"John H" wrote in message
...
...anyone know of a better deal than this for $729?

http://tinyurl.com/4zhdw35


John,

That package is offered at a great price, but it come with some limitations
that would concern me. First, the D3100 is a good entry-level DSLR body,
but I think stepping up to the D90 offers much more potential, without
getting into the details. You can compare the two bodies on the NikonUSA
website. The D90 is being offered at good prices right now, due to it's
impending discontinuation in favor of the D7000. The D7000 is also a very
nice body, but I think I favor the D90 when you factor in the cost. Even
more of a concern than the body is the choice of lenses being offered with
this package. The 18-55 is simply too limited in its range, in my opinion.
The limited range virtually guarantees that your daughter will need to pack
both the 18-55 and the 55-200, and will likely be switching back and forth.
This program adds to the bulk of the kit, is inconvenient and increases the
opportunities for foreign matter to accumulate on the sensor filter,
requiring more frequent cleaning. I'm guessing that packing lenses,
changing them out on the body and cleaning sensors is not something you or
your daughter bargained for.

I have a friend who recently upgraded from an early model Canon digital
Rebel. He bought the D90 from B&H. B&H is offering the d90 with the 18-105
VR as a kit for $1099. For an extra $370, you get a much more capable body
and a much more versatile lens. Only one lens to carry and no lens
swapping. An even better deal, is ordering the D90 body and the Nikon
18-200 VR individually. This is what my friend purchased. When you order
this bundle from B&H, they are currently offering a $250 discount on the
18-200, for a net price of $1319 for the bundle. Now you have the more
capable body with an even more versatile lens. I haven't used my 18-200 for
years, ever since I purchased the 16-85, but I still have it, and wouldn't
hesitate to mount it if I only wanted to carry my single most versatile
lens. The best deal of all would be for you to purchase the D90 body for
your daughter at a price of $800 and give her your 18-200 if you're no
longer using it The D90 has been around for awhile now, I wouldn't hesitate
to search Craigslist for a well cared for used copy with either the 18-105
or the 18-200. However, I've found that the asking prices for used copies
are not much less than the current prices on new ones.

All of this assumes, of course, that a DSLR kit is the more appropriate
solution versus an advanced point and shoot. Being a Nikon guy, I own the
P7000 as my go-light camera. It has very good image quality and fits right
into my RAW workflow using Capture NX2, but like all point and shoots, I
find it difficult to compose with, don't care for the 4:3 crop ratio vs. the
3:2 ratio with the DSLRs and is encumbered by the myriad of other
limitations that come with such a camera. But it has a focal range of
28-200mm in 35mm equivalency, and fits in a jacket pocket. It can be bought
for $359 at Amazon, much less than I paid for mine. Since I assume that
your daughter will not be needing the ability to shoot raw files, another
option would be a superzoom, such as the new Nikon P500. It has a fixed
lens which offers a focal range of 22.5-810mm in a package that is sized
somewhere between the P7000 and a D3100/D90 for $400.

Happy shooting,

Russ