Advice for student

All bar one

All bar one

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Neil
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A freinds daughter is going to do ? AS level photography - the course tutor recommends a Nikon D40.

Would others agree with this - and if not, give other recommendations.

The daughter is new to dslr's.
 
i think its a great camera for beginner, half of my class used one in the HNC and it was my first camera too!

only problem is you can't use some of the older and therefore cheaper lenses with it which may limit the lens choices second hand.
 
Great camera although it was discontinued some time ago.
You can use older Nikon lenses back to the 1970's on it but you will lose certain functions, the main one being auto focus for which you need AF-S or AF-I lenses
 
You can add Sigma's HSM lenses to the list of those suitable for the D40(x) and others like it, as well as some Tamrons.

However, this lack of compatability with older and cheaper lenses would make me steer away from them, perhaps raising the sights to a D90 or a 2nd hand D50, D70 or D80. Don't forget the other manufacturers, either - get her to a good retailer and have a try of what's available, including their 2nd hand kit (if any). Buy the kit from the shop whose stock she's handled. You might save a bit buying on-line BUT, there may well come a time when she NEEDS something that they (and only they in the town) stock NOW and if they're no longer there, she could well find herself up a well known creek with no paddle!
 
id agree with trying out other bodies, the d40 is pretty small but may be suited to her hands?! just depends if they are small and girly, like mines! :D

i found that the d40 was helpful because it has the screen on the back which helps you by showing what effect lowing and raising the aperture does but i also found i needed a camera which could do more within a few months too.
 
All bar one said:
A freinds daughter is going to do ? AS level photography - the course tutor recommends a Nikon D40.

Would others agree with this - and if not, give other recommendations.

The daughter is new to dslr's.
Click to expand...

What about Canon? 1000D, 400D, 450D, 500D...

Not too sure about the 1000D, since I haven't tried it myself, but it'd imagine it's alright for beginners.
 
All bar one said:
A freinds daughter is going to do ? AS level photography - the course tutor recommends a Nikon D40.

Would others agree with this - and if not, give other recommendations
Click to expand...

I'd go with the course tutor's recommendations. There are no bad DLSRs that have been produced in the last three years or so and there will be reasons why the tutor has recommended a certain model over and above technical specification. One could be the availability of lenses the tutor has access to, it could be a certain feature the D40 has, e.g. a higher than normal flash synch speed, or it could just come down to his or her familiarity with this model - it is afterall much easier to teach a group all using the same model how to set something than have to go round each one individually and potentially have to deal with a camera that he or she has no experience of.
 
If you cant find a d40 as they are discontinued the d60 is pretty much the same thing, higher megapixels is about the only change if i remember correctly.
 
Failing that a canon 450D or nikon D60 - not sure if these were also discontinued?
 
I would strongly recommend that, as someone who is going to want to try new things with her camera etc, she _doesn't_ get a D40, D60 or D3000, and get a D70s/D80 instead.

Why?

- built in motor so you can get and use older lenses without having to manually focus. The main example of this is the really really popular 50mm 1.8, which is about £80 second hand, and dead sharp. I've seen so many people who have bought D40's or similar with no built in motor kick themselves when they come to want this lens, and often resort to buying the £200 35mm 1.8 instead - the price difference could've got them a way better camera!

- if you ever buy / have access to a nikon speedlight flash (sb600/800/900), they can act as a wireless commander using the built in flash, for TTL capable wireless flash off camera.

- top LCD panel makes it easier to review settings, and the front aperture wheel is sooo nice to have over the strange button pressing combinations needed on the D40

- they're better built than the D40 too, so can take a few more knocks. Slightly bigger too but by no means large

- D70's are about £150-200 second hand, D80's about 320.

I'd also recommend that if possible she doesn't get the nikon 18-55 3.5-5.6, and get the 18-70 3.5-4.5 instead (this was the kit lens for the D70)... it's got a wider maximum aperture, is better built, has faster and better focussing, and more zoom at the long end. Goes for about £120 used.
 
I have a D40, great camera to learn on and you can pick them up really cheap. Also nice and light for us girlies to get used to :)
 
My first DSLR was a nikon d40. Love it untill i got really going and need a motor for al my lens to AF.

Now ive got a Nikon d70s, an older model but i love it!
 
itsdavedotnet said:
I would strongly recommend that, as someone who is going to want to try new things with her camera etc, she _doesn't_ get a D40, D60 or D3000, and get a D70s/D80 instead.
Click to expand...

How on earth can you say that when you don't know why the tutor recommended the D40 in the first place? :bang:
 
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