley I will only have a basic understanding of its operation before I go.

Do you think the 18 - 105 zoom lens will be suitable for my needs during my holiday or am I better off buying a 50 - 300mm zoom lens as well?

Thanks

Rod

D90 VACATION protocol
============
Take lots of pics.
The battery lasts a long time - maybe 2 days of shooting lots of pictures, but at least 1 day. So you can charge it at night.
If you have an 8GB card you are probably OK for 1 day also. Get the SanDisk Extreme 30,  8GB - perfect for the D90.
Then every night recharge the battery if it is down to 2 bars and every night offload your pictures to your laptop and also copy to a little external drive.
Be sure to format your SD card every time after you offload pics to the laptop and copy to the external drive. If you are very disciplined about these steps you can keep all the pictures you worked hard for.

I would personally order that 18-200 VRII lens especially for this trip, worth every penny (50-300 is probably just too big to carry around Thailand, 200mm is really a very good reach). Just leave it on the camera always - keeps things clean safe and simple when traveling. Get the great shot, don't mess with lenses and other gear, no tripod needed with this lens. It is all you need unless you really want to bring the $200 35mm for low light shots.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/18200.htm

NEVER let go of your camera and backpack, while walking, sitting, eating in restaurant, in taxi, train, boat. Usually you will want you camera in your hand or around your neck/shoulder if you see anything worth shooting. You can easily shoot 200-500 shots per day in a place like Thailand.

[Rocket]

Hi Guys,

At this stage the Nikon 18-200 VRII lens is out of my price range after just having purchasing the camera. 

You have given me some good advice regarding my trip.  I do have a laptop and will be uploading my photographs daily.  My daughter and I are staying near Kananchanburi for a few days and I should get some great photographs.

I will have a look at the sandisc extreme sd card.

Regards

Rod

[thunderbrick]

I would take the 18-105 over the 50-300 any day.  With the longer lens you have short telephoto and long telephoto, no wide-angle or close quarters capability at all.  I have several dozen lenses but if I had to pick one for general uses I'd take my 16-85mm every time.

[Eric]

I have the D80 and love it

[jqp]

Hi Guys,

At this stage the Nikon 18-200 VRII lens is out of my price range after just having purchasing the camera. 

You have given me some good advice regarding my trip.  I do have a laptop and will be uploading my photographs daily.  My daughter and I are staying near Kananchanburi for a few days and I should get some great photographs.

I will have a look at the sandisc extreme sd card.

Regards

Rod

Well the 18-105 is good enough, considering it is the kit lens for the D90 - you can just stand closer to the subject. The 18-105 is good for travel photography since it is a VR lens - no tripod needed. Not the sharpest Nikon lens at 18mm, but overall it is fine.

That San Disk Extreme III 30MB/s Edition card was supposedly developed by San Disk and Nikon specifically for the new D90 back in 2008. The $109 8GB card is now $30 on amazon!

Slower cards will work but this one will let you do faster continuous shooting and a little faster downloading to the PC.

A word of advice - be sure to download pics and format the card every night. The only time I have filled up the card and wished I had more room is when I did not do this. Formatting the card protects against data corruption, merely deleting/erasing does not.

[Rocket]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the tips.  I'll see if I can pick of the san disc you mentioned.

Regards

Rod