New Camera

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watchingtrainsgoby

Explorer
Jan 3, 2007
106
1
38
Cherry Hill
Hey everyone,

At this present point in time, I do not own a camera. Right now my fiance and I are looking into purchasing a D-SLR. The one that we have our eye on is the Nikon D-40. I used to have an old Nikon 35mm and I was always happy with its performance and I know that their products are usually very reliable. We looked into a few of the other models that the have to offer and I think I have ruled them all out. I was attracted to the D-40x at first because of its amount of megapixels. I then found out that its high amount of megapixels are only really necessary if your pictures will be enlarged to poster size, the 6 megapixels in the D-40 is better suited for the amatuer photographer. We also looked into the D-80 which is similar to the D-40 but you can also put 35mm lenses onto it, not just digital lenses. Since we no longer have the 35mm or any of its lenses we dont need the D-80 and the majority of their other models are way out of our price range.
Does anyone have any experience with the D-40? I have tested it out a couple times and I really like the quality of the photographs as well as the camera features. How do you guys feel about the Nikon company? What do you think of their line of D-SLRs?
 
Boyd

Boyd

Administrator
Staff member
Site Administrator
Jul 31, 2004
9,610
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Ben's Branch, Stephen Creek
I have the D80 and considered the D40. The lens issue with the D40 and D40x is that there isn't an internal motor to drive the focus. So this restricts you to lenses which have a focus motor built in, or else using manual focus.

Personally I think more pixels are better, but 6MP is respectable too. One thing that D40 lacks is the little LCD panel on the top of the camera which shows shutter speed, iris, etc. For many people (if you shoot in auto mode) this won't be an issue, but I find the screen on the D80 very helpful.

The D40 is a little smaller, and that's probably a good thing. If you like Nikon then I'm sure you will be happy. Personally I wasn't all that impressed with any of the stock "one size fits all" zoom lenses so I got a D80 body and several separate lenses. While the optics are generally good in these newer zooms, they have a very cheap plastic feel to them.

If you can afford the D80 then I'd take a closer look since there are several nice upgrades which you might appreciate down the road. Otherwise I'm sure the D40 or D40x won't disappoint. Have you seen the reviews at dpreview?

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond80/
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond40x/
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond40/
 
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watchingtrainsgoby

Explorer
Jan 3, 2007
106
1
38
Cherry Hill
Hmmm... give us some stuff to think about. Thanks for the info and the links it is much appreciated. Right now Ritz Camera has a couple of specials going on:
http://www.ritzcamera.com/product/SLR1160.htm
http://www.ritzcamera.com/product/SLR1161.htm
I think that going with one of these will fit our budget better. The D-80 is a little high for us. Would you recommend the 40x over the 40? From what I can tell the main differences between the two are amount of megapixels, ISO range and shooting speed. Are the improvements of the x signifigant enough to spend the extra $200?
 
james ungehajer

james ungehajer

Piney
Oct 25, 2006
1,757
1
73
watchingtrainsgoby said:
Hmmm... give us some stuff to think about. Thanks for the info and the links it is much appreciated. Right now Ritz Camera has a couple of specials going on:
http://www.ritzcamera.com/product/SLR1160.htm
http://www.ritzcamera.com/product/SLR1161.htm
I think that going with one of these will fit our budget better. The D-80 is a little high for us. Would you recommend the 40x over the 40? From what I can tell the main differences between the two are amount of megapixels, ISO range and shooting speed. Are the improvements of the x signifigant enough to spend the extra $200?
Click to expand...

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/

Just a suggestion, but try the above link to check out their prices.
 
Boyd

Boyd

Administrator
Staff member
Site Administrator
Jul 31, 2004
9,610
2,842
Ben's Branch, Stephen Creek
Yes B&H Photo is a very cool place; if possible visit their store in NYC, it's only a few minutes from the Lincoln Tunnel and easy to get to. I really don't think there's another place anything like it in this country. And the cool thing is that everything is out there on display to try and compare.

If you can afford it I can't see any reason to choose the D40 over the D40x except price. The addition of ISO 100 is a good thing for getting cleaner images outside on bright days. And you won't regret having more pixels either. But if you can put the money to better use elsewhere then go the the D40.

To read reviews of the various Nikon lenses visit Fredmiranda: http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/index.php?cat=1

All of the "kit" lenses would be in the Nikon Zoom section here: http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/showcat.php?cat=28

More reviews here: http://home.zonnet.nl/famwakker/nikonlinkslensesreviewnikonlenses01.htm

The Ritz kits include the 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 zoom which gets a rather lukewarm review here: http://www.bythom.com/1855lens.htm

The other Ritz lens got a similar review here: http://www.bythom.com/55200lens.htm

One thing to keep in mind is that both of these are pretty "slow" lenses, meaning they aren't so great for shooting in dark places. If you like to shoot indoors with available light then they aren't ideal. Outside in the daytime they would be fine most of the time. Unfortunately to get a "faster" lens you will pay a premium, but I'd want at least one lens that opens up to f 2.8 at the minimum - f 2.0 or 1.8 would be even better. That's why I bought a separate body and lenses, but I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted. I don't think you can buy the D40 as "body only".

If you want the 2 lens kit, B&H has it for $100 less (without the carrying case): http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/500315-REG/Nikon_9420_D40_SLR_Digital_Camera.html

OTOH, there is an advantage to buying for a local bricks and mortar store if there's a Ritz near you. They'll let you play around with a D40 before buying and answer questions, and you will have someone to come back to if you have problems.

Another store I like with good prices is New York Camera and Video, which interestingly is actually in Pennsylvania: http://www.nycv.com/ They have two stores that are pretty well stocked and helpful sales people. Definitely a cut way above Ritz Camera and probably a shorter drive than B&H.

Good luck with the purchase!
 
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