Well, I got my kit at RM4100 without any other accessories. So, I suggest you to go for the shop in timesquare.

IMHO, Fotokem shops sells cams more expensive.

Well, the original nikon battery should look like this



If the battery doesn't look this this, then it's a 3rd Party battery. I don't think there is fake en-el3e, but got 3rd party. If 3rd party then it will have a diff brand name.

Since yourself say you're a beginner, you can go for the SB-400 or SB-600. But i think SB-600 is more practical and better flexibility.

However, of course if you have the budget, the SB-800 can guarantee better performance and features.

If you want to know the diff between SB-600 and SB-800, read this http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/sb600vs800.htm

yeah, if nikon battery, u will be able to tell whether it's genuine or not. It also has a holographic sticker.

Well, it depends on diff shop's cost price.

Or some just wanna make a profit out of your sales.

RM4100 is kit and they will normally throw in a 1GBsd/tripod/bag

SB-600 should cost from RM750 onwards. I think market price is RM780.

You can try to go and scout for it in Sg Wang.

Enata Photo, Tarita Sg Wang, Boeing Camera.

In lowyat plaza, you can try Bintang maju

In KL Plaza, I would highly recommend Foto Miami, as I got mine there.

Ask around and you may get yourself a good deal.

Yeah, that one is parallel/japan import.

Well, if you're on a budget, this way is not too bad. Given the chances of a faulty D80 is very low.

Made in Japan set somemore....

IMHO, it can't be trusted. One seller, just pay RM50 for every year of warranty.

But who's gonna handle the warranty? You have to go back to him, and he may just disappear.

You can buy the set, warranty wont be covered by Nikon Malaysia, you will have to pay for servicing and all.

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Added on July 22, 2007, 11:08 aminternational camera service center is a renowned camera shop. No need to worry.

You can also get from YL Camera in pudu Plaza, another place for cheap deals for lenses and body.

This post has been edited by calvin_gsc: Jul 22 2007, 11:08 AM

Well, if you have the funding, get the 18-200mm, it's a very versatile lens.

To share with you, I used to be crazy over the 18-200mm, but i read and read and considered....

I already have the kit lens, which covers the 18-135mm range. So I am planning to get a 70-300mm VR lens which costs 1.8K.

The 18-200 is soft at the further range of the lens.

After my telephoto lens, I will need to save up for a constant aperture lens like the Tamron's 17-50mm f/2.8. It's more affordable than Nikkor's 17-55mm f/2.8. (RM1.5k vs 4.8k)

Let's do some simple math.

If you were to get a D80 body only, it would cost you around RM3.5k for original.

Set 1
D80 With Kit lens 18-135mm= RM4200.

Set 2
Body only = RM3.5k
With 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED-IF AF-S VR= RM2.5k
Total = RM6000

Set 3
Body only = Rm3.5k
With 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S VR= RM1.8k
Total = RM5300

Set 4
D80 with Kit lens (18-135mm) = RM4200
With 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S VR= RM1.8k
Total = RM6000

Set 5
D80 body only = RM3.5k
Tamron SP AF 17-50MM F/2.8 = RM1200
With 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S VR= RM1.8k
Total = RM6500

If I were you, and had the budget, I would get set 5.

It's good to have a constant aperture lens for low light conditions and without flash photography.

You will miss the 50-70mm range in between the 2 lenses, but nothing to worry about that. You just need to move back or forward of your obect by a few steps.

It all depends on your budget really. If you have the funds, I strongly suggest you to get a good set of lens to start with. They're suitable to start with.

I got myself a D80 Kit Lens because my funding wasn't that good at the point I bought my camera.

This post has been edited by calvin_gsc: Jul 23 2007, 07:24 AM

Sorry I missed out on the Sb-600, didn't know you were getting it all one shot. Lucky you!

Constant aperture lens means that at any focal length, the biggest aperture size you can can be a constant f/stop.

For eg. Tamron's 18-50mm f/2.8

from 18-50mm range also it can be set to f/2.8 which makes it a fast lens.

However, for eg. the 18-135mm f3.5-5.6G, at 18mm, it can open widest to f/3.5 and at 135mm aperture can only open biggest to f/5.6. This makes a lot of diff compared a f/2.8 lens.




Another reason why I am not getting the 18-200mm VR lens is that it has very bad distortion at 18mm compared to the kit lens.

18mm at 18-200mm VR



18mm at 18-135mm kit lens

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Added on July 23, 2007, 4:45 pmSave the RM350 on the 50mm 1.8d for the lenses I recommended if you don't need the 50mm.

The 50mm 1.8d is a very sharp lens, great for portraits, close ups and macro (paired with close up filter/extension tubes/reverse ring)

One good thing about the 50mm 1.8 is that it's really fast.

It's great for indoor low light photography without flash.

But the downside is that it's not a variable zoom lens.

Which is why I ask you to invest on a Tamron 18-50mm f/2.8.

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Added on July 23, 2007, 4:52 pmI don't think you should compare 18-200mm with 70-300mm.

The working range for both lenses are different.

70-300mm is more of a dedicated telephoto, so it doesn't have the speed available on the wide angle part of the 18-200mm.



If you compare the same focal lengths, clearly you can see the 70-300mm VR lens is a slightly faster lens than the 18-200mm.



This post has been edited by calvin_gsc: Jul 23 2007, 04:57 PM

If he has the funds, I strongly suggest he gets a constant aperture zoom lens like the Tamron's 17-50mm f/2.8 rather than the D40 kit lens.

You really didn't read what I wrote huh....

I explained quite clearly.

YL Camera would buy second hand bodies or lenses.

YL Camera is in Pudu Plaza. Do pay them a visit!

This post has been edited by calvin_gsc: Jul 24 2007, 08:04 PM

Wow, that's a very good price using crredit card payment.

hey bro, SDHC tend to perform slower because of it's high capacity. They have slower read/write speeds.

try going for those normal sd cards with high speed. But limited to max 4GB.