Originally Posted by
anrkitec
Just a few points:
[1] Many [most] of Nikon's older extended range AF zooms suck - big time. Being able to use most of Nikon's older non-f/2.8 AF zooms is no advantage IMHO, particularly on digital bodies with a high pixel count/density.
Many, yes, certainly but not all. I got a quite good 28-200mm AF-D lens for $150, and an even better 18-35mm 18-35mm AF-D lens for $250 used. I would contend that these two lenses combined outperform the 18-135mm and 18-200mm current lenses, in particular, at the wide end the 18-35mm is FAR superior in terms of distortion, than any of the newer wide range AF-S zooms lenses are. And an un-sung SUPERB cheapo Nikkor zoom is the 28-70mm f3.5~4.5 AF-D lens, a tiny, sharp, contrasty, low distortion, completely flare free lens that can easily be gotten for under $100. And one can get an older 80-200mm f2.8 Nikkor Zoom for under $600 that is optically the equal of the 70-200 f2.8 AF-S VR lens that sells for $1700. VR and AF-S is nice, but they are not worth spending 3X as much for basically the same optics. This also ignores a whole lot of nice lenses from Tokina and Tamron that don't have AF-S support. Like the great Tokina 12-24 and 11-16mm superwides, and Tamron's great Macro lenses.
Originally Posted by
anrkitec
[2] Nikon currently produces about 30 AF-S lenses that will auto focus on the D40/D60 which cover a range from 16mm to 600mm. I have no doubt that the OP will have no trouble finding what he needs from this list, in terms of range, price, and quality.
And how many of them are primes that are currently available for under $400?
ZERO. Meanwhile, I use a 50mm f1.8, a 24mm f2.8, and a 180mm f2.8 lens, all of which are among Nikon's finest performing lenses, all of which can be found inexpensively, and none of which will autofocus on a D40 or D60.
Originally Posted by
anrkitec
[3] Nikon has recently introduced a 35mm f/1.8 AF-S for under $200 which is effectively a 50mm lens on APS-C cameras like the D40/D60.
[4] Pretty much every lens Nikon will make in the future will be AF-S.
So right now, Nikon has introduced, but will not ship for another 2 months, exactly ONE high quality but inexpensive prime that works on the D40 and D60. And I am sure that all of the future AF-S lenses that Nikon will be producing will be nowhere NEAR as great values as the zooms and primes that I listed are on the used market. But a D40 or D60 precludes anyone from using them if they want autofocus - and believe me, manually focusing an autofocus lens on an autofocus body is no picnic for someone who has never used a manual focus DSLR before - which, I sensed the OP to be.
Originally Posted by
anrkitec
[5] The D90 [while a great camera] is both significantly heavier and bulkier and much more expensive than is the D60 which would seem to violate two of the things the OP wanted most.
And the cost of the D90 is why I recommended a D80. Those bodies cost around $550 new nowadays. A used D50 would also be great, and those can be gotten for $250 in near mint condition.
BTW, I am the happy owner of a D80 (bought used for $425 with battery grip), and I just picked up a nice D50 with a Katz Eye screen on ebay for under $225 as a backup body.