I held the Nikon D40 and the Canon XTi today... the Nikon feels SO much better IMO.

All you Nikon users, tell me... how is the lense selection out there for the D40 body? Any other opinions on this particular camera?

IrHogfan... I have checked out that site -- LOADS of great info there but alot of the talk is way over my head. I want to move into the DSLR realm but, I just don't speak the lingo/jargon yet. Thanks for your help though... some of the pics there are stunning.

 

I believe that the D40 uses the same lenses as all of the other high-end Nikon digital SLR cameras. You should have a good selection of lenses available for that camera. One thing that I have read is that the autofocus for that camera must be built into the lens because it is not built into the camera body. Therefore any lens that does not have Autofocus built in will be a manual focus lens only. Almost a reason to go with the D80 over the D40. Of course, the D40 would be quite a good camera and you would probably be very happy with it for a long time.

 

VERRRRRRRRRY interesting there. Thanks for that. I was operating under the assumption that the D40 was autofocus. Time to investigate the D80 further.

Mind you, I held both of the aforementioned models at Targhetto. The kid working behind the counter could probably sell an Xbox to a grandmother but, when it came to the camera, he was honest and said that he really didn't know a lot about the SLR cameras -- I respect that, I guess.

 

If you had 30 year old Nikon lenses you could buy any new body and feel confident.

 

The D40 is an autofocus camera but it is limited to lenses that have the silent wave motor built into the lens. The D40 is the only Nikon camera that does not have an AF motor in it.

You will also want to decide what type of memory cards you want to use. If you are invested in SD cards then I would suggest the D80. All bodies above that use the compact flash cards. Anything less than a D200...don't even think of doing this

 

Great info guys... keep it coming.

As I'm learning, I'm seeing that the lens is going to be where I really can sink some cash. Since the kit lens with the D40 is non-AF (doesn't have a motor), I could feasibly upgrade into a AF lens and still be able to use that lens down the road if I decide to upgrade bodies, correct?

I'm prepared to spend in the $500 to $700 range for a body and a kit lens. From there, it'll probably be a few ticks on the watch and a few flips of calendar month pages before a new-fangled lens is on the camera. That said, is the D40 the best bang? I'm not seeing the D80 in the $700 range -- although, looking at a side by side comparison, I wish it was!.

Thoughts?

 

BTW, thanks BlueFlareside. This site has been extremely helpful!

 

 

Some very nice shots there, photog! I had to do a quadruple-take on the church photograph as it looks IDENTICAL to a church in my hometown; so much so that I'd almost bet that the same architect did the two. HA!

You seem to be EXTREMELY versed with the Nikon... am I correct in saying that I could get the D40 & kit lens and upgrade further down the road into a new AF lens... then, take that new/upgraded lens and smack it on a new upgraded body several years down the road? If so, it seems like the D40 would be the best bang for my entry-level DSLR buck.

 

The D40 is a very small camera. My 12 year old daughter handles it perfectly.

The saying that it is all in the glass does not hold true as much today as it did in the days of the film camera. It used to be that you changed film to get a different quality shot. Now that sensor is your film.

 

I'm okay with it being small... frankly, I kind of liked that.

As for the 'glass'.... if I were to upgrade to a new motorized lens to obtain AF with the D40, could I then use that lens somewhere down the road with another Nikon body... I'm thinking upgrade in several years.

 

If I understand correctly, yes you can. The D40 lens must have the AF-S designation. AF obviously standing for auto focus and the "S" standing for silent wave motor being built into the lens.

All of the newer higher grade bodies as well as some of the old film bodies will use these lenses as well.

 

Thanks, bud. Much appreciated.

After several days of research and some solidification from the masses here (and elsewhere on forums), the D40 is probably what I'm going to go with... I have to keep in mind that my wife will be using this just about as much as I will and thus, I don't need to get too 'new-fangled' as she'll stop taking pictures and/or go back to our P&S that consistantly yields under or over exposed pics (in regular daylight, it's fine... low light, forget it!).

Thanks again for everyone's help! I really appreciate it!!!!

 

It's ironic that this is the first post I saw when jumping into the GD forum. I've actually been looking at doing the same thing, and I'm really leaning towards the Nikon D40x; 10.2 MP and 3 FPS verses the 6.1 MP and 2.5 FPS of the D40. Neither FPS is great for action photography, but it's enough for a novice like me. Anyway, I'd like to add a couple of links/user reviews you may want to read:

Amazon.com D40

Amazon.com D40x

I like to read user reviews. The first review on both of these pages is by the same guy... but he has TONS of information.

 

Rockpick,

A couple of thoughts....

There are tons of used lenses in camera shops that are purchased by college students and then traded in at the end of the school year. Most of these though, will not have the motors built in.

Stay with Nikon lenses!!!!! You can save a buck or two with other lenses, but they just won't be the same!

Take some pictures with that N40 BEFORE you purchase! It may be that I'm too used to film, but I simply cannot accept any time lag between pushing the button and capturing the picture. My wife has a Nikon P&S and I just can't use it because of that lag. It seems the lower price, the bigger the lag. Try the N40 and the N80. I find the N80 just barely acceptable. Just barely!

I have alway been disappointed whenever I tried to low-ball a purchase with the intention of "upgrading" later. Buy good the first time and you'll not need to replace it later and take the hit.

The statement you made about bright light seems to be another area where money really makes a difference. The lower priced cameras all seem to work well in bright sun, but as the lighting gets tricky, they fall down pretty rapidly.

Don't let the "Bells and Whistles" make you feel like it'll be too hard to use. All of them have an automatic setting that lets you just take a picture. My top of the line F5 gets used as a point and shoot more often than not. Difference being it's so smart, it's auto settings are almost always correct.

Guess that's it. Happy hunting!