Beginners: Do Not Buy The D40/D40x

[LuckySo-n-So]

And yeah, where do people dig these threads up...

Every so often, a poster comes along who does something very strange. These posters are RARE. Often heard, but never seen. Some think they only exist in mythology--like bigfoot. No actual proof that they exist.

The kind of poster I am talking about uses the SEARCH function. About as rare as the coelecanth or le loup garou.

 

[Katier]

Without lens or battery, the K100d is just under 100g heavier than the D40. I don't know if I'd consider that a LOT. The D50 came in near the K100d's weight, the D70 exceeded it, and I don't recall too many Nikonians complaining that either was unbearably heavy.

to be honest weight isn't an ISSUE IMO.. it does depend on the photographer I guess but I find my heavy K200D is nicer to use than my older lighter K110D and my older fuji 5600 ( which weighs next to nothing).

I find I get more stable pictures with the 200D as the weight works to help stabilize. It's not that heavy that it's a strain to carry tho. And as you point out.. pro's use a LOT heavier kit all the time.. Lightweight simply means cheaply made.

 

[AlexColeman]

I really have to agree. I can see why the D40s are lucrative, but they have no amenities.

 

[epp_b]

Holy bump, batman!

The only real issue I have with the D40 is handling (though it's still better than Canon's Rebels), though Nikon could easily fix that with firmware. DOF preview would be nice, but I can live without it. In-body AF would also be nice to have, but I'm given to understand that the system is slow and noisy and that even the cheapest AF-S lenses are better.

The overriding problem here is that Nikon's biggest strength is also it's biggest weakness: compatibility. Nikon's total compatibility (metering, AF, etc.) is hindered by their quest for mounting compatibility.

Sure you can mount any lens since the mid-70's on Nikon's newest bodies, and even lenses as old as 50 years with some modifications; and you can mount some new lenses on old bodies as well. On the other hand, you practically need a college-level textbook full of charts to know what will and won't be compatible between a given lens and body (AF, AF type, metering, metering type, EXIF recording, etc.).

With Canon, an EOS lens is an EOS lens is an EOS lens, so everything works on everything (save for EF-S/EF, but that's irrelevant anyway), no charts to bother with. As a result, they have a big selection of affordable lenses to choose from for any body. Too bad Canon bodies have the ergonomics and comfort of a brick.

 

[anubis404]

Every so often, a poster comes along who does something very strange. These posters are RARE. Often heard, but never seen. Some think they only exist in mythology--like bigfoot. No actual proof that they exist.

The kind of poster I am talking about uses the SEARCH function. About as rare as the coelecanth or le loup garou.

Lol this thread was actually linked in a more recent thread. Didn't realize it was a year old until I saw the dates. Oops! lol

 

[mrodgers]

Every so often, a poster comes along who does something very strange. These posters are RARE. Often heard, but never seen. Some think they only exist in mythology--like bigfoot. No actual proof that they exist.

The kind of poster I am talking about uses the SEARCH function. About as rare as the coelecanth or le loup garou.

I had a look the other day at the very first posts in this forum. Guess what the majority of those posts were? Yup, they were "what camera..." posts, LOL. After reading this bump and the comments about the bump, I was tempted to bump one of those 5 year old threads and tell them "this has been asked all over the forum, use the SEARCH function" as a joke, LOL.

 

[LuckySo-n-So]

I am in no way implying that I include myself in the mythical group known as " the searchers." But when I do use the search function I usually get my answer.

 

[Flower Child]

thank you for making this thread, sabbath99. I was going to town to get a D40, which was going to be a very big step for me moving up to a DSLR, and i noticed this thread, and i read it completely through. I can say I didn't want to believe that the D40 wasnt that good at first but I am very serious about photography so I forked out the extra bucks and got the Nikon D80 and I am SOOOO happy I did. I think I would have had buyers remorse if I had got the D40. I would have definetly felt the need to upgrade immediatly if I had bought the D40, I think with my D80 I will be a very long time until I will need to upgrade. Fellow beginner photographers, if you are very serious about photography get the good camera THE FIRST TIME.


Thanks for your thread Sabbath

 

[LuckySo-n-So]

The only regret I'm having now is that there is no AF motor, but I only have one lens that doesn't work with it, with no prospects for a new lens in the near future.

Also, I regret that the D200 has fallen about $3-400 bucks since I bought my D40. Who woulda thunk it?

 

[adamwilliamking]

D40 is made for people looking to get into SLR's that WILL be purchasing the cheaper DX lenses. If they were going to be throwing down multiple G's on lenses than they would not be buying a 350 dollar body. End of story.

 

[fightin14]

Well I have not read all the posts on here because I lazy, but for the most part I agree with Sabbath. I do not like the d40 for many reasons. One the lens thing, I thing would become very annoying when trying to buy new glass. Two, I currently have a d200 and previously had a d50 and the d200 has great controls. Two scroll "switches" one for ap. one for shutter. i don't think I could ever get used to not having this. The d50 not as easy as the d200 but still easier than the d40. With all this being said the d40 can be a great camera if you don't plan on exspanding, if you will leave you camera on Auto and don't care about glass quality and availability the d40 is for you. But the two or three times I used my stepmoms D40 I had to put it down because it was a pain in the ass to me. I appologize in advance for any grammer mistakes in this post because like I stated earlier I am lazy so there is no proof reading here.

 

[Sw1tchFX]

D40 is made for people looking to get into SLR's that WILL be purchasing the cheaper DX lenses. If they were going to be throwing down multiple G's on lenses than they would not be buying a 350 dollar body. End of story.

exactly, most people sho buy D40's don't expand past the 18-55.

 

[sabbath999]

exactly, most people sho buy D40's don't expand past the 18-55.

Exactly true...

Having said that, this forum really isn't where people who have this philosophy hang out.

Most people here want systems they cay GROW with... and frankly the D40 isn't the best choice for growth.

I wouldn't have posted this on, say, Amazon.com's review section because most of the people there just want a DSLR that just a fancy point & shoot.

Here, people want (generally) a DSLR that they can use to start building a system. There are better choices for that than the D40.

 

[adamwilliamking]

Well if someone is looking to "grow" they're going to be stuck either way, unless they buy a full frame camera from the gate. Anyone who is buying a first Nikon DSLR be it a D40, 60, 90, 300 is going to be "wasting" money everytime they purchase a DX lens (in your theory), because once they upgrade to a full frame these DX lenses will bang out a crappy 5mp photo on your 21 mp sensor. So by your theory the only way to properly grow in a Nikon camera without wasting money is to throw down 3 g's for a D700 out the gate.

 

[MikeBcos]

This thread was started because at the time, the D40 was very limited as to lens choice, currently Nikon list 49 autofocus lenses on their web site, of those, 26 are AF-S, I may be wrong, but I don't believe Nikon have released a plain AF lens in a while, all the new ones have been AF-S.

Nikon Camera Lenses

I bought my D40 because it does what I need and 6mp is enough for the print sizes I make. I looked at lens choices at the time and decided that there were enough AF-S lenses out there to meet my future needs. I was starting from scratch, I did not have a collection of non AF-S lenses that would go to waste.

It is also the opinion of my local Nikon dealer that in-body focus motors are going away, otherwise, why would Nikon be offering so many lenses for what many consider to be nothing but beginner cameras? I tend to believe him, I will be buying some better lenses this year, they will all be AF-S, I believe that those lenses are not only what I need for my D40, but will also be what I need for its replacement in three or four years.