Member of the Month

KilaTsunami
October, 2024

Online

Welcome to the Newschoolers forums! You may read the forums as a guest, however you must be a registered member to post. Register to become a member today!

Thoughts on Nikon d40

profile picture
phatmancislo
Posts: 27 - Karma: 10
I was planning on getting into photohraphy and I thought a good camera to start with would be a nikon d40. Tell me what you think.

http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0926INGFS10082555&catid=20222
Nov 13 2007 6:16PM
0 0
profile picture
Pippin
Posts: 4846 - Karma: 661
don't go with a nikon camera go with either the xt or xti, better technology and great for beginners as well
Nov 13 2007 6:22PM
0 0
profile picture
mackinnon
Posts: 5153 - Karma: 161
canon lenses tend to be more expensive, but  i don't think that'll really matter since you're just getting into it...but basically once you make the choice between nikon/canon, you'll be with that brand for the rest of your life haha.
i'm a canon user, personally
Nov 13 2007 8:49PM
0 0
profile picture
~Joe~
Posts: 2631 - Karma: 57
i got a d40, and i love it, but theres one bad thing, because the motors that focus are in the lenses, you have to get lenses that have the motor, and no other nikon body uses those lenses, so its good unless you plan on upgrading cameras any time soon. Other than that, its a fantastic camera, i love mine
Nov 13 2007 8:55PM
0 0
profile picture
Avifarer
Posts: 5926 - Karma: 598
fuckin dope cam son, i'm tellin u that u won't b disappointed!!!!!

its fuckin sick fool, im tellin u



but seriously, its really good.
Nov 13 2007 9:02PM
0 0
profile picture
Pippin
Posts: 4846 - Karma: 661
its not going to take you to long to advance though, and once you get to taht stage which should take like 4 or 5 months youll want more...and the xt or xti is that but at a bit more. I know lots of friends that started off with the xti even as they were learning and learned perfectly fine
Nov 13 2007 9:20PM
0 0
profile picture
Pippin
Posts: 4846 - Karma: 661
yeaye haha fo sho
Nov 13 2007 9:51PM
0 0
profile picture
mackinnon
Posts: 5153 - Karma: 161
holy crap, that's so stupid that you have to buy d40-specific lenses...therefore making it impossible to upgrade your camera without replacing all you lenses.  that's probably the gayest thing i've ever heard.
GET THE CANON GET THE CANON
Nov 14 2007 11:13AM
0 0
profile picture
~Joe~
Posts: 2631 - Karma: 57
im not against canon, but i had an xt for a week, and it felt like the cheapest camera ive ever held. if your going canon, at least get the xti, a friend of mine has one and its really nice, but just as nice as the nikons.  but if $500-$600 is your price range, d40 is the only camera to get
Nov 14 2007 11:25AM
0 0
profile picture
mackinnon
Posts: 5153 - Karma: 161
the lens thing with the nikon is ridiculous...i also think the nikon lenses aren't that great, and i doubt the d40 specific lenses will be that good since they're consumer-level.  if you go with the rebel, you can upgrade your body in years to come and still use the same lenses.  that's so dumb that nikon would basically corral people into buying special lenses for one camera...
Nov 14 2007 2:28PM
0 0
profile picture
leckett1
Posts: 6476 - Karma: 294
That's a pretty biased comment....lets see if you can back it up.
Nov 14 2007 2:42PM
0 0
profile picture
thewavebb
Posts: 1082 - Karma: 20
If you have 500-600 bucks, pick up a used Canon 20D. It is a f'n awsome camera for the price now. It will OWN any of the lower end DSLR's.  The image quality is great on them and it shoots at 5frame per second, so you can do some pretty good sequence shots with it. Fairly large buffer if you shoot jpeg.  It's also built much better then what your looking at.  Nikon's have been using CCD senors in their camera's until recently with the D300 and they are just haggard when it comes to shooting at higher ISO's.  I was able to shoot at ISO 800 with very little noise and if you nail the exposure you can shoot at ISO 1600.

My 2 cents...skip the low end body and get something with a decent Frame rate and good low light performance. Don't be fooled by the Megapixels or the age of the camera. The 20d is from 2004, but it will school the xt/xti/d40,d40x,d50.

You can get a used 20D for around 500 without a kit lense. If you want the kit lens, 550-600 is probably reasonable.  Just make sure you budget for at least 2gb of memory and a okay bag to haul your junk around.  I'd buy the Compact Flash memory from an online source to save you some coin. I buy mine CF from newegg.com 

I shoot for a living now, so if you have questions drop me a line.
Nov 14 2007 3:06PM
0 0
profile picture
thewavebb
Posts: 1082 - Karma: 20
Here are a couple good online Classifieds area to find deals

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=14

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/board/10

when your new, buy used. The cheaper lenses have really poor resale values and if you buy them used, you shouldn't take too much of a hit later when you sell them.
Nov 14 2007 3:09PM
0 0
profile picture
thewavebb
Posts: 1082 - Karma: 20
Last post.....

Don't buy from Best Buy if you buy New.  They charge way too much and are clueless to anything photography.

I shop at http://www.bhphotovideo.com/ and they rock.  Some of the best prices around for new camera gear.  Watch the prices on the memory though, you can get a better deal at newegg.com
Nov 14 2007 3:11PM
0 0
profile picture
Bulky
Posts: 1054 - Karma: 11
thats not how it works. the d40 can only use dx lenses and that is kind of annoying only if you already have non dx nikon lenses. all the new nikon digital cameras use dx lenses, so if you ever do upgrade the dx lenses form your d40 will work on your new camera. cameras that work with dx lenses are d40 d80 d200 d300 d3 d2h
Nov 14 2007 6:50PM
0 0
profile picture
mackinnon
Posts: 5153 - Karma: 161
ok cause someone said something up there about there being d40 specific lenses...so word. i still <3 canon haha
Nov 14 2007 7:44PM
0 0
profile picture
Pippin
Posts: 4846 - Karma: 661
comparing the d40 to xt, when i was getting my camera i suggested getting a d40 but then my dad was like why not spend an extra 100 and get a better technologically advance camera, the xt has a higher fps, more focal points for auto focus, more MP's, better sensor, and XT and way more variety of lens, whereas d40 doesn't have that repertoire. Although the d40 is lighter and smaller, to me it felt kinda cheap when i held, but guys this is just my opinion on why i bought my XT instead on the d40, i had all intentions on buying the d40 at first but just by looking at the specs of each, i deciding to put a bit more cash in and get a better camera.
Nov 14 2007 10:44PM
0 0
profile picture
phatmancislo
Posts: 27 - Karma: 10
thanks for all your opinions everyone its really gonna help me make my choice.
Nov 16 2007 9:01AM
0 0
profile picture
bbtkd1
Posts: 113 - Karma: 15

ummm a pentax d100 its really amazing they have a 100 dollar rebate and its way better than a nikon d40 but if you ever want to by a pentax lense they are hella expensive

Nov 16 2007 9:23AM
0 0
profile picture
CTripper
Posts: 6520 - Karma: 20
listen you should go and hold the camera in your hand and get a feel for it.  i wanted a canon until i held one.  i have big hands and they feel like complete shit.  i own a nikon n80 and d50 and FOR ME they work better, it is easier for me to hold the camera as it feels more substantial in your hand.  and you know what, get whatever you think works best for you. 

i can tell you one thing, if you dont know anything about photography, buying a good camera doesnt make you a good photographer.  you need an eye and  good composition. this guy who said buy the better technology, technology does not make your photos better.  your composition will still suck and your exposure will still be off and your photos will not be any better with a more expensive camera. 
 
if this is your first dslr, or slr in general, get whatever is cheapest and feels good in your hand, and shoot like there is no tmorrow.  look at other photographs, figure out what works and what doesnt work.  as long as there is the option to get yourself some better lenses, its not that big of a difference.  how many times do you look at a well exposed and composed image from a nikon and say, if only that was shot with a canon?
Nov 16 2007 6:50PM
0 0
profile picture
Pippin
Posts: 4846 - Karma: 661
thats really true with the holding the camera, i just have average hands but i can see the xt being a bit small for people who have abnormally large hands. When i was talking about technoloyg, i realize that buying a really exspensive camera won't instantly make you an amazing camera, but if you get a some what good camera and fork over say 400 or 500 bucks what you can do with it is limited compated to say if you buy an moe tehcnologically advanced camera which, at a point in time when you reach a certain level will ABLE you to go beyond with your photography, technology does help, although you have to learn photography first becaseu no camera will instantly make your photos look really professional only experience will
Nov 16 2007 7:54PM
0 0
profile picture
TWoods
Posts: 10014 - Karma: 8,386
Personally, I don't like Canon because they feel cheap to me. i don't trust the construction as much. 
Nov 16 2007 8:18PM
0 0
profile picture
thewavebb
Posts: 1082 - Karma: 20
For those hating on the Canon's XT build quality..... Skip the XT and just buy a used 20D.  Those are really great camera's and feel amazing in your hands. You can find them for 450-500 bucks and it will blow away any of the cheapo DSLR's.

In response to the technology bit....Having Canon's CMOS sensor vs Everybody elses crappy CCD sensor is a big deal.  There is a reason why everyone is now just starting to use CMOS in their new camera's. 

The CMOS sensor does a better job of maintaining detail AND controling noise while shooting at higher ISO levels.  This is done through better technology in the sensor, NOT through noise reduction software.  Nikon and Sony both use software and it really shows in the photos when shot at ISO 800 or greater.  This may not seem like a big deal, but if you want to shoot in more natural lighting vs using flash all the time, it comes in handy. 

If you could get your hands on a used 20d, you will want to throw up on any XT that you touch.
Nov 17 2007 3:07PM
0 0
profile picture
Pippin
Posts: 4846 - Karma: 661
damn i wish i'd had known that, w/e the xt makes me happy
Nov 17 2007 4:51PM
0 0
All times are Eastern (-5)