Round Two

So you thought it over and buying a REAL camera sounds like a good idea and you are a mature adult and can wait until after Christmas so now all you have to do is figure out what camera to buy

No it's too late to catch the Aunt Martha show this year but I know you'll be ready for act two next year. The Dance of the Quivering Flamingo is not to be missed, so lets think about how to be ready.

We've already talked about the economy option and I think it is still the best but for some of you, you just won't be satisfied with anything less than the High-priced spread.

That means Nikon.

The Nikon D90 is a twelve megapixel camera. (You remember we already decided that twelve megapixels is enough even if you want to blow up that shot of the Thing on the Couch in the bear's mouth.) It is a Nikon and it has almost all of the bells and whistles that the bigger, heavier, more costly Nikons have. It just won't cost as much as the new BMW in the driveweay.

Why a D90? It isn't a Pro level camera which is a very good thing for our purposes. Most Pro level cameras, be they Nikon, Canon, Sony or Pentax have been worked to a frazzle. They have high shutter counts, loose lens mounts and worn setting ratchets. They don't have light leaks which plagued all film cameras cause you had to have a way to load film and with all of that opening and closing the backs work their way loose by the time a Pro decides to get a new box.

No a Nikon DS5 or even a D850 is not a good choice, They are fantastic machines and they take wonderful pictures and they last forever but the Pros know this and they use the hell out of them and by the time they make it to the used market they are a mere shadow of themselves.

No you want to focus on an entry level camera like the Nikon D5300. Of course that means no college for the kids but I'm sure they'll understand in a few years and MacDonald's offers some great career options...

Maybe you should think about something a few generations older, like a D90. Now the new Nikon D7100 is a comparable camera, but it will take a second mortgage to buy and it is only a tad bit better. The D90 was introduced in 2008 and it hasn't faded all that much. In fact Nikon still offered it new until 2013 so they thought it was pretty viable. Now you can get all of that viability for around $200. Just check KEH, for a bit more $229 you can get an EX grade model and that kiddios is some deal.

Just think your snotty brother-in-law is going to show up with a Nikon D810 which set him back $2199 refurbished from B&H and you know your sister is seething and planning to Lorena Bobbit him the first chance she gets and that would ruin a lot of Christmases and you can fess up that your Nikon only cost $229 from KEH and aren't you a smart shopper not to mention not having to be afraid of anyone who knows where the knives are kept and that makes for a Happier New year!

And the D90 will have most of the features that the D810 has. No not the ginormous sensor, but why do you need all that? You aren't going to post your photographs to a billboard along I5 so something smaller will do just fine.

And you can still use all of those juicy Nikkor lenses so long as you can afford them. But with the huge tax break the Republicans are giving us as a Christmas present you can have plenty of money to spend on high-priced lenses!

No you won't? Okay take a long look at Sigma and Tamron. They make reasonably price lenses for your Nikon and some of them are better than anything offer by Nikon. The new Sigma 150-600 is the neatest thing since indoor plumbing and cost less than a thousand dollars. Too much, take a look at the Sigma 50-500 for around $650 before Christmas dollars. After the big doings on the 25^th you can probably get one for $500.

Still too much? Tamron makes a 28-300 which for my money is the best walking around lens you can have and you can get your hot little hands on one for...$160 dollars at B&H and that's for a high grade copy at the highest priced seller!

And if you decide to get the Tamron 28-300 you won't have to decide if you like wide-angle or long lens best. You'll have both in one package. That means fewer lens swaps, fewer clods in the camera's innards and fewer trips to the repair shop cause you put a clod in the cameras innards!

Now read this over and think on it and after Christmas when Aunt Martha is back to wearing Mumus and drinking chamomile tea and the Thing on the Couch has passed out in front of the Stupid Bowl you can slip off to the computer and order your REAL camera and take beautiful shots all year long even if you decide to buy the Nikon and spend way too much money when you could have had a Pentax for a third of the price but I am not the sort of person to say I told you so so do whatever you want...no matter how wrong it is.