Hello

[Lazy O]

New to the forums so I wanted to say hi. :mrgreen:

and a quick question.

I was thinking of getting a Nikon D40his weekend or next week,

but after reading some posts about the D40 that say it has no autofocus built in im leaning towards the D80.


is that a good choice for a noob?


Thanks

and great site.

 

[Lazy O]

6 views and no response lol

i guess this question has been asked to many times. sorry

guess ill just search the forums

would still really appreciate some feedback on my decision.

 

[JenR]

It is really tough to recommend a camera without knowing anything about you, your skills, shooting style or budget. You really need to think long and hard about what you want to do with your camera and compare that with the D40's limitations. You may not need the extra features of the D80, but if you are serious about getting into photography you will probably want them.

The D80 is a fabulous camera. I bought the D50 about 6 months ago. It is a great camera, but I am already running into its limitations (like no commander mode for off-camera flash). I really wish I had ponied up the extra cash for the D80!

 

[dostagamom]

I just purchased a D40 and I love it. I am a beginner so this camera is great. There is alot to learn. I have a couple of friends who are professional photographers and they started their careers with D40. Good luck!
About the autofocus thing...it is contained in the lens itself not in the camera so the older Nikon lenses will not work with this camera. (I hope I explained that correctly). It does have autofocus.

 

[Garbz]

I don't recommend it. The lack of autofocus motor makes it useless for a large number of lenses that have no AF-S equivalents yet, and may not have in the future. I find it is a critical omission to create a camera not compatible with current lineup of lenses. I recommend D80 or if money doesn't allow go Canon Olympus Sony Pentax etc.

 

[00simmo]

like we say because we dont kno your style it's hard but if you just want an all round good digital camera i bought an Olympus SP510-UZ for around 150quid and i think its a brilliant little starter camera, and i've managed to get some superb images from it!

If you wont to jump into the DSLR's then its gunna cost ya! but i agree with JenR about the D80 it is a gr8 camera and given the money i would choose that one!

 

[AUZambo]

I have no idea, but I'm asking this question for Lazy O, but is the autofocus mechanism in the D40 different than that of the D40x??

 

[ksmattfish]

but after reading some posts about the D40 that say it has no autofocus built in im leaning towards the D80.

I don't know anything about the D40, but when people say it won't work with older lenses, do they just mean the AF won't work? Remember that for the vast majority of the history of photography people have been manually focusing their cameras. I usually leave the AF turned off on my DSLRs, actually prefering to manual focus.