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I'm just starting my pregnancy and baby photography business and I need to invest in my first digital camera. I've been using a Canon D40 but it was borrowed, and before that I was using my trusted film camera.

I need it to be good for portrait photography in particular so is anyone out there experienced in this? The D90 and D5000 are the ones in my budget so it's between them. And I only really want to use Nikon because I've already got lenses so anything else is out of the question. Both of them come with a 18-105mm lens so it's just between the bodies.

Does anyone have experience in using either of them for portraits? Is there anything you find annoying about them? Would the D90 be better for business use, i.e. faster processing, easier settings, or would the D5000 be just as suitable?

Thanks!

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+1, a very common question – Tim Post Nov 20 at 15:52

2 Answers

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First, I have no experience with Nikon bodies, I hail from the Canon camp.

However, if someone were to ask me the same question about Canon bodies, I would say spend money on a lens because the bodies will produce the same quality image using the same glass.

You will see a difference between a great lens with an aperture of 2.8 throughout, and a standard lens with a varying aperture.

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I was up in the air with that too. I read an interesting review by Ken Rockwell (click on the "Comparison" link to skip to the nitty gritty) and ended up going with the D90. I picked the D90 because I don't like buying task specific cameras .. and the d90 (while a little heavier) seemed to be the better all around camera.

NB, I still (usually) reach for my D40, unless doing portraits that have to look good on enlarged prints. Its lighter and less clunky than the D90. The D5000 looks pretty much like a D40 which can be problematic, I think they tried to get way too much inside the same body.

If you can spring for the D90, go for the D90.

Finally, take Ken Rockwell with a grain of salt, unless looking at comparisons and tabular data. He has a very .. strange .. sense of humor.

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