Originally Posted by
SJUAMMF
Some people are selling the 18-55mm+55-200mm kit lenses for $300. I pickup a 55-200mm VR in mint condition for $170.
A new D40+18-55mm just went for $355 on eBay. So I don't understand why you are buying $150 of this and $250 of that that a basic kit will cover.
I am also looking for a cheap 80-200mm f/2.8. But there are only two versions of two ring design, one AF-S and one AF. And both are not cheap. Many writers suggested against the AF version although I have not tried it myself. VR does exactly what people who looks for f/2.8 needs to do, extend the low light range. So if one will paying for a $800-$900 non-VR, is $1300 a far stretch? These are the questions I ask of myself and so far I could not reconcile either way.
The D70/D70s is even better. At 6MP and 1.5MP/CM2, it must be as great as the newer D40 for low light. It can also do wireless flash where the D50 cannot. You can get a D70 body for around $300 and the D70s slightly more.
When I bought the D200, I pass on the D80 mainly because it used SD instead of CF and lacking the 10 pin connector.
Actually, I prefer SD, but at the cost of flash cards nowadays, it's a trivial issue (a class 6 8GB costs under $20). The D80 is better than the D70, and the D50 is as well. The D50's sensor is 2 years newer than the D70 sensor, and the D80 sensor is 3 years newer. And I own both.
And the lenses I bought are made in Japan high quality Nikkors, not cheap kit lenses, but having bought them 2nd hand, I paid the same type of prices I'd have paid for less well built kit lenses. And the prime lenses I bought are simply MUCH better than all but the most expensive (well over $1000) pro zoom lenses. But those primes do not autofocus on a D40 or D60. The lenses I bought are quite a bit better than the basic kit lenses - especially in terms of freedom from distortion at the wide end, and in terms of maximum apertures. As well as build quality.
And incidentally, VR doesn't work for stopping motion blur for sports work. Most users of the 80-200mm f2.8 are buying the lens for shooting sports or other action. VR is worthless for that - but it is useful for many other hand held applications - such as shooting fashion or events like weddings. And the difference is not $900 vs $1300, it's $600 vs $1700.