[ChrisCarr]

I will start by saying thank you... I keep on finding all my photography questions answered in existing forums on this site!

I can not decide...
I currently have a D70 with 18-70mm & 70-200mm and a SB300 Speedlight, all Nikon. I love the equipment and the shots it produces but now I am having hardware malfunction. I am getting the 'ERR' message. I am lucky to have a Nikon authorized repair shop in town so it is being fixed right now. $210 for full cleaning and new shutter (which ticks me off after only taking 8000 shots!).

I am thinking about ditching the camera on Ebay after I get it back and upgrading to the D80. I am pretty set on the camera body, but what should I do about the lenses? I can't decide which way is the best to go. Keep my existing 18-70mm & 70-200mm combo (which I end up never using the 70-200mm) or switch to a non Nikon brand Quantaray 18-200mm... Anybody care to chime in about that? I don't think I can afford the D80 & a 18-200mm Nikon lens.

Thanks! Chris

[Angela]

Chris, hi and I'm pleased you're finding Pixalo so helpful!!

I've moved your thread into this forum so it will get more exposure (no pun intended!) for you.

[Markulous]

You could do worse than the Sigma 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 DC which has been pretty well received.

[Dave]

I'll give you 2 options.

1. If you think you might use up to 200m focal range, but only if don't have to swap lenses, then stick with the D70 & go with Nikon 18-200mm lens

2. If you feel you will never use the longer focal ranges & fancy an upgrade, then sell the 70-200mm & D70, then buy the Nikon D80

Hope that helps

[ChrisCarr]

So what I am hearing is the Sigma 18-200mm is not going to diminish the quality of the photos I am getting out of my D70?

I would love the larger range... I have been able to get some amazing photos with the 200mm... I caught a hawk blinking... but I don't carry it with my much. The flash and extra lens becomes to much baggage on normal trips so all in one seem so appealing.

As for the D70 vs D80... I am getting the D70 fixed right now but can I trust it? I am just nervous about running with equipment that has already failed once on me... that dark feeling of being let down. So selling it off seems like the best way to get rid of my bad feeling but I really did love the quality so why not bump up to the D80...

Thanks for the initial comments... I am starting to sway towards the D80 with 18-200mm Sigma lens.

[Markulous]

Originally Posted by ChrisCarr

As for the D70 vs D80... I am getting the D70 fixed right now but can I trust it?

No reason why not. I'm sure their repairs are good.

Reminds me of an amusing story which does have an interesting question out the back of it. Guy I know, very accident prone, on a pleasant, sunny day slipped on a grassy bank and banged his camera against a concrete post (probably the only post for miles around!).

As he hit the post with the lens, he takes the lens off to check for damage. He's turning it over and then studying it. He smells burning, looks around but there's no one else there and then realises that's it's him burning! Hole clean through his jeans from the capless lens! Moral: always keep the lens caps on - both filter and body end (he had film so dust not so worrying for him!).

But, and this is the question: what happens if you put a camera down, lens pointing up at the sky, without a lens cap? I know I have. The sun's rays could be focussed down the lens onto the shutter, which is only a thin metal leaf - distorting, leading to failure. As he suggested (he worked for Jessops), there's a large number of cameras with shutter failure. Moral: double check you've put the lens cap on!

[ChrisCarr]

Originally Posted by Markulous

No reason why not. I'm sure their repairs are good.

True... very true. This is just my excuse to justify going to the D80 body. I just finished a wonderful conversation with my coworker that finished off the decision process... basically he said that the quality of the coating and precision of the glass alignment would make a difference in the wide angle shots. I would most likely start to see color distortion in the edges of the lower mm shots, where I tend to shoot most. I would only be gaining a little convenience for a potentially large loss of quality. Then he threw my own advise back at me, buy for the 90% of your use, not the 10% of what you could and might do.

I will just purchase the D80 body, sell off the D70 on Ebay and keep the Nikon 18-70mm & 70-200mm duo.

Thanks all for chiming in though!

Chris