I am thinking of buying this Camera / Lens.

Does anyone have any opinions - for or against?

Patrick

This is designed as an entry level camera for new dSLR shooters....

One of the main attractions for many is the High Def video capabilities....

I am not sure about a lens with such a wide zoom range.

Quality will have suffered compared to shorter zoom ranges

and the F no will be high.

Having said that it will cover just about any reasonable situation without carrying a second lens.

I would go for a 18-70 + long zoom (70-300 VR?) combination, the 18-70 kitlens from nikon is a great little lens for the price

the 70-300 vr is also a great lens for the price and lightweight

I went away last week on a trip and there was a girl on the trip using a D90, she was absolutely having a rip snorter of a time with it & achieving some lovely results. If you've got a few spare bucks, just go the camera body and look for a slightly better lense than that kit one, you wont be disappointed.

I just bought this exact kit in BKK at Pix One in Fortune Town for 51K a few weeks ago, the D90 body and the 18-200 VR II Nikon lens. This lens covers just about everything you will need, though I picked up a Sigma 10-20mm as well.

The standard kit lens is 18-105mm and it is also available with the 18-55mm too. I'd go with the 18-200mm (which is not the standard kit) unless you want to fumble around with different lenses. Since you aren't getting a full frame, the 18-200 should be good enough.

I think there are other DSLRs that Nikon offers for the beginner, I wouldn't say this is a "beginner" but if you are new to DSLRs you can grow into it.

I contemplated the Canon 7D which is a better camera but in the end I figured it was just too big and bulky to lug around.

So far with the D90, I have no complaints...

I have this camera and lens and a lot of my friends do also. It is a fine camera and will do most of what the much more expensive cameras will do. Not an entry level camera at all. The most recent shots on this site taken with the D90 but all Thai shots taken with the smaller D60 which I use for travel. If you want to save money and have a lighter camera try the new Nikon D5000 which features HD Video now too. Most Nikons now are made in Thailand.

Nikon shooter invited to join our meetup group no matter where you are

Well, I took the plunge and bought the Nikon D90 plus the 18 - 105 and 70 - 300 Lenses.

Very happy with it so far but not really had much chance to use the longer zoom yet.

Patrick

Congratulations.

It will take some time to get to grips with all the features, enjoy.