Hey! ( I'm an aspiring Fashion Photographer )

I have a Nikon D40 with a 18-135mm lens. I went to RITZ the other day and while talking to the man who works there , he informed me that I should not buy the D80, He said I should just upgrade to a D40x or D60.

He said that they do just as much as the D80 unless you master the manual settings.

I also need a good speedlight or flash , I was thinking of the SB 800 since I shoot a lot of models outside.

any comments or advice?

If anyone would like to help and have a lot to say.. you can IM me (pink.rawka on yahoo ) for a convo... I need all the help I can get ppl... thanks a bunch

I am a photographer and I work with a Nikon D80. I LOVE it. If you do shoot models and you want to upgrade I would suggest it. You really should learn to master the manual settings, too. If you're only going to use auto settings (such as portrait, landscape, macro, etc.) you may as well just buy a point-and-shoot camera like a pocket digital. If you need any help.. you can IM me anytime creoendios89 on aim. =)

If u wanna proceed with high fashion photography u will need something much stronger than Nikon D80, something like Nikon D200. That camera is fabulous!
You also wanna have a couple of lenses to widen the spectrum of ur shots: wide angle, close up, wide angle zoom.
SB 800 AF Speed light flash would work beautifully outside or inside, depending what u tell the flash to do.
and of course u would need good old studio lights. have fun

Because you are starting off, just update your lens for know, once you master the manual settings.. go for the d80.