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Thoughts on the Nikon D40 for a newbie

I want to treat myself to my first DSLR for my birthday and several photographers have recommended the Nikon D40. Any thoughts on this DSLR? For someone who is purchasing their very first DSLR is the Nikon D40 a good pick? What's the difference between the D40 and D60?

Also found this D40 kit on amazon - is this a good buy or not?
http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-D40-3-5-5-6G-Zoom-Nikkor-SecureDigital/...

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Started Jul 7 by:

GeekyCyberMom: View Discussions »

Category: PHOTOGRAPHY EQUIPMENT
Tags: d60, nikon, d40

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Permalink Reply by Tom Wilson Jul 7

That seems to be a very good camera at a very good price. Take a look at the review I attached for the D-60. (if it came through) I think it will explain why the D-40 is a better camera. Latest and greatest are seldom synonymous.

Attachments

d60.htm, 39 KB

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Permalink Reply by Earl E. Gibson Jul 8

Hello,

Here is something you may want to know about the Nikon D40 & D40X:

Auto Focus only for AF-S or AF-I lenses

As with the D40 the D40X doesn't have an built-in focus drive motor which means it can auto focus only with lenses which have their own drive motor (AF-S and AF-I lenses). The lack of a drive motor can be seen by the missing mechanical focus drive pin on the lens mount.

Go to the following URL and check out the Nikon Reviews:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/

On the left hand column you sill see "Camera Database". Click on that and you will find Nikon listed there. Click on Nikon and you can look through the reviews on most if not all of their cameras.

Earl

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Permalink Reply by David Wollum Jul 8

A little less than a month ago, I bought a Nikon D40x with the double lens kit (18-55mm and 55-200mm). The whole package cost me less than $1000 and I couldn't be more thrilled. I LOVE it. Here's the situation... Because of the release of the nearly identical D60 (which isn't really worth the extra money), retail stores are stuck with D40's and D40x's - what they view as no longer the latest and the greatest. To remedy that problem, they're cutting prices to get rid of their stock. So I would suggest you strike now, while the iron is hot, because once they're gone - they're gone.

All I can tell you is I'm loving mine and there really isn't much of a learning curve to operate it... very user friendly.

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Permalink Reply by GeekyCyberMom Jul 8

Good point - very good point. I definitely need to see what camera shops are in my area and compare their prices to those on Amazon.

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Permalink Reply by GeekyCyberMom Jul 8

Thank you all so much. Your info is extremely helpful to a newbie. I'll be researching all of your suggestions this week.

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Permalink Reply by Michael Jul 9

I love my D40 . I sold all my film equipment and bought a D40 and a 28-70 f2.8 zoom. I kind of wish I had more megapixels sometimes when trying to do a tight crop but 6mp will do a decent 16x20 print.

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Permalink Reply by David Wollum Jul 9

That's why I went for the D49x - 10.1 megapixels.

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Permalink Reply by David Wollum Jul 9

ooooops,,, typo... make that the D40x..

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Permalink Reply by Dave F Jul 9

Hey Geeky -

I have the D40 and I absolutely love it and think it's a great, great starting dSLR. One word of caution I would offer when ordering photography equipment online is do research (simply by Googling the store's name) and read reviews about them. A lot of online camera shops, especially from NYC are notorious for offering low prices on something only to have it "out of stock" after you place your order. They then call you and try to hard sell you on more expensive equipment.

That being said there are plenty of reputable dealers out there, including NYC such as B&H, where you can get great deals. I honestly don't think you can go wrong with a D40, though.

My personal opinion.

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Permalink Reply by GeekyCyberMom Jul 23

Thanks for the word of caution - there's nothing like being ripped off. It' s funny you mention these online camera shop scam artists because I was on Ken Rockwell's page and he was talking about that very thing and he provided info on where he buys his gear. I've decided I'm going to purchase my D40 from either B&H, Ritz or Adorama. You are not the first person to recommend the D40.

One person did ask why I don't get the lastest and greatest and tried to explain to this individual that I'm going from a point and shoot to an SLR and I know nothing about an SLR, so the latest and greatest will do me no good. I don't even know the basic functions and whatnot of an SLR so all these fancy things a D3 or D300 may do means nothing to me at this point.

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Thoughts on the Nikon D40 for a newbie

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