Another newbie needs dSLR advice

[Soul Rebel]

A great choice! Welcome to the Nikon family!

 

[Jus7 A Phas3]

Haha i am in the nikon family already yay but that leads me to my problem, as of right now i have a nikon N70 with a nikkor AF 28-80 and i am thinking about getting a DSLR mainly for action photos because well i am into skateboard photography and i hate useing film up when the person im taking the picture of cant land the trick ha so back to my question i was wondering if you have a AF lens and your getting a camrea with AF would you be able to use that lens or would for some reason it not work i heard diffrent things from diffrent people so im not 100% sure. help:]

 

[jamescell]

I wold personally take a D50 over the D40 but, the D40 can use the older manual lenses (way cheap these days for what you get).

Steer clear of the Canon Xt series because they don't have a spot meter (and do learn to use the spot meter, it'll shave years off your learning curve). If you Decide on Canon go with a new or used whatever-D. The lower priced Pentaxs don't have the spot meters either but the K10D does.

I use a XT and I can assure you it DOES have spot metering.

 

[maddermaxx]

You'd be better off with a D50 if your going Nikon.. there 450 EX+ grade at KEH.

From what I've heard the D40 is a "glorified" PnS. I'm a Canon guy so I can't give the details why just what I've heard.

 

[Steph]

I use a XT and I can assure you it DOES have spot metering.

The XT/XTi do NOT really have a spot metering. They have partial metering which takes into account about 9% of the viewfinder, whereas it is only 2.5% for the Nikon D40. The Nikon is closer to a spot meter than the Canon.

 

[NateS]

From what I've heard the D40 is a "glorified" PnS.

I've heard this a few times before. SO....tell me. What exactly makes the D40 more of a glorified PnS over say a Rebel XT? What different features does it/doesn't it have that would make somebody think that?

A DSLR is built completely different than a PnS, so this makes no sense to me. That's like saying a motorcycle is a glorified bicycle. If I'm wrong, someone please explain to me why.

 

[Mike Jordan]

Most people are not locked into the system they start with until they start buying lenses. Good lenses will stay with you for years and many body upgrades. Once you buy a few really good lenses, then the cost of switching to a completely different system (i.e. from Canon to Nikon or visa versa) becomes a lot harder and more expensive for most people.

Nikon makes some very good cameras and they also have some very good to excellent lenses. In my opinion though, Canon has a wider selection of excellent lenses to choose from, which is why I shoot Canon.

Which ever system you go with, buy the very best glass you can afford for it. It will pay off in the long run because it will be glass that you will use rather than have it sit in the bag or at home.

Mike

 

[ShaneAR]

Thanks again for the input folks

I picked up the D40 today and have been happily testing it out tonight.

A huge amount of features on this camera for a newbie like myself. I'll have a great time learning.

For any D40 users here...I tested the auto modes as well. The "Sports" setting, I assumed, would bring a faster shutter speed. However, it's very slow and takes horrible action shots. I haven't looked much into it yet, but was just curious. This was the only thing so far that had me stumped in my limited testing.

Thanks

 

[sabbath999]

I've heard this a few times before. SO....tell me. What exactly makes the D40 more of a glorified PnS over say a Rebel XT? What different features does it/doesn't it have that would make somebody think that?

Basically, there is little difference between the two. The XT has 8mp instead of 6mp, CF card instead of SD (a total non-factor), 3 FPS vs. 2.5 in the D40, 7 point focus compared to 3 in the D40, a slower flash sync speed (1/200 in the XT vs. 1/500 in the D40), ISO of 100-1600 vs. 200-3200 in the D40, and it costs about the same with an inferior kit lens to the D40. It is able to use the full range of Canon EOS lenses, whereas the D40 can only autofocus with AF-S and AF-I lenses in the Nikon line.

So I guess a few more sensor spots and two extra MP, less limited lens use, a slower sync speed, a cruddy kit lens, a smaller ISO range and make it a pro camera as opposed to a glorified P&S.

I am not disrespecting the XT, not at all. It is a good camera. It just doesn't take pictures any better than a D40. I have tried them both, I know this for a fact.

 

[Don Simon]

The lower priced Pentaxs don't have the spot meters either but the K10D does.

Then I wish someone would tell Pentax, because they seem to have accidentally included spot metering in my K100d