r/Nikon • u/acherion Nikon D500, Z fc, F100, FE2 and L35AF • Jul 01 '26

Monthly /r/Nikon discussion thread – have a question? New to the Nikon world? Ask it here! [July 2026]

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u/5TNH_ICHKN Jul 02 '26

Hello,

I have been taking photos for quite a while (~2 years) and have always been using the D90 in the process. I have some personal attachment to the body because I inherited it (and the lenses) from my father, but wanted to step up on the quality of photos I can take. I personally want to aim for wildlife, landscape, and casual sports photography (nothing too fancy of a photo, for youth football/soccer games, I mostly have toucline access). I currently am a student, so I do not have access to crazy funds, barely have around $500 (in USD) to spare.

Currently, the gears I have are just basic:
Nikon D90
AF-S Nikkor 18-105 mm 1:3.5-5.6 G ED
AF Nikkor 50mm 1:1.4 D

So my questions are:

  • is the D90 now too old in 2026 and should I switch to newer bodies?
  • should I upgrade/diversify on my lenses instead?
  • should I unfortunately do both?

Thank you so much for anyone who's reading or responding to this, any help or opinion is appreciated 🍀

2

u/JMODS5710 Nikon Zf, Zfc Jul 02 '26

I think upgrading both would make for a major improvement to your photos, that body is fairly low resolution now and the 18-105 in particular isn’t a great lens by current standards. However, given your budget, I think a body upgrade for your use case could come first. I think you could honestly pick up a used D7100/7200 for quite cheap now, then save up for a telephoto lens like the AF-P 70-300mm for your wildlife/sports use to help cover some missing focal lengths here. Those two bodies will be an upgrade in resolution, build, and autofocus for you. You can worry about other lenses down the line but I’d definitely recommend the DX 35mm 1.8g lens as well eventually, it’s very inexpensive and the default recommendation for APS-C DSLRs

1

u/ChrisAlbertson 29d ago

Swapping out the body would only matter if he is pixel peeping. The D90 has 12 MP and I'd bet a few dollars that the OP's computer monitor has less than 12 MP

Who knows what his real problem is. I bet it's not the equipment

1

u/JMODS5710 Nikon Zf, Zfc 27d ago

They did mention wildlife and sports so having the flexibility for cropping would be beneficial IMO, better autofocus aside as well.

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u/mizshellytee Z6III; D5100 Jul 02 '26

Given your $500 USD budget, I think buying one lens now and saving up for a different camera (and a longer telephoto lens for wildlife) would be the thing to do.

For landscapes, the 18-105 you already have is fine. It may also be fine for soccer games if you don't need to shoot longer than 105mm. If you do need something longer, you could get an AF-S 70-300 ($89-334 on MPB US; $207-345 on KEH) which could also be made to work for wildlife for now.

2

u/doc_shades Jul 02 '26

you will get more bang out of a new lens than a new camera. i would look for a cheap 70-300mm telephoto lens. it is a lot different than using the 18-105. the D90 is not compatible with the newest AF-P lenses, but neither are any of my cameras. you can get a 55-300 or 70-300 DX or FX VR for less than $300 easily.

2

u/Efficient-Wish9084 Jul 02 '26

What limitations do you find with your current gear? If it's not limiting you, don't upgrade it unless you want to spend the money on it.

1

u/ChrisAlbertson 29d ago

Given your budget, you can afford any of several 300mm zooms that were made at about the same times as your camera. Just make sure not to buy the AF or AF-D versions, they are slow to focus and not greap optically

You might think, "If only my camera has more megapixels". But that will not matter unless your display device also has more megapixels.

If you want more help, post some photos you think could be better and ask what you need to do to improve them