New D40!

Patm1313 · Jun 26, 2008

I just got my D40 (my first camera ever, believe it or not...) I love it. The only problems are that it has no anti-shake and the screen will turn off after it's been idle for three seconds.

Here's a picture I took with it:

S2K1 · Jun 26, 2008

The anti-shake is only with VR-equipped lenses and the time your LCD is on should be easy to change via the menu. Not familiar with Nikon so I can't tell you exactly how, but your manual should. Also the longer you have the LCD on, the shorter the battery life, so keep that in mind. Congrats on the new camera though.

dEARlEADER · Jun 26, 2008

Good for you.... enjoy you D40 it's a great camera....

mdcrisp2000 · Jun 26, 2008

Cool peg!

And the best way to compensate for no anti-shake is to get a tripod. Or just stand a bit more still.

Patm1313 · Jun 26, 2008

mdcrisp2000 said:
Cool peg!

And the best way to compensate for no anti-shake is to get a tripod. Or just stand a bit more still.

Taking a note from my hobby as a (rifle, not camera) shooter, I wrap the neck strap of the camera really tightly around my arm like a rifle sling to keep the camera steady. It works well for times when you can't use a tripod.

passerby · Jun 26, 2008

That is sharp peg indoor shoot. Congrat with your new toy, I hope it will fill your days ahead with fun.

Have fun.

KD5NRH · Jun 27, 2008

Patm1313 said:
Taking a note from my hobby as a (rifle, not camera) shooter, I wrap the neck strap of the camera really tightly around my arm like a rifle sling to keep the camera steady. It works well for times when you can't use a tripod.

I've been doing the similar; clip-end strap on split-rings through the strap slots, hook both clips to one side of the camera, wear it diagonally, and when shooting, let the left arm catch the strap and pull it tight against the tricep and back of my neck.

I've thought about one of those rifle-stock mounts with my spare 1907 sling, though

Iron Flatline · Jun 27, 2008

A quick question, in an effort to lead you toward some digital knowledge...

Is that wall white? Because it looks gray to me. A digital camera uses Auto White Balancing, something your eye and your brain do automatically. The camera actually only sees brightness and darkness, it looks at the world in a quasi-B&W way. It tries to apply an average value in order to figure out how to render each color, and assumes an average value. (I think it's 18% gray.) So it sees a relatively uniformly white wall... and declares it gray.

That's why when you shoot a snowy scene in winter, everything comes out looking gray.

Iron Flatline · Jun 27, 2008

Doh - I just edited yours to show you, but I see you don't lie having your pics edited.

Patm1313 · Jun 27, 2008

Iron Flatline said:
Doh - I just edited yours to show you, but I see you don't lie having your pics edited.

Nah, go ahead and edit it. I'm away from my computer with my special picture-shark watermark settings, so I had to put that up temporarily. I've changed it back now.

And the wall is white, but because of the crappy lighting in the room that I took the photo in it everything looks gray, in real life and in photos.

amba · Jun 27, 2008

Patm1313 said:
I just got my D40 (my first camera ever, believe it or not...) I love it. The only problems are that it has no anti-shake and the screen will turn off after it's been idle for three seconds.
Here's a picture I took with it: ( ... removed it ... )

Congrats! the D40 is excellent, you'll love it. If you are worried about camera shake in low light conditions, get one of the Nikkor DX VR zooms. they cost, but rumor has it they worth the money

i've been too cheap to purchase a new one myself, being already invested in some good, non VR prime and zoom lenses...

Cheers and welcome to the world of digital photography :cheers:

theadamsociety · Jun 28, 2008

Patm1313 said:
The only problems are that... the screen will turn off after it's been idle for three seconds.

Hey, you can change that
I believe that you first will need to choose your "Full Menu Setting" (For some reason the D40 comes with a restricted menu.

You can accomplish this by going into your toolbar and choosing CSM/Setup Menu.. and than choosing Full instead of simple.

Once you've done that go back into your Menu and go all the way down to "Auto Off Timers". There are four settings, i've tested them for you.
The first setting short is 3 seconds like you said. The second Normal is 7 seconds. Long is 15 seconds, and there is also a Custom setting.

So there ya go seems, like we fixed all the drawbacks!

Go have fun.

PS. You will also need to be in this full menu setting to do a mirror lock up and clean your sensor, so you might as well keep the full menu.

Cheers

Patm1313 · Jun 29, 2008

If you wish to see two more of my pictures with the D40, they are in a thread on a different forum linked to below. Warning: They contain images of a snake eating a pre-killed mouse, and may be disturbing to some people.

http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=69275