For All of You Who Have Had/Have the D40

[ths-acid]

If you wouldn't mind I have a few questions I would like to get answered and somethings I would like to get your opionion on.
-Was the D40 your first DSLR?
-If so did/do you regret buying the Nikon D40?
-Did you feel for the price the Nikon D40 was worth it? Why?
-How does the only autofocus with AF-S and AF-I CPU lenses affect you? -Does this hold you back? Why/not?
-Overall are you happy with the Nikon D40?

Thanks for reading through and taking time out of your day to do this.:hug::

 

[Helen B]

Are you including the D40x? I have one, and I don't regret getting it. It's a great little camera.

I have fitted a modified Nikon K3 screen into it for manual focusing, so I don't feel that the lens 'restriction' is a problem - in fact it is less restricted than most other digital Nikon bodies.

Best,
Helen

 

[ths-acid]

Yes I can include the D40x. Also I am glad you hear it is a good fit for you.

 

[MikeBcos]

-Was the D40 your first DSLR?
Yes

-If so did/do you regret buying the Nikon D40?
Not at all

-Did you feel for the price the Nikon D40 was worth it? Why?
Yes, I paid $429 for the camera and kit lens, you can't beat that.

-How does the only autofocus with AF-S and AF-I CPU lenses affect you? -Does this hold you back? Why/not?
It doesn't worry me, I'm old school 35mm, the basic kit lenses are pretty good and will be all I need for most situations. If I want a super telephoto I'll just buy an older lens that won't autofocus or meter. The D40 can take most of Nikon's older lenses, the more sophisticated Nikons of today can't use as many of them.

-Overall are you happy with the Nikon D40?
Very

 

[BTilson]

-Was the D40 your first DSLR?

Yes.

-If so did/do you regret buying the Nikon D40?

Not at all.

-Did you feel for the price the Nikon D40 was worth it? Why?

Absolutely. It's an excellent camera with great image quality and lots of control.

-How does the only autofocus with AF-S and AF-I CPU lenses affect you? -Does this hold you back? Why/not?

It does affect me somewhat. There are several lenses I want that are not AF-S, the main one being the 50mm primes. I know Nikon is releasing an AF-S 50mm, but it's about 4x the cost of the non AF-S one. As far as holding me back, I don't think it really does. I've got the 18-55 VR lens and the 55-200 VR lens. These two lenses give me a great focal range, and there are definitely plenty of nice AF-S lenses out there.

-Overall are you happy with the Nikon D40?

Mostly. There are a few things I am less than completely happy about. The biggie being that the high ISO performance isn't that great. It's definitely not TERRIBLE, but when you look at an ISO 1600 or 3200 shot at 100% zoom, it's pretty terribly grainy.

The next one is that I would like more functions to be assignable to the one programmable button. I can't recall all the settings it can support, but there's not many, and I know of several I've thought of that I'd like to be able to control via that button.

The last is that I'd love for it to have another control dial. Having just one is a bit of a pain. Not a HUGE deal, but two instead of one would definitely be nice.

All those things aside, I love my D40, and am VERY happy with my purchase over all. Most of my complaints are simply due to it being a beginner level DSLR.

 

[jlykins]

The D40 was my first DSLR. I loved it at first. It was a great camera. I shot the hell out of the 18-55 and the 55-200 lenses... Then I wanted to use a 50mm and it went down hill from there. I picked up a D70 and haven't looked back since. Recently upgraded to a D300 and use the D70 as a backup. The D40 is a great camera to take on vacation, to take some shots of the kids, or maybe to the zoo. The D40 is not the camera to use if you want to shoot weddings, use non AFS glass, use less expensive non-Nikon glass(although most are making internal motor driven glass now), or if you like to have lots of controll over your photos. I was using my aunts D40 at my cousins birthday party and I have to tell you it was a pain in the butt. I am now "spoiled" by having most of the important adjustments at my fingertips not inside menus. If it's your first DSLR, go for it. Just be aware that you may find it limiting quickly. For a first DSLR, I would go with a D90. Just my .02 though.

 

[monkeykoder]

While I don't have a D40 I do have one thing to say the single control dial is probably the most limiting thing on the camera I went with the D50 for the autofocus on non AFS (the only lens I have is the 50mm f1.8) lenses but I'm still annoyed by the single control dial but it isn't too difficult to deal with. Actually there are a few more things I prefer about the D50 to the D40 (at least as far as I've played with one in the store). There are a lot more options that you don't have to access the menus for in the D50. But if you're looking at the D40 you might want to look at a used D50 if used is an option for you should be a bit cheaper without a few of the limitations of the D40 but the D40 is still a good option.

 

[sabbath999]

-Was the D40 your first DSLR?
No

-If so did/do you regret buying the Nikon D40?
No

-Did you feel for the price the Nikon D40 was worth it? Why?
Yes. It is very inexpensive, and the image quality is excellent. It is extremely light and in combo with the kit lens and the featherweight 55-200 VR it makes a perfect little vacation/travel camera setup.

-How does the only autofocus with AF-S and AF-I CPU lenses affect you? -Does this hold you back? Why/not?
No, because I use AF-S lenses... I only have 2 non-AF-S lenses and neither one of them I would use on the D40 anyway.

-Overall are you happy with the Nikon D40?
Sure, for what I use it for... which is basically a point-n-shoot

It isn't a pro camera, but I don't NEED a pro camera for what I use it for.

(I currently own a D40, D80 & D300 plus an N75 film camera)

 

[shivaswrath]

it's worth it's weight in gold for size, quality, and ease of use. . .sure, it doesn't AF, which has been a long-standing gripe, but I think Nikon is making a move for their NEWER lenses to focus on D40-60 (like the new 50mm Nikon f/1.4 G prime)and the other series' in their lineup, so shouldn't be a huge deal. . .

 

[potownrob]

If you wouldn't mind I have a few questions I would like to get answered and somethings I would like to get your opionion on.

OTAY :thumbup:

-Was the D40 your first DSLR?

Yes it was

-If so did/do you regret buying the Nikon D40?

Not really

-Did you feel for the price the Nikon D40 was worth it? Why?

Without a doubt, it was well worth the 375 USD I spent on it

-How does the only autofocus with AF-S and AF-I CPU lenses affect you? -Does this hold you back? Why/not?

It is a little tricky, but I think it has more to do with me using it a lot in low light than the 3 AF points - you can always switch to nearest object AF mode (the big box) or switch to MF. What I do wish is that it could AF with my 50mm fixed lens. The 17-50 f/2.8 was more expensive with the built-in motor but I prefer it to the loud screw drive lenses. I do wish it would meter my older MF lenses like you can do with the D200, D300 etc. I think I'm done buying lenses for a while though...

-Overall are you happy with the Nikon D40?

VERY happy

Thanks for reading through and taking time out of your day to do this.:hug::

NP

 

[benhasajeep]

First DSLR was a 20D from Canon although I already had alot of Nikon equipment. Then I bought a D50 for my wife to use. I have a D40x being delivered tomorrow as a replacement for my Coolpix 8700 that I take when I travel for work. Even though I have now 2 D-300's, and all the others still. I still felt expecially for the price, that the D40x is a very good deal. It will outperform the coolpix in all regards as far as I can tell. And its still a fairly small package. I will get a jack of all trades big range compact zoom for it so I only have to carry one lens. Can't quite decide on one yet.

 

[jlykins]

First DSLR was a 20D from Canon although I already had alot of Nikon equipment. Then I bought a D50 for my wife to use. I have a D40x being delivered tomorrow as a replacement for my Coolpix 8700 that I take when I travel for work. Even though I have now 2 D-300's, and all the others still. I still felt expecially for the price, that the D40x is a very good deal. It will outperform the coolpix in all regards as far as I can tell. And its still a fairly small package. I will get a jack of all trades big range compact zoom for it so I only have to carry one lens. Can't quite decide on one yet.

18-200VR :er: