Nikon D60

Congrats on the new camera! I love Nikons! I have a D50, a D70 and a D300! The lens I use is a 28-300mm. For me that is the perfect range. 28mm is wide enough for landscapes and such, and 300mm is close enough to zoom on most anything I want to get close to! And it covers everything in between! Unfortunately Nikkor does not make a 28-300mm lens. Mine is a Sigma which cost around $250. Tamron also makes a 28-300mm lens that is around $300 and a version with Vibration Compensation (aka Vibration Reduction for Nikkor lenses or Image Stabilization for Canon lenses) that is around $600. For me one of the main benefits of a 28-300mm lens is that you don't have to change lenses often. Sure, you can get a lens that goes up to 55mm, and then one that goes up to 200mm and then one that goes up to 300mm and then switch them out while you're shooting, but you'll often miss a shot! If you're shooting with an 18-55mm lens then you see a really cool bird in the distance, the bird might fly away while you're putting your 300mm lens on! Plus, the more often you change your lens, the more dust you get on your image sensor! And this can really mess up your photos! So for those reasons I would recommend a single zoom lenses with a lot of range over several lenses with shorter ranges. All of my Nikons have internal autofocus, so these third party lenses will work on them. Unfortunately for the Nikon D40, D40x and your camera the D60, there is no internal autofocus and the autofocus is only in the lens. Which means that these lenses will not work on your camera. Well, they will work but you can only manual focus. Now, if you manually focus 100% of the time, I'd recommend one of these 28-300mm lenses. But if you prefer to use autofocus, you will need to purchase a lens manufactured by Nikkor. Nikkor does make a 70-300 with Vibration Reduction for around $600. You can probably find one without the VR for around $200-$300 if you're looking to save money. But the VR makes a HUGE difference when you're zooming at that 200-300mm focal length. You get much sharper, clearer images with less blur. Nikkor also makes an 18-200mm lens and a 55-200mm lens (both with VR). As for if it's better for you to go with a 200 or a 300 maximum value really depends on what type of photos you take. For example if you take a lot of landscapes, you might want to go with the 18-200 because you'll be using the wider focal length more often. I personally shoot at 300mm far more than I shoot at 28mm. I like to get up close as much as I can! So if you're like me and always want to shoot things off in the distance, or get up closer to your subject, then I'd definitely go with the 300mm!

Well, personally, I am a Pentax person. :) Most any photographer will tell you the glass is what is important. A common mistake many folks make is to invest all of their money in the body (camera), thinking the more expensive the better. The glass -- lens -- is where you want to invest your money. If you have a cheap or lousy lens, it doesn't matter how good the camera is, your photos will have problems. As for the size, it depends what you want to take photos of. In my experience, I'll tell you this: Keep in mind digital takes more light than good old fashion film. The more zoom, the more light needed. In very bright light or sun, you probably won't notice this.

I've been itching to get a Nikon D40 only because its more realistic price wise for me...if I could afford to get the D60 or newer i would but I just cant afford to right now....As for lenses..well sorry but I cant help you out there..again, with me itd be all about what I could afford ya know... Enjoy the camera regardless of what lens you buy!

nikons are great i have a nikon d50 i got it when it first came out and it cosy my hubby $900.00 he got it for me for xmas a couple of years ago i told him i loved it but he was crazy/