Deciding on a camera

I've been looking around for cameras and one I found that I like is the Nikon D40. Is this a good camera? I'm a beginner and have about 400 USD. I'd love to hear input about this camera from others and if possibly some suggestions in my price range. Thanks!

 

People that have them seem to love the D40.

It is a somewhat dated model though.

 

Yeah, I understand it's pretty old. What would you suggest to a beginner?

 

Be aware that your lens choices for a D40 will be limited to those with a built-in focusing motor which, from what I understand, are typically quite expensive.

Edit: That is of course if you want the autofocus to still work

 

I think right now I'm looking at the D3000. What do you think?

 

I honestly think you should look at a Pentax K-x. Great bang for your buck.

 

D3000 is a great choice for a starter camera on a budget. If you can swing it try to step up to the D5000 for some more features. The D90 is the lowest camera that offers an internal focus motor. But I wouldn't be too concerned about that. All the good lenses have internal motors, and they aren't that expensive.

 

I just bought a D3000 last night. So far its an AWESOME camera and i haven't even scraped the surface. (I'm a DSLR Newb)

 

Lenses with built-in focus motors aren't all that much more expensive and using the term "quite expensive" is misleading, particularly when not backing up the statement with any empirical data.

Note - Many of the lenses that have a focus motor in them also have Nikon's VR technology adding to the price of a lens, which fokker negelects to mention.

Further, a D40 owners lens choices are not, "limited to those with a built-in focus motor."

D40 owners can choose from most of the lenses Nikon has made for it's F-mount since it was introduced 50+ years ago in 1959. Not all of those lenses will auto focus and not all of those lenses will meter, but they can be used on a D40.

In Nikon's current lens lineup a D40 owner has 33 lenses to choose from that have built-in focus motors (AF-S) and only 21 that don't that can still auto focus on oother Nikon camera bodies (AF). D40 owners can also look to the previous generation, AF-I lenses that have a focus motor in the lens. As mentioned above, D40 owner would need to manually focus an AF lens mounted to the camera.

Of the current 21 lenses that don't have a focus motor, they range in price from $134.95 (AF 50 mm f/1.8D) to $1,894.95 (AF 14 mm f/2.8D). (all prices are from Nikon's USA web site)

Of the 33 AF-S lenses that do have a focus motor in them the least expensive is the AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II (no VR) at $119.95 and is Nikon's least expensive lens. Like the AF lenses, AF-S lenses vary in price by focal length and maximum aperture with the long telephoto primes exceeding $10,000 in price.