What is the best beginning camera for serious photography - keeping lenses in mind?

Question

I am looking for a good D-SLR beginner camera, but would like to purchase one that has lenses that will work for the next camera upgrade. I have been looking at the Nikon D60 and am not sure how compatable the lenses are with the D80. Any suggestions??

Answer 1

I just buyed an Olympus E-510:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&...

Although many people like Nikon or Canon, I am very happy with my Olympus choice; it comes with 2 pretty good lenses included, and the fact that all lenses follow their Four Thirds Standard should guarantee compatibility with all their future D-SLR models, including many other brands which agreed to the same standard

Answer 2

All lenses for the D60 will work on the D80, too. And on the replacement model for the D80 (expected soon.) They'll also all work on the $1600 Nikon D300. You won't run into compatibility issues until you upgrade to the $3000 Nikon D700 and the professional D3. With those two cameras, you can't use Nikon's DX lenses properly (generally Nikon's cheaper lenses, including the 18-55mm kit lens for the D60.) In practical terms this isn't really an issue though - if you ever upgrade to a $3000 camera, you'll probably have phased out any DX lenses long before then.

And with the D80 and up, you can use a few extra lenses that won't work properly on the D60 - mainly prime lenses, such as the Nikon 50mm f/1.8. This limitation of the D60 is important if you plan on doing mostly low light photography (concerts, weddings, night time street photography). Other than for this specific field, the D60 has a great selection of lenses.

So there are a few issues, but they're pretty minor. Nikon is probably the best company in the business for compatibility - with most of their cameras, you can still use all the lenses they made since 1959. And needless to say, the D60 is a great camera.

Answer 3

D40! It will teach you everything you need to know about DSLR (it has in-built teaching aids) and you can easily upgrade your body to a D60 or D80 and lenses and gear will still be compatable!