Tips for first camera

[Chalkman]

Hey - Looking for tips for getting my first real spotting camera budget would be around 300-350, seen this one on another forum.

Nikon d60 Digital SLR 18-55MM kit lens, uv filter and spare battery £230

Any info would be very welcome.

[casper]

Haven't used the D60 - I'm a Canon man, but there's a review of it here

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond60/

There's a dropdown box at the top of the page that will take you to more indepth pages.

[S61N]

Seems reasonable - but you would really need a bigger lens for 'spotting'.

You could look around for a second hand 55-200mm lens with the rest of your budget?

[Hammerhead]

The one thing I would say is you will need a longer reach lens if you want to get any decent aircraft pics, a 300mm is what most people , myself included use.
So I would be more inclined to get a slightly older camera for less money and invest in a good lens, then when you have enough saved up you can upgrade the camera and still have a good lens..

A ok camera with a good lens will get you better results than a good camera with a ok lens......

[Merlin]

Chalkman,

I have a D60 which I got as a kit about 2 years ago for under £500. Came with an 18-55mm, 55-200mm and bag.

As the others pointed out a longer reach lens is a must. The 55-200m is good for spotting at the airport but I also picked up a Tamron 70-300mm lens for about £90 and an 18-135mm lens for about £120 on eBay.

If you're getting a Nikon lens I'd recommend the VR series as they apparently give better quality. The DX lens do not have vibration reduction built in.

I'd also recommend getting a battery pack as it help improves the weight/feel of the camera. The only thing is that the only place you can get them is Hong Kong 

[Chalkman]

Cheers for the info folks