D2H vs D2Hs vs D60?

stu_the_flat

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Sadly earlier this month my immaculate Alfa Romeo 166 burst into flames and converted its self to a pile of ash in a lay-by. For some reason my wife will not let me buy another Alfa!

So I was thinking of using a little of the payout money to by a second camera

I really like my D60 the only three things that I don't like I'm longing for is a couple more AF points (D60 only has three).

a little less noise at moderate ISO. I have Noise reduction on all the time this has the frustrating effect that when I take three photos my camera locks up for a few seconds and will not alow you to change any settings.

Everybody loves the D2Hs its a sort of "cult" camera but they seem to be about £500 which is more than I want to spend. and there aren't any for sale!

the D2H get mixed reviews Is it out of date? how would compare to a D60?

Cheers Stuart
 
Perhaps ask you self what sort of camera your after first?

The new D3000 is very much like the D60 but with a newer AF system with 11 points if I recall correctly. This may be worth a look if you like the D60. There are really nice tiny cameras at a great price but only shoot 3fps and have no built in AF motor.

D2h and D2hs are low resolution cameras, have no built in flash, weigh a tone and cost a fortune. But are fast with great fps, I am told are very reliable and takes good quality low resolution pictures. From what I read the s has better iso noise reduction but both have poor iso noise by today's standard.

Have you thought about going half way with something like a D200?
 
Don't really care about frames per second but REALLY want a bigger buffer. I hate it when my camera stopps talking to me when there are things I want to photograph.

A screwdriver mount would be invaluable to me as it means I could buy the older cheaper lens

Don't give a flying fandango about resolution to only glass I've got that will match 10 million pixels is the Voigtlander and I plan to let that sit on the D60 while the Siggy 70-200 sits on the other camera

Reducing the darned noise is the top of my wish list. that's why I thought the D2H was the obvious choice as it has pixels three times the size of my D60 even though its old. I think it would more sense to buy a D40 rather than a D3000

The D200 is a good shout but as you say its half way and still cost £500 which is the same as the D2Hs?

Weight doesn't bother me I'm not a small bloke! :D My on-board flash as never fired on my camera. Never understood the point of them.

Cheers for the reply.

Stuart
 
From an ex D60 owner....

Noise - AWFUL. 400 ISO is the best you'll get, I never appreciated how bad the D60 was with regards to noise until I got the D90. The D60 was always going to be a backup, but I soon sold it when I realised the massive gulf between the two cameras, in terms of IQ but especially noise.

Never used the D2H though so can't compare I'm afraid.
 
Don't really care about frames per second but REALLY want a bigger buffer. I hate it when my camera stopps talking to me when there are things I want to photograph.

Have a go at turning your D lighting off as this speeds everything up. Also you can try turning noise reduction off as this will really speed things up but you may not like the extra noise in low light. I found a fast ish memory card really helps things for me.

Reducing the darned noise is the top of my wish list. that's why I thought the D2H was the obvious choice as it has pixels three times the size of my D60 even though its old. I think it would more sense to buy a D40 rather than a D3000

Have you had a look at the D5000? It has much better noise handling than the D60, D3000, D40, D2h and D2hs. Its quite new so you may struggle to get a used one at a good price though.
 
Stuart, here's two pics from a story I shot this week - both at 800 ISO - one of them is from a D3 - the other from a D2Hs - which is which?

1
4AW_0102.jpg


2
2AW_3169.jpg
 
Have a go at turning your D lighting off as this speeds everything up. Also you can try turning noise reduction off as this will really speed things up but you may not like the extra noise in low light. Also I found a fast ish memory card really helps things for me.

Agree with this, I found myself getting really frustrated with the buffer one day until I realised I had ADL turned on. Makes a lot of difference.
 
O interesting! I think its going to depend mostly on the glass but I'm going to say the lower image is your D2Hs as the upper one seems to have a much "truer" representation of paramedics fluorescent jackets which we Expect for a more resent camera. (unless the D2Hs has been set the "soft" colour representation.

The sky is also over exposed on the second one which could (but probably isn' )the famous bleed through of infra red! :D

Am I horribly wrong? :D

Cheer Stuart
 
What about a D90?

Are you a pro shooter? Unless you need a pro body and weather sealing the D2H would not be worth buying, the D90 would be a much better buy.
 
What about a D90?

Are you a pro shooter? Unless you need a pro body and weather sealing the D2H would not be worth buying, the D90 would be a much better buy.

I'm not a pro I'm an over enthusiastic amateur (very armature!) :D

I suppose half my reasoning I don't want to assign my D60 to the bucket by buying a camera that completely outclasses if in all aspects
 
O interesting! I think its going to depend mostly on the glass but I'm going to say the lower image is your D2Hs as the upper one seems to have a much "truer" representation of paramedics fluorescent jackets which we Expect for a more resent camera. (unless the D2Hs has been set the "soft" colour representation.

The sky is also over exposed on the second one which could (but probably isn' )the famous bleed through of infra red! :D

Am I horribly wrong? :D

Cheer Stuart

yep! no 1 is a D2Hs shot with Nikkor 300mm f/4 - no 2 is D3 with Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8. The D2Hs shot made the local paper and the Daily Record this week - along with several others. I used the D2Hs to get extra reach as I couldn't get closer to the chopper. It was a dull overcast morning with the chopper in dull low light. See what I mean about the special look of D2Hs pics? :)
 
yep! no 1 is a D2Hs shot with Nikkor 300mm f/4 - no 2 is D3 with Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8. The D2Hs shot made the local paper and the Daily Record this week - along with several others. I used the D2Hs to get extra reach as I couldn't get closer to the chopper. It was a dull overcast morning with the chopper in dull low light. See what I mean about the special look of D2Hs pics? :)



I should have just figured it out from the fact you where using the Crop sensor for the reach!

That is a very surprising result and a tribute the the D2Hs!

Congratulations in getting the photo on the paper. (even though you are a pro so I suppose its your bread and butter :D)

Stuart
 
Sorry getting this thread back on track! I still would like to know of people option of the D2H? As it allot cheaper that the D2Hs. I like that fact!

And now the D90! Its all so confusing!

Stuart
 
Cheers guys. I had found the first review but I had missed the fact that the D2H did not have Noise reduction. which made me think the review was biased.

I had no Idea about the Fuji! I'm off to do more research but this sounds like the camera I'm wanting. :D

Stuart
 
I'm obviously not telling you guys where I've found it.... But I've just found a D300 for sale for £490 with 4500 shutter clicks! :D I'm not sure I'm happy spending £490 yet but if I am I think I'm daft not buying that! I've held a D300 twice in my life and I loved it.

As the D200 has a million billion pixels isn't it just the same for noise as the other cameras? I will happily sacrifice resolution for low noise. which is what the Fuji appears to have done?

Stuart
 
I'm obviously not telling you guys where I've found it.... But I've just found a D300 for sale for £490 with 4500 shutter clicks! :D I'm not sure I'm happy spending £490 yet but if I am I think I'm daft not buying that! I've held a D300 twice in my life and I loved it.

As the D200 has a million billion pixels isn't it just the same for noise as the other cameras? I will happily sacrifice resolution for low noise. which is what the Fuji appears to have done?

Stuart

Send us the link! :D
 
I'm obviously not telling you guys where I've found it.... But I've just found a D300 for sale for £490 with 4500 shutter clicks! :D I'm not sure I'm happy spending £490 yet but if I am I think I'm daft not buying that! I've held a D300 twice in my life and I loved it.

Buy it! if you dont send me the link and i will :thumbs:
 
What do you folks think about the old comment "the Nikon D40 is better than the D60"?

I think the only difference between the two is the D40 is better with noise and the D60 has higher resolution.

So if you don't own any fancy glass that will exceed the Nyquist sampling rate of the D40 I can see no good reason to own a D60.

Stuart
 
Cheers guys. I had found the first review but I had missed the fact that the D2H did not have Noise reduction. which made me think the review was biased.

I had no Idea about the Fuji! I'm off to do more research but this sounds like the camera I'm wanting. :D

Stuart


If you want a play with the D300 and S5 give me a shout :thumbs:
 
I had a D300 but didn't like it - ok I'm weird - but it's only half a camera - and I hated the grip thing - if you want a true pro body then the D2Hs is still the way to go at that money.
 
I've been thinking hard about this.

From what I've read I think the Fuji S5 is my perfect camera. But they seem to cost upwards of £500

My second favourite is still the D2Hs again I will need about £500

I'm thinking I really can only afford to spend £350, which would mean I was looking at the D200 or the D2H. I didn't know the D2H didn't have noise reduction that is a bit of a kick in the teeth, but the D200 would be a good all round camera for £350?

Cheers Stuart
 
D200 would be fine if you stick to 400 ISO max - above that it's noisy. D2Hs can go to 1600 ISO with little/no noice - D300 to maybe 3200 ISO........or just keep saving....or sell something! :)
 
I've been thinking hard about this.

From what I've read I think the Fuji S5 is my perfect camera. But they seem to cost upwards of £500

My second favourite is still the D2Hs again I will need about £500

I'm thinking I really can only afford to spend £350, which would mean I was looking at the D200 or the D2H. I didn't know the D2H didn't have noise reduction that is a bit of a kick in the teeth, but the D200 would be a good all round camera for £350?

Cheers Stuart


There's always the Fuji S3 Pro, basically the same sensor as the S5 but in an older Nikon body and well within budget
 
It really is difficult advising someone what to buy - aside from budget - it's a very personal decision - depends on what you want to shoot, in what conditions, what size you want to print to, for publication? libraries? - and just the feel of the camera to you. If you buy second hand - as you are doing - you can sell again in a couple of months without losing much/anything if the camera doesn't suit you.
 
Cheers Guys your help has been very useful.

I think Flashes idea of the Fuji S3 pro is brillant. Its a really nice CCD system. I Spend most of my time photographing people which is what the camera was desgined for. And Its cheap!

Cheers Stuart
 
I'm sure it's a bril camera - I just couldn't turn up at a job with 'sony' or 'fuji' on the camera! Only serious pro cams are Nikon and Canon! I've had Nikon since 1971 so am not going to suggest anything else now - am I?
 
Reading through the thread you said that one of the major issues you have is with the buffer.

If you go Fuji then you will have bigger problems than you have now. The S5 is horrendously slow from shot to shot, the S3 worse.
 
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