How limited are the lens choices if I go with Nikon?

[videobruce]

With the lack of a on board lens motor with Nikon DSLR's, how limited are my choics for high zoom ratio lenses?
As in over 8x.
Also how much does that limit me for regular 3 or 4x zoom lenes?

I was really hoping to get away with a single wide range zoom lens if the trade off of image quality wasn't that great.

Yes, I do know there is a trade odd, but I'm hoping there are ones that aren't as bad as some of the others I have read about. I really didn't want to carry a 2nd lens and have the hassle/worry with changing lenes in the field.

The cameras I was considering are;

Canon EOS 400D (Digital Rebel),
Olympus E-510,
Nikon D60,
Nikon D40x &
Nikon D80

Kinda in that order.

[Rooz]

only the d40/ d40x and d60 dont have AF motors. all other nikon dslrs have motors.
in saying that, there are limits for the non-AF motor bodies but not really that restrictive. what lens' do you want ?

[videobruce]

Something with a zoom ratio of at least 8x. 10x+ is perferred depending on image quality.

To put it another way; as high a zoom ratio with as little image quality loss as I can get.

[raven15]

Sony DSLR's are the way to go for single lenses. Sony has its own variant of the Tamron 18-250mm lens, which would be image stabilized on the Sony body, in addition to the Sony 16-105mm lens.

They also accept many other Sigma and Tamron lenses, such as 28-300mm, 18-200mm, Tamron 18-250, etc. These lenses are available in other mounts also, but they are image stabilized on the Sony. Most are also available for Pentax (with IS).

The only real option for Nikon is the 18-200mm VR, which is fairly large and expensive.

The Olympus 18-180 (36-360mm equivalent) has the best image quality of any super zoom lens (I read a review somewhere, can't remember where, Popular Photography?).

There are few good all-in-one solutions for Canon.

I think your best bet would be an Olympus E510 (or E520) or Sony A200. Followed by D60 and Pentax K200. Then Canon.

[Rooz]

Something with a zoom ratio of at least 8x. 10x+ is perferred depending on image quality.

To put it another way; as high a zoom ratio with as little image quality loss as I can get.

sony have good options aswell. to say its "the way to go" just cos you want an all in one lens is confusing and a little misleading. imo if you arent getting the excellent a700, the other sony bodies are not great options.

if you want image stabilisation in the lens the pick of the bunch for superzooms in terms of optical quality and construction is actually the nikon 18-200VR. then there is also;

the tamron 28-300 VC
http://www.tamron.com/lenses/prod/28300_vc.asp

sigma 18-200 OS
http://www.sigmaphoto.com/lenses/lenses_all_details.asp?id=3329&navigator=6

there are several others aswell but these would probably be the top 3. keep in mind here that all superzooms have significant comprimises in IQ for various reasons. sharpness, speed and barrel distortion are all significant comprimises for all-in-one zooms. so you pay for convenience and flexibility but you will lose some quality. thats just the nature of the beast.

in terms of best balance between zoom and IQ, the new nikon 16-85VR is a standout option getting rave reviews. its very sharp but pricey. i'm not familiar enough with olympus so cant help there. canon make a 17-85IS lens but its IQ is not as good as the new nikon.

you havent named a budget or any shooting requiremenets so its hard to give any other advice. of all the cameras you listed, the 400d, d80, e510 are all great options, but are all older gen dslr's if that makes a difference to you. they all have very different feels, weights and features. so you will need to hold them and have a bit of a play to find the one that fits you the best.

the beauty of dslr is the quality of the glass and the interchangeable nature of lens'. i'd be asking yourself why the need for such a massive zoom range and if that is high up your list of priorities...is there a need for dslr at all as opposed to say the canon s5 which has massive range ? food for thought...

the canon 400d with the new 18-55IS + 55-250IS or any of the nikons with 18-55VR + 55-200VR may indeed be better quality options. if your budget is tight, the d40, (not d40x or d60), saves you a packet in the above combination. if you can stretch the budget a little then imo the canon xsi is the best quality "budget" dslr out there right now.

[TheWengler]

What kind of focal range are you looking for? 8x zoom just means that the longest focal length is 8x the shortest one. It doesn't say what range it covers. The max aperture of the lens is also very important. If you go with an ultra zoom lens you will be limited by a slow max aperture. You need to list your budget, expectations from the camera/lens and the conditions you'll be shooting in (subject type, lighting, etc.)

[Nickcanada]

Rooz has made some good points. I'd just like to add that if there is not a specific reason you want a DSLR like no lag time in between shots and ISO performance then you will probably be disappointed with your DSLR.

It takes some time to learn how to use a DSLR and often the auto modes don't perform as well on DSLRs as they do on P&Ss.

[raven15]

Yeah, I guess the 18-200 VR isn't that large and expensive if you are comparing it to the Sony set-up. As for being the pick of IS superzooms, it is really the only one.

It is true that a budget would be helpful. Shooting habits too, though unless you frequently shoot indoors or want extreme quality, a super zoom covers everything.

I think that a DSLR and superzoom lens would equal and exceed any comparable fixed lens camera in image quality. However, the sudden pick-up in image quality makes it easier to find other things that are wrong, so you think the camera is taking worse pictures when really you are just noticing things that don't stand out in P&S cameras. It is especially easy to notice missed focus.

[Rooz]

raven, both the tamron and the sigma have in-lens IS. tamron call it VC, Vibration Compensation and Sigma call it OS, Optical Stabilisation. the nikon 16-85 is also a VR AF-S lens.

[zachwass2000]

Bruce,
It seems to me that you may do better with an ultrazoom point and shoot. The advantages of an SLR nearly disappear if you intend to use only a single lens that covers a large zoom range. By using lenses with less zoom range you will get (much) higher image quality, super wide and super tele lengths, and large maximum apertures. These things are what I'd say are the greatest advantages of an SLR.
Zach