Tempe Camera often has a significant stock of used/refurbished equipment and I've always had great service from them.

There is no other camera store in my area. We don't have one anymore.

same here. nice trick.

If you actually do decide to buy a Nikon D90, I am about to put mine on ebay and it's virtually brand new (fewer than 1100 shutter actuations). I just moved from Nikon DSLRs to the Micro 4/3 system, and I'm putting that body, and several Nikon-mount lenses up for sale this week. PM me if you're interested - and I can offer you a deal on the order of the fees ebay would otherwise be taking out of my hide. Order of magnitude would be sub-$400.

That being said, The D90 is a much better still camera than it is a video camera.

If the OP has old Nikon AF lenses, they may not autofocus on the D5x00, or D3x00. Only AF-S compliant lenses that have their own focus motors will work on those bodies. Earlier, non AF-S lenses require a D90 or D7x00 or above to autofocus, as those bodies have their own focus motors, while Nikon's less expensive DSLRs do not.

For video no need to worry about lack of autofocus, so older lenses are fine. If you just want to shoot touristy stuff then use a higher aperture and set focus to infinity. If you are playing around with video for production purposes, then you will need to use manual as the autos are too slow anyway. Manual focus is fine though, it's not hard to work out the focus ring sensitivity, and often the older lenses are easier to focus manually than the newer G lenses.

I would assume if someone is buying a DSLR to do video, they also want to do still photography with it, or else they would just buy a video camera. And in that situation, they'll either need AF-S lenses, or a body that can autofocus with earlier, non-AF-S lenses.

Sounds good to me. Please PM to me. I can give you a offer. I have a money.

I tried to PM you yesterday, as well as today and I can't. I get a message saying that you have either chosen not to accept PMs, or are not permitted to.

In any case, when I didn't hear back from you today, I put it on ebay, and it got taken almost immediately with a Buy Now bid. That being said, the guy has not paid me yet, and there is a chance he might flake. If he does, I will get back to you next week.

But you should check into why you can't receive PMs on this forum

They won't "need" AF-S lenses, they can still use manual focus lenses. I use a combination of AF-S and older fully manual lenses. Really depends on what the subject is and what the user wants it for. I wouldn't limit lens choices to auto focus only.

That being said, it's a pretty safe bet that someone who is buying an autofocus DSLR to work with a lens or lenses that they have, expects it to be able to autofocus with those lenses. Intentionally choosing to manually focus (particularly with old AF-D lenses that generally have lousy tactile feedback at their focusing ring) is a pretty acquired skill - I understand it, as I do it myself and I have a pretty good idea what the abilities and limitations are around it - but the overwhelming majority of folks looking to buy a DSLR are simply not looking to do it, and it does them a disservice to not make them aware that they will not have AF capability with old non-AF-S lenses and Nikon's D3x00 and D5x00 series of cameras, or to handwave around it like it's a trivial issue - it's not.

I am not suggesting to not make someone aware of a camera's limitations. In fact, I am doing the opposite, someone else already pointed out the limitation, I just said that it's not worth writing off the choice just because of manual focus. If you are happy with manual focus then why spend more bucks on a more expensive camera. My point is that the D90 is a bad investment for video. It is hard work, especially under artificial light, you get strobing and the noise is not so great. If he wants video, he should look at what he can afford new, and that means a D3x00 or D5x00 if he wants to keep expenses low. If he wants to pay more then get a D7x00.

In regards to old AF-D lenses, I have no issues with mine, and the ring is far more responsive to the G lens manual focussing, which I find is like turning a loose wheel.

I'm not doing any handwaving, but having said that, I still don't see it being an issue if he buys a D3x00 if he is happy to manual focus with older lenses.

What lenses did he say he had? 50mm and a zoom? Do we even know if the lenses he has are not compatible?

I was assuming that his lenses came from having been used with an older AF film Nikon. If his lenses came from the time of an AF film camera, they are almost certainly not AF-S lenses. The fact is, most first-time purchasers of Nikon DSLRs moving up from film cameras at this time naively assume that their AF lenses will function fully on their new DSLRs, when they actually won't autofocus on the low-end of the Nikon line below the D90 and subsequent D7000.

Not disagreeing with you there, just saying that if the user knows the facts, they should not discount a quality low end cheap new Nikon just because it means they need to manual focus on older lenses. If a grand makes a difference then the 3100 or 5100 is still a good camera, even if you need to manual focus. If you want the auto, and can afford the 7100 or 7000, then go for it.

Nowadays, a D7000 body only costs about $100 more than a D5100 body, and $200 more than a D3200 body, which would be the choices for any significant video improvement over the D90. So, the ability for AF with older AF-D lenses basically costs $100. The D3200 is a less advanced camera - although it might meet the OP's needs. The bigger penalty between the D7000 and the D5100 might be the added size and weight of the D7000.

The D3100 and D5000 don't have any better video capability than the D90 does, you have to move forward 1 more generation in each to get that.