Well I went for it: just bought a Nikon D40

[M@lew]

Please do not buy an xti you will spend alot of time in aperture/photoshop with your photos if you buy that camera if your gonna go canon get an eos 30D or greater if not buy a nikon D40 or greater the d40 is far less expensive then the xti and i find the quality equal or greater then in most cases.

1) Spelling + Grammar - Makes the world a better place.

2) How will getting an XTi leave you in front of an editing program more so than a 30D? The 400D has a newer sensor and a larger resolution. I don't see how these would make you want to edit your photos. The D40 is only equal or greater in some retrospect. It is a tad lacklustre in features, but the audience it aims for won't usually strive for these features in an entry level DSLR anyway. e.g. DOF button, Exposure Bracketing.

 

[peapody]

I'm somewhat surprised to see Peepody having a

Nikon Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D AF Lens

especially as this won't autofocus on the D40
(you need an AF-S for autofocus on D40; AF lens use a motor in the camera body that the D40 doesn't have)


Also, bear in mind that a 50mm lens on a DX camera is effectively a 75mm (in 35mm film terms) lens because of the crop factor of the DX sensor. Personally, I don't find a 75mm very useful. Too tele for general work, not tele enough for other things.

The 1.8 is nice though but you'll need to very good to manually focus it at that F-Stop with its shallow depth of focus.

Peepody, I'll venture you won't use the 50mm much but the zoom a lot. You definitely need the effectively 27mm - 82mm that the zoom gives you.

Actually I decided to go for this lens as an alternative to the one already provided in the kit because of the price, for one matter, as well as the possibility of learning with it. I knew that you cannot autofocus with this lens on the D40, and in actuality, this did not really hurt my decision to get the lens. I just wanted something that is sharp and based on reviews and opinions, the 50mm is a good basic lens for portraits because of the ability to gather light?. I guess the idea here is that maybe I should keep both lenses, the zoom for the AF feature and the 50mm for the focusing learning curve?

 

[libertyterran]

Actually I decided to go for this lens as an alternative to the one already provided in the kit because of the price, for one matter, as well as the possibility of learning with it. I knew that you cannot autofocus with this lens on the D40, and in actuality, this did not really hurt my decision to get the lens. I just wanted something that is sharp and based on reviews and opinions, the 50mm is a good basic lens for portraits because of the ability to gather light?. I guess the idea here is that maybe I should keep both lenses, the zoom for the AF feature and the 50mm for the focusing learning curve?

I remember what I read in a photography ebook is that when you first started shooting, Get a 50mm f/1.8 and set it to f/11 and just shoot away. You don't need to focus, just capture the frame, the composition, the color, the mood, etc. AF or AF-S, thus, is quite irrelevant in this case. I have a Nikon D40 and I will get the 50mm f/1.8 as soon as I got some spare pocket $.

 

[squeeks]

Please do not buy an xti you will spend alot of time in aperture/photoshop with your photos if you buy that camera if your gonna go canon get an eos 30D or greater if not buy a nikon D40 or greater the d40 is far less expensive then the xti and i find the quality equal or greater then in most cases.

ok, well, since i got it yesterday ive shot about 150 shots and haven't yet seen the need to photoshop or aperture any of them yet...

So im not really sure what you are talking about.

I love it so far.

 

[Steven1621]

Out of curiosity- do you all (those who have the D40) find that 6,1 megapixels is sufficient? I've been going back and forth between the Nikon and the XT.

I'm also curious as to why you chose the D40 over the XT. Was there any particular reason?

Thanks,
Alex

i've taken glorious pictures with my d40. the megapixel number has never been a big factor for me. i'm no expert, but i think the other technologies in the camera makes a difference. from what i've read, the d40 share many of the same things as nikon's more expensive bodies. perhaps someone with more expertise on the matter can elaborate?

 

[macgruder]

I remember what I read in a photography ebook is that when you first started shooting, Get a 50mm f/1.8 and set it to f/11 and just shoot away. You don't need to focus, just capture the frame, the composition, the color, the mood, etc. AF or AF-S, thus, is quite irrelevant in this case. I have a Nikon D40 and I will get the 50mm f/1.8 as soon as I got some spare pocket $.

Bearing in mind that the 50mm on a DX camera is effectively a 75mm (in 35mm terms) so this article would have been referring to a different type of lens most likely. A wideangle tends to be a better approach for such photography over a telephoto. Thus I think you'd be much better off buying the 28mm F2.8 (~42mm) or the 35mm (~52mm) F2.

You could achieve the above with the 18-55mm kit lens. I find I do the same by turning the lens to 18mm - 25mm. It doesn't matter if it's too wide because I just crop what I don't need.

 

[georgemann]

Why the D40

Out of curiosity- do you all (those who have the D40) find that 6,1 megapixels is sufficient? I've been going back and forth between the Nikon and the XT.

I own a number of Nikon cameras D200, D80 and the D40 and I am about to buy the new D300. The reason I have and use the D40 is because it is extremely light so I use it as my go everywhere (always with me) lightweight camera, it also produces excellent images and it is at the moment my best low ISO (low light camera). This will change very soon though because the D300 is even better in low light (according to the pre-production reports that is).

I will continue to use the D40 as my go everywhere camera though, that is always ready to take pictures, even when the rest of the equipment is securely packed away while I am traveling (see my picture of the day Nov. 14).

Have fun with your D40 and don't get rid of any lenses, as a matter of fact the next one you want to look at is the 55-200 DX VR.

George

 

[peapody]

Have fun with your D40 and don't get rid of any lenses, as a matter of fact the next one you want to look at is the 55-200 DX VR.

George

Thanks George, will do!

I am still kind of confused about lenses...I think I would be content with what I have, the 18-55mm and the 50mm as I am not too interested in taking landscape photos. However, I would like a lenses that are more catered to portraits and close ups. I would like them to be affordable (which I know when it comes to lenses is a difficult thing). What are my options here? I know that for the D40 you have to us AF-S lenses if you want the autofocus...and I want to keep my 50mm as my manual.

What do you guys think of the 24-85mm F/3.5-4.5 AF-S? I found one for a good price (around $100 shipped). Is this lens comparable/better/worse than the 18-55mm and will it fit my needs and interests?

 

[georgemann]

Thanks George, will do!

However, I would like a lenses that are more catered to portraits and close ups.

What do you guys think of the 24-85mm F/3.5-4.5 AF-S? I found one for a good price (around $100 shipped). Is this lens comparable/better/worse than the 18-55mm and will it fit my needs and interests?

The 24-85 is OK and the $100 price is very good, but you have a pretty good "normal" lens in the 18-55 kit lens.

There is no really low cost AFS Macro at the moment so you might want to look into buying some close up lenses (both your current lenses use 52mm filters).

For portraits I still recommend the 55-200 DX VR (try it at a camera shop I think you might like it).

George

 

[macgruder]

I am still kind of confused about lenses...I think I would be content with what I have, the 18-55mm and the 50mm as I am not too interested in taking landscape photos. However, I would like a lenses that are more catered to portraits and close ups. I would like them to be affordable (which I know when it comes to lenses is a difficult thing). What are my options here? I know that for the D40 you have to us AF-S lenses if you want the autofocus...and I want to keep my 50mm as my manual.

What do you guys think of the 24-85mm F/3.5-4.5 AF-S? I found one for a good price (around $100 shipped). Is this lens comparable/better/worse than the 18-55mm and will it fit my needs and interests?

I think what you have now amply suits your needs. Don't get too caught up with the 'expanding my kit'. Just go out and take pictures, and then make a decision later. The 18mm - 55mm lens is a very versatile decent quality lens, and you'll find that the wide end of the lens will be used more than you expect - you can always crop later if you are too wide, but you can never go wider than what you have.

I don't think another overlapping zoom is going to benefit you much. I suspect too that Nikon will release some new DX lenses in the near(ish) future, and then you'll have more choice and the benefit of knowing what you actually do take.

If you are into close-ups a macro/micro lens is worth looking into. Macro lens often make good portrait lenses too, and I suspect in the future such a lens would suit you. Hopefully, Nikon will release a DX one soon.

 

[peapody]

Thanks guys,

You successfully talked me out of scratching that itch to get more and more and more. I really do wish Nikon made a 50mm or lower with the Af-S...I guess that is what I get for going small with the D40. You can't have everything!

 

[macgruder]

Thanks guys,

You successfully talked me out of scratching that itch to get more and more and more. I really do wish Nikon made a 50mm or lower with the Af-S...I guess that is what I get for going small with the D40. You can't have everything!

Sigma 30mm F1.4 (HSM lens autofocus on all Nikons)
http://www.sigmaphoto.com/lenses/lenses_all_details.asp?id=3300&navigator=6

http://www.amazon.com/Sigma-30mm-Ni...bs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=photo&qid=1195016188&sr=1-1

Don't forget about the independents. Sigma and others often make very good lenses that fill some of these gaps.

 

[peapody]

Will the sigmas autofocus even on the D40? The D40 seems to be "unique" in that they take only certain lenses...=/

 

[macgruder]

Will the sigmas autofocus even on the D40? The D40 seems to be "unique" in that they take only certain lenses...=/

All Sigma's that are 'HSM' lenses will autofocus. HSM is the equivalent of the AF-S; i.e. an internal motor. So it'll be quicker than a straight AF for a Nikon most likely.

Strangely, on Sigma's website some HSM lenses don't have the word HSM in it, but have the HSM icon in the description.

But the Sigma 30mm F1.4 EX DC HSM will definitely focus fine.

Bear in mind 1.4 is a very large F stop and so you need the focus spot on. So beware of comments about the lens being soft. Often, it means 'out of focus!'.

 

[georgemann]

Will the sigmas autofocus even on the D40? The D40 seems to be "unique" in that they take only certain lenses...=/

The key word is AFS. AFS lenses have an internal focusing motor. The Nikon D40 and D40x do not have a focusing motor in the body to drive the focusing mechanism of the non AFS lenses. AFS lenses are faster focusing even on the bodies that do have internal focusing motors.

You can see the AF connection on the camera body at the lens mount it looks like a small screw driver (matching a slot on the lens) and does not exist on the D40 or D40x.

I am not a Sigma expert (I buy only Nikon Nikkor lenses) but as far as I know they do have AFS lenses for Nikon cameras..

 

[peapody]

man that sigma lens looks so nice! The pictures that can be taken with this lens look amazing. I think that will be my dream lens to get some day!


So another question that I cannot seem to find on the internet: How difficult is manual focusing? I am sure it is a lot easier when the subject is sitting still...but how is manual focusing for action shots/ motion shots?

 

[Vanilla]

I have just bought a D40 as well.

One additional piece of equipment I would recommend is an SB-400 Flash. It's really small, very light and easily adjustable. In particular for indoor portrait shots you can angle the flash upwards to bounce of the ceiling, which eliminates red-eye for one. I love it.

Secondly a 55-200mm AFS VR lense is something I am considering but will wait a while yet as I really want to understand the camera, lens, composition techniques first before I expand into other lenses.

Vanilla

 

[akm3]

I love my D40 (I'm a beginner) too. The things I immediately bought and recommend are a SB-400 (About $100)

It immediately makes a HUGE difference in the quality of the photos, by allowing 'bounce flash'. Of course, it is more limited than the higher end speedlights.

I also ponied up the big $$ for the 18-200VR lens. I love this lens. I was getting frustrated with the 18-55 cause I could never quite zoom in far enough, but buying the 55-200VR seemed stupid cause I'd have to carry two lenses around and change them all the time. The 18-200 can be used very wide, very zoomed, or anywhere in between. It is amazingly flexible.

Downsides: It is expensive, more than the D40. It is heavier and longer than the 18-55 thus negating some of the portability advantages of the D40!

What I am trying to do now is buy a used D200 body to put the 18-200 on, and than return the D40 to the 18-55 for portability.

I may try for an ultra wide lens of some sort as well.

Loving photography! Just with I had talent! D40 was an amazing entry into SLR for me - the amazing increase in what I could do over my old 2 megapixel crap-and-shoot was mind boggling.

 

[carlgo]

The D40 is as capable of taking great photos as anything until you get into the $5000 large sensor models. And, it is small and light which means you are likely to actually use it.

What noticeable improvement from the 18-55 lens were you expecting from the 50mm?

The recommendations for the 400 flash, a tripod, the little remote and the 55-200 VR are good for most people. Beware of the non-VR version.

I hope the poster that said a dx macro might be coming is right.

A very wide zoom would be nice.

Don't let the fear of dust limit your use of interesting lense. Just use common sense are some care.

 

[Maldini]

I think the D40 will be replaced soon, its no longer in production according to the Nikon direct site (Japan) I dont speak Japanese, i hope someone can translate.
And that fuels rumors about the D60