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Originally Posted by
Amberglass
Mastering exposure, shutter speed, and depth of field is key in photography 101. I always recommend that beginners starts themselves off with a fast prime like a 50 1.8/1.4 or 35 1.4/2. You need the wider and faster aperture for low lighting and speed without flash. Kit lenses have apertures that are too small for low lighting (even if you crank up the ISOs) without the assistance of flash.
If you happen to buy a used camera that has everything but the operations manual (and yes, you will need it); just go onto Nikon's official website to download it for free.
One of the biggest advantages for you if you go with a D200 is that Nikon offers backward technology on their midrange cameras. Meaning you can buy older AF lenses for your camera and save.
Not to forget faster and perhaps more accurate autofocus in low light conditions.
If you do buy a nikon SLR, I suggest getting one of Thom Hogan's complete guide book. Not that cheap but I think it's worth the money. Unfortunately, he has not written one for the D3000 or D5000 as of now. I have not gotten one myself but I am considering buying it in the near future.
Do read up some of his articles too. I strongly recommend these.
Tip of the iceberg- factor in the cost of tripods, lens, filters, extra battery, memory cards, flashes, ring flashes, diffuses, books, workshops, traveling cost etc.
Getting the pixels right (shot discipline)- get technically good photographs.
My quick and dirty rule for better images has been and continues to be:
- Get the best support you can and learn how to use it. Good support reveals how good your lenses are.
- Get the best lenses you can and learn how to use them. Good lenses reveal how good your sensor and post processing are.
- Get training. Learning proper shot setup, shot discipline, workflow, and post processing from the pros helps you maximize your pixels.
- After you've done those three things and are still not getting the quality you want should you look at whether you need to upgrade your camera. If you do this last thing first, you're going to work this list backwards and take a lot of less-than-satisfactory pictures while you do. Moreover, when you work the list backwards, you often find that you have to go back a step when one of the upper items reveals a flaw you hadn't noticed in the lower ones. Save time and money by working the list forward.
More shot discipline
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