Complete noobie looking for some recomendations. I Decided! Ooh the Suspense...

If your choice as been narrowed down to the 400D and the D60, its got to come down to handling not only the feel of the cameras, also see which camera as the best menu to navigate one may be easier than the other.
 
Hi Tiddy,

I'm not qualified to comment on the Canons but looking at the D60 that you've linked to.... if you're in the market for the bundle at £406, then my D80 with 28-80 and 70-300 cost only £60 more. It was a refurbished model.

Sorry if that causes more headache for you

Comus
 
I have the older Nikon D40 it is a good entry level camera but the AF-S lenses tend to be more expensive.I'm pretty happy with the kit lenses i got with it a 18-55 and a 55-200 i've taken some great pictures with them.
Athough mine only has 6mp i've printed pics at A4 size with no problems.

When i needed more lenses i ended up buying 2nd hand non AF-S lenses and just using them on manual. Sigma 70-300mm cost me £60 and the Nikon 50mm cost me £10 so there's plenty of choice if you don't mind using manual.

Biggest problem i have with the D40 is that when using on manual settings you have to trawl through the menus for a lot of the settings which takes more time than if the settings were changeable on the camera body.

All Nikon fit Sigma lenses with HSM can auto focus on the D40 D40x and D60 so that gives you more choice than just the Nikon AF-S range.

Go into a camera shop and try them all see which one feels right.If you plan on buying more lenses a flashgun etc in future check out whats available and the prices new or whats available 2nd hand if you are on a budget.

Most of the stuff i bought was 2nd hand and there always seemed to be slightly more available 2nd hand for Canon than Nikon for some reason.
 
Whilst the Canons are no doubt excellent cameras, for me they were always too small and too plastiky. The Nikons feel far more professional and solid. In my time i've had in this order, 300D, D70, 350D, 20D, D50 and my current lovely D200. I can't be doing without the top display.

My advise would be to get on ebay and try to get a D80 or a second hand D50 body and buy a good starter lens like the excellent 18-70 or the 18-135.

The Nikon kit 18-55 and 55-200 and generally very good lenses for what they are, better than the canon equilvalent imho, and all available with VR now I believe.

So really forget about megapixels, they'll all take good photos if you set and use them right, you are buying into a system so choose what feels best in your hands.
 
You realise that if you choose either of the Nikons you are limiting your lens choices (or resorting to manual focus)? Sorry but I would have gone for the D50/D70.
 
Gixasix said:
Biggest problem i have with the D40 is that when using on manual settings you have to trawl through the menus for a lot of the settings which takes more time than if the settings were changeable on the camera body.
Click to expand...

With the D40X you can set the ISO to a button on the body and the aperture and shutter can be changed on the body too, not sure about the flash though as I haven't mastered using that.
I am completely new to photography and I bought a Nikon D40X and I started using it in full manual straight away (mad I know) and I haven't had any trouble with it, it is very easy to use and the menu system is also very easy to navigate around.
If I had known at the time I would have bought the D60 rather than the D40X but that's just because the D60 is the newer version.
Mine cost £640 with 2 kits lenses a 18-55mm and 55-200mm, I then bought a new prime 50mm for £70
The D60 with kit lens is £378.99 with £60 cashback making it just £318.99 from here: http://www.warehouseexpress.com/product/default.aspx?sku=1024534
 
Monkey said:
every canon owner will say buy the canon, every nikon owner would say buy the nikon.....
Click to expand...
I'm a Canon owner. And I say...
StewartR said:
What do you want to shoot? If you're into aircraft, birds or wildlife, then Canon offers you a wider range of telephoto lenses. If you're into indoor photography, Nikon's flash system is arguably easier to control.
Click to expand...
A huge point to bear in mind, tiddy, is that you're not just choosing between the Canon 400D and the Nikon D60. At some point you might well want to upgrade, and you might well want to acquire additional lenses or other accessories, so you need to look at the entire system of which your first DSLR is a part.
 
Well I went and had a play with some cameras on Monday, I had a real good go with them all and I have made my mind up! The camera that felt the best in my hands, it looks strong and made well & most important thing for me, it was user friendly, especially to a newcomer. The camera I am buying is...Click Here to see the camera I've Ordered.

I'd like to thank all you guys who helped me come to this decision. All input was recieved gratefully. Even all those on the other side on the fence!! (y)
 
Good camera from what I've read. :) Here's a list of the lenses that will AF with it. (Hopefully one day Nikon will come out with some AF-S primes)...

Super Telephoto Lenses
300mm f/4D ED-IF AF-S Nikkor
400mm f/2.8D ED-IF AF-S II Nikkor - REBATE!
500mm f/4D ED-IF AF-S II Nikkor
600mm f/4D ED-IF AF-S II Nikkor

Wide-Angle Zoom Lenses
17-35mm f/2.8D ED-IF AF-S Zoom-Nikkor - REBATE!

Standard Zoom Lenses
24-85mm f/3.5-4.5G ED-IF AF-S Zoom-Nikkor
28-70mm f/2.8D ED-IF AF-S Zoom-Nikkor - REBATE!

High-Power Zoom Lenses
70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor - NEW!

DX Nikkor Lenses for DX Format Digital SLRs
12-24mm f/4G ED-IF AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor - REBATE!
18-135mm f/3.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor - NEW!
18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G ED-IF AF-S DX Zoom Nikkor
18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor
18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED-IF AF-S VR DX Zoom-Nikkor
17-55mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor - REBATE!
55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor

Vibration Reduction (VR) Lenses
200mm f/2G ED-IF AF-S VR Nikkor
300mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Nikkor - REBATE!
24-120mm f/3.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor - REBATE!
70-200mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor - REBATE!
200-400mm f/4G ED-IF AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor

Close-Up Lenses
105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor

Good luck to ya!
 
You will wish you had bought the other make ;)
Good luck with the cam i am sure you will get some great images
 
Excellent! :D

I know nothing about the D60 but it's come through a long process to get this far so lets hear a big :clap::clap: for the winner.
 
tiddy said:
Do you mean the d40x? I didn't want the 6.1mp D40. My casio's got more than that and i like blowing up pics to at least A4 size, so bit dubious of the D40.

Thanks anyway
Click to expand...

It's not just about the number of pixels it is also to do with sensor size (much smaller in a compact.

The D40 would do A4 no problem but congrats on your D60.

Welcome to the dark side.
 
F-Stop said:
Good camera from what I've read. :) Here's a list of the lenses that will AF with it. (Hopefully one day Nikon will come out with some AF-S primes)...

Super Telephoto Lenses
300mm f/4D ED-IF AF-S Nikkor
400mm f/2.8D ED-IF AF-S II Nikkor - REBATE!
500mm f/4D ED-IF AF-S II Nikkor
600mm f/4D ED-IF AF-S II Nikkor
Click to expand...

Those are primes.
 
I ama noobie too and I got the D40X (didn't know about the D60 at the time) and I am very pleased with it, handles great, easy to use and just feels comfortable. :)
 
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