Deciding on a camera

[Vaibe]

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!

 

[jdag]

People that have them seem to love the D40.

It is a somewhat dated model though.

 

[Vaibe]

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

 

[fokker]

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

 

[Vaibe]

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

 

[reznap]

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

 

[supraman215]

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.

 

[JR Productions]

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)

 

[KmH]

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

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.