On 2007-04-29 07:42:03 -0700, RichA said:

On Apr 29, 4:39 am, "Gary Seven" wrote:
Hello all. Can some of you good folks here help me out here? I am thinking
about buying the Nikon D80. I don't want to start or hear flames either for
or against Canon/Nikon, just looking for some advice here.

I will probably go for the D80 mostly because it fits my hand much better
than say, the Canon 30D. There are other little "pleasantries" I like,
especially the viewfinder. I'm at a loss though, of the type of lens or
lenses to purchase with the body. There are two types of shooting that I
do: (1) family shots of my two little girls (indoor and outdoor) and (2)
landscape style photography, mostly of my vineyards here in Priorat (Spain).
Along those lines I like to do shots of vines, overall vine/row shots,
background "mountain" shots, and I would also like to do very close-up
(macro?) shots.

So what to do here? I have the feeling that buying just one lens (I assume
a tele-wide) will NOT be a one-size-fits-all solution. I get the feeling I
will need two, but simply don't know which way to go here. Of course, my
budget is not unlimited and I simply can't plop down another $2000 in glass
on top of the $900 I will be spending on the body.

Thoughts anyone? TIA.

G7

Get an 18-135mm ED DX and some screw-on macro lenses for the front.
$350 for that grouping.

Several reviewers have complained about chromatic aberrations and
distortion. The one good thing they have said it is sharp. Also, the
zoom ring is either too stiff or else it suffers from the same lens
creep as the 18-200. Build quality is inferior to that of the 18-200.
It also does not have VR, which is an attractive feature to everyone
except you. You are the only one who posts here who does not like it
and you have made the usual litany of over-the-top unsubstantiated
claims about it "ruining" your pictures (actually, you are a bad
photographer -- it is you that ruins your pictures if your recent
postings are anything to go by).

The more I read your posts, the more I understand that you are
considerably less expert than you think you are.
--
Waddling Eagle
World Famous Flight Instructor