Yup.

I also bought the D-Lux—in part because of this thread. I am constantly amazed by the versatility of the thing. A few pics.

Hand-held in very low light:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1250481312.jpg


Hand-close up:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1250481339.jpg

Every hair in place:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1250481361.jpg

Strange sky above my house:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1250481382.jpg

Figured I'd bring back this thread to ask about the D90. Can you camera experts help me with a decision on this? I've had a nikon 6006 film camera for EVER and it has provided me with years of service and great shots. I eneded up bying a small Sony digital to satisfy the wife and kids for the quick point and shoot moments and to begin the online pic library.

I now want to upgrade and get a nice DSLR and stick with the Nikon family. My dilema, as with many i'm sure in this spot, is my cash out lay with the lens's I own. I'd rather keep using my lens and buy a body instead a DX kit like D60 or D40. As I understand with every Nikon up to the D90 I will not have AF for my older AF lens's. I have 28-200mm 1:3.5-5-6 D, 50mm 1.4 D and a crappy 35-80 mm D that used to travel and bring to the beach etc but I do not use much anymore and will replace with a wider angle lens down the road.

For this I am leaning towards a D90, more $$, but it will take my AF lens. The more I look at this though I am wondering about getting qualy shots with a non IS/VR lens on a DX format camera. Am I right about this or will the internal IS from the D90 be ok with my older AF D lens's??

This is one of my recent fav's from my cheap Sony: Robin's egg blue!;

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1251816853.jpg

There's no internal IS in the Nikon bodies, only VR in the lenses. You'll be fine with the lenses you have w/o VR. You can crank up the ISO pretty high to get most shots. You just won't have the extra low light reach that VR allows. You can always get a VR lens later; there's lots of price points available.

Thanks Steve. I saw this quote on a review site and thought that I would need to jump to the D90:

Lens Compatibility: Just like the D40 and D40x, the D60 autofocuses only with AF-S lenses, and does not meter with manual lenses. This means you have to focus older AF lenses by hand, and that you have to guess at exposure with manual focus lenses.

The D90 works perfectly with all traditional AF, AF-I, AF-D and AF-S lenses.
The D90 has the same lens compatibility as the D80, D70, D100 and D50, which is better than the D40/D60, but worse than the D300.
The D90 provides automatic correction of lateral chromatic color fringes.

You could get a very versitle used 18-200 Nikkor lens for $500 for that D90.

Any thoughts on these two cameras?

older Leica Digilux 1, $200, only 4.0mp, but I won't be blowing anything up past 8x10 and would be a good temporary (few years) camera

used Lumix LX3. $450, 10mp, probably a forever camera

price is an issue, but I typically save to purchase assets vs. expenses.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1255097394.jpg


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1255097406.jpg

I paid under $400 for a new-in-box with warranty LX3. I have no complaints about the construction of the camera. I'm still trying to learn how to use it properly, given that it has various modes.

The Lumix is essentially the Leica D-Lux. Great camera.

Not sure about the Digilux. I think that was the first digital Leica, and seem to recall it's very heavy—although I could be wrong in this.

I have a Pana LX2 & I like it. On holidays I wear it on my belt so it is a great 'quick' shot cam. The 16:9 setting does have proportion distortion due to the small lens but good PS skills can correct most pics.

Ian

Check out the new Canon S90 while you are at it. It just released and competes directly with the Lumix LX3.

Hmmm, I'll have to check out the camera section next time I'm at Costco...the tiny shirt pocket things are just too small for my big hands. Still, not bad detail for a point & shoot. Especially for a guy who once had a Kodak Instamatic. Took this one this morn for a registry. Nice to know Lumix is considered good.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1255289570.jpg

I had this one in Lumix form (exact same Lens, engine, etc. the only difference is some customizations on the software to give the Leica "touch"), anyway... Great camera body, incredible lens, amazing textures of rough surfaces like pavement, sand, etc.. But it's not worth it because everything else is mediocre. And the software is not upgradable. There are much better cameras for that money, this was the 1st or 2nd attempt when of a digital camera when Leica and Panasonic partnered..
I actually tested it vs. S80 and this camera failed misserably.

I would not buy the camera, when it died I was happy as I had a real excuse to buy another one..

Thanks everyone for the advice, now I'm doubly happy I made the right choice. Camera may get here tomorrow, will post some pics.

The 50mm f/1.4D is STILL a great lens and will work wonderfully on the D90 (it will have the field of view of roughly a 75mm though.) It was still sold as a current model until just a few months ago, when a new AFS "G" version replaced it.

I'm not familiar with the other lenses you mentioned, but in general you can cross-utilize the Nikon glass between film and digital bodies, unless you get any "DX" (crop sensor specific) lenses like the 18-200 mentioned above. It would not be usable on your 6006 but would be a great choice for the D90.

Can you please let me know where? Camera came in today and I am disappointed with its condition. eBay seller is allowing me to send it back.

Be careful who you buy a new one from. There's a seller for the silver version on Amazon at $444 shipped.

Here's a black one with a couple extras from a reputable seller you could make an offer on:
FS: Panasonic LX3 (Black) - FM Forums

thanks Steve, I'll contact him. doing searches for the camera, it seems you can get them as low as $424 new but then you have conflicting customer ratings. hard to know whom to trust. if Amazon had one for $450+, I'd go that route in a flash. surprised to see some of the low prices at other online retailers but Amazon's is still quite high.

FS: Panasonic LX3 (excellent condition) + extras $425 - The GetDPI Photography Forums

no affiliation with seller. Be careful when buying from online shops. If the deal is too good to be true, it is. Amazon is all over the map so don't use them as a benchmark. bhphoto.com, adorama.com are my two main go-to places.

Thanks Todd. been busy all day, but if you can believe this, I contact the fellow Steve posted a link to. he's in CT. camera is still available. he's driving to Boston this morning to see his mom. he comes here to the office, camera is in as new, perfect condition, all bags never opened. $425.

have some major deadlines to get to, hope to play with it a little tonight. appreciate the help!

busy as hell. camera is waaaaay beyond my skillset. need to sit down with it for some time.

here's one reason why I bought it. not the best pic, but a start. the clarity zooming in on the 10MB pic (in Photoshop) is stunning. I like the silkypix raw development tool as well which should come in useful in the future. really more camera than I will ever need though.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1256152452.jpg