First digital slr... still trying to decide!

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Mr. S

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As I had many helpful replies and pm's to my first post, I thought I would give folk an update! Well... I'm still trying to work out what to buy and whether to buy new or secondhand.

I've had some good offers from members on here, but there isn't quite the gulf in price between new and secondhand, so that's my first conundrum. Also, working out how much to spend is also tricky... photography is unlikely to be my main hobby, I want a camera to take pics whilst doing the hobby's I currently have - most country sports, wildlife watching, training gundogs.

So... would I get the best out of an expensive camera? Who knows! I keep coming back to the nikon d40 because they seem like a steel, less than £250 at Jessops, and a work colleague has a d40x (similar?) and loves it. The question is, will a d40 take pics of birds, wildlife, landscapes etc of a similar quality to the ones I see on here?

Sorry for rambling on, I just need to make a decision quickly so I can get on with the rest of my life!!! I'm a teacher so I've now got two weeks off to begin learning so to speak.

Thanks
Gavin
 
The D40 is a brilliant camera, I have a D40 and a D700 and to be honest in everyday use outside there isn't a great deal of difference in the images it produces, the D700 has faster AF more FPS and better low light performance but if I had to sell the D700 i'd be more than happy to keep the D40.

It does lok a bit daft on the end of a sigma 120-300mm f/2.8 though :D

The only limiting factor with the D40 is to retain AF you need Nikon AF-s or Sigma HSM lenses which leaves you out in the cold when it comes to older Nikon lenses which don't have a motor built in. the older lenses will still manual focus though

You should also consider the D50 D70 D70s as these can be picked up fairly cheaply secondhand and are more than capable of producing excellent shots, these also have the advantage of the AF motor being in the body so can use any Nikkor lens made in the last 30 years
 
Hi gavin, you are not alone here, most of us have had to make that choice. Myself bought the 400D at the time
( No this is not a Nikon V Canon reply :lol: )
All I can say is depends what you want to spend on glass for whatever camera you choose. I purchased a used 70-200 F4L to begin with and that did all what I wanted it for. As for quality, mine are no means the best out there but will give you hopefully some indication of what can be acheived with a bit of practice and patience, hope this is of some use to you.;)

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Put some good glass on the end of a D40 and it is easily capable of producing results as seen on here. How much money do you have for lenses because you will need some long lenses to get some decent photos of wildlife especially birds and also a wide-angle lens for some your landscape photos. You can get some super zooms like a Nikon 18-200vr for about £500 while the 18mm is good enough for general landscape not sure if 200mm is long enough for the little birds, but it’s a very hand walkabout lens to have.

Another point is if your friend has a Nikon I would recommend you also get a Nikon as you can borrow some kit/lenses for them.
 
Right, stop faffing and just decide. Buy the D40 and get some good glass and I'm sure you will be more than happy with the results. Seriously - my advice is just get the camera and stop wasting time - two weeks off work with a D40 sounds like a dream to me!

Do it, now... go on... you know you want to ;)
 
That's probably good advise! I've just been browsing some of the pics on here, in particular the pics of hares... WOW! They're fantastic, though I feel that with the amount of money I'm likely to invest and therefore the level of kit, perhaps decent wildlife pics are out of my reach. There's a canon 1d in the classifieds with a pic of a peregrine which is phenomenal... perhaps that's the level of kit needed. I was indecisive, but now I'm not so sure!!!
 
the 1D is a great camera but is very heavy probably 4 or 5x the weight of a D40, it's also quite old now, it's a pro camera without a doubt but unless you have the money to put decent lenses on it I wouldn't bother.
 
The D40 is a great camera and capable of producing execellent results, but it is important to buy decent glass (lens) as that will help enormously...it all depends on your budget. I got the D40 and a Sigma 70-300 APO DG AF-S lens and got some good results.

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Whatever you choose have fun :-)
 
Those are exactly the kind of pics that I would love to take. What's the approximate cost of the lens you used to take that? I'v just been lookin at the Jessops website and they have a few different lens options with the D40, eg a Tamron 70-300mm F4/5.6 DI LD Macro (Nikon AF) or a Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6 AFS G (Black).

I've reading this site for days now, but I still don't feel informed enough to make the correct choice.
 
The lens when I got it was £150 but due to the bad state of the pound prices have gone up, its around £180 now. The only thing the lens misses is a VR (image stability) option....but that does cost more. If you do get the D40 make sure you buys lenses that have the AF built into the lens, i think its the AF-S option. As the D40 doesnt have a AF motor built into the camera. Also if you want to take nature pics I suggest you go for the longest zoom you can as you never know when you will need to bring the subject that bit closer :-)
 
Can't flippin believe it... my local(ish) Jessops doesn't have any d40's and the nearest store with one in stock is miles away! They do have d40x for £391, so may take a look at that. Or... buy the canon 450d from John Lewis perhaps. Who knows what could happen!
 
have a look at a Sony A200 (~£250 with the kit 18-70mm & allow ~£100 for a 75-300mm).
imo it's a better (certainly better value) body than the D40 & the 10Mp (same sensor as the D40X & D60) will let you crop more than the 6MP of the D60.
 
Mr. S said:
Can't flippin believe it... my local(ish) Jessops doesn't have any d40's and the nearest store with one in stock is miles away! They do have d40x for £391, so may take a look at that. Or... buy the canon 450d from John Lewis perhaps. Who knows what could happen!
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I would suggest looking at second hand cameras as they generally are pretty well looked after. If you stick around on here longer, you will eventually get access to the members market where you can buy and sell equipment. As for body, the D40 is a good choice (my GF has one and I used to have a D40X). The camera is very capable and light. You may also want to consider Canon 350D/400D or Nikon D50/D70s/D80. The D70s/D80 is a little bigger, but also a little tougher. But ultimately the quality of the image relies on the quality of the lens attached. The kit lens (18-55mm) should be alright for landscapes until you get used to the camera and feel the need to upgrade. For wildlife shots, a Nikon 70-300mm AF-S or Sigma 70-300 HSM are a decent budget choices.
 
Mr. S said:
Can't flippin believe it... my local(ish) Jessops doesn't have any d40's and the nearest store with one in stock is miles away! They do have d40x for £391, so may take a look at that. Or... buy the canon 450d from John Lewis perhaps. Who knows what could happen!
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:shrug: If it's not already too late, you could always get one from here, Mr. S. Free (2-3 day) delivery, or pay a little extra and have it the next day.

Amazon UK link ...

Like Wack61, I too have a D40 and a D700 and although the D40 was only 1/7th of the price of the D700 (body only), I wouldn't even say that the pictures from the D700 are 50% 'better', let alone 700% better :D!

It's also just about the cheapest DSLR available anywhere in the world today, so I doubt that you'd ever regret buying it, unless you subsequently decide that you're a "Canon man" ;).

As already stated, you'll easily get some fantastic wildlife shots from this camera, if you can afford the right glass to go with it. The fact that it handles high ISO eqv settings well, will also allow you to shoot at faster shutter speeds - often essential to get a blur-free shot ;).

Good luck with whatever you decide to do :thumbs:.
 
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