No love here for the Nikon D40?

[bender73]

hello,i am new here and just purchased a Nikon D40 after a lot of research. i have an older Nikon 4300 as well as a Canon SD800IS. i love photography and never had an SLR. i got the Canon pretty much as my "bar/restaurant camera" for when i want a nice camera that fits in my shirt pocket.i read the great review of the D40 on dpreview and it seems the D40 also shares pretty much everything with the higher end D80 except for the AF engine. oh, and the D80 beat out all the competition in the current issue of popular photography.so, logic tells me that with the D40, i am pretty much getting the D80 with the lack of 4 million MP and AF engine. i don't notice a single difference in overall image quality with the loss of 3 million+ MP when i compare the 4300 with the SD800IS. that, and the D40 accepts a ton of lenses...you just might need to focus manually.my main reason for going to an SLR is to shoot/focus manually. maybe take some night classes and take my hobby to the next level. the D40 seems like the perfect camera, no? i dunno, the experts tend to feel the D40 is great, but most people here (from what i have read) are calling the D40 a glorified P&S camera!!! that seems strange since its specs are almost identical to the D80. moreover, the experts are calling the D40 a step up from the D50, yet people here are saying the D50 is better.originally, i was gonna go with a used sony R1 for the zeiss lens, but i wanted a true SLR.oh, and i always thought the true experts/artists shot manually.thoughts?

 

[Peacemaker636]

I'm also looking at the D40. I think it's a great camera. I went and held it today at BestBuy, and I like it. But I also like the feel of the Canon Rebel XTi, and I've yet to hold the Pentax K100D. None-the-less, I think it's a great camera. If you've held it and like it, then go for it.

 

[bender73]

I'm also looking at the D40. I think it's a great camera. I went and held it today at BestBuy, and I like it. But I also like the feel of the Canon Rebel XTi, and I've yet to hold the Pentax K100D. None-the-less, I think it's a great camera. If you've held it and like it, then go for it.

thanks! from what i have heard, both are good cameras with the edge going to the nikon based on the kit lens...which most will likely replace anyway if you're really getting into SLR. i am, however, a NooB!!!

 

[bla]

i dunno, the experts tend to feel the D40 is great, but most people here (from what i have read) are calling the D40 a glorified P&S camera!!! that seems strange since its specs are almost identical to the D80. moreover, the experts are calling the D40 a step up from the D50, yet people here are saying the D50 is better.originally, i was gonna go with a used sony R1 for the zeiss lens, but i wanted a true SLR.

Really? huh, I think the D40 is a pretty solid camera. Although that might not be everyone's opinion, I would have a hard time saying the D40 is a glorified p&s. That thing is truckloads better in so many respects. I would avoid the kit lens if you want something faster though... or if you are planning to buy another lens anyway.

 

[CMan]

If you love the camera, that's great. But a lot of us on this forum are coming from backgrounds with film SLR's or maybe even other DSLR's, and to go to a D40 feels like a step down, as opposed to a step up, which it is for you.

My main criticism is that it is too small, and it needs buttons rather than a menu process. The D50 was larger in size, it had buttons, and it just felt better to me.

But then, I have big hands and I hate menus. The main thing is not how others feel about it, but how you like it.

 

[Jeremy Z]

Most of us who have unkind things to say about the D40 say them because with the D40, Nikon has taken a bad step with regards to backwards compatibility. The D40 cannot autofocue with older autofocus lenses, like the D50 can. I'm quite sure it's more than a glorified point & shoot. But I will also say that it was designed to lure people into SLR photography, which it is obviously doing.

Before you decide, try the Pentax. The body integral anti-shake is quite a useful feature. It gives you two more stops of handholding ability. Also, Pentax is the real champion of backward compaitibility. You can still use manual focus screw mount lenses from the 60s with the new cameras. (obviously, with some limitations, hehehe) All the 35mm autofocus lenses will work.

 

[dinodan]

As the previous poster states, unlike other Nikon DSLRs, the D40 has no internal focus motor. This means that all Nikkor D-Series AF lenses are manual-focus-only on the D40. If you don't have any D lenses and don't intend ever to get any (or don't mind having to focus them manually), then its a non-issue.

On the basis of that alone, I'd snap up a D50 (for about the same price) before they're all gone! But then, I have a bunch of D lenses...

 

[bender73]

As the previous poster states, unlike other Nikon DSLRs, the D40 has no internal focus motor. This means that all Nikkor D-Series AF lenses are manual-focus-only on the D40. If you don't have any D lenses and don't intend ever to get any (or don't mind having to focus them manually), then its a non-issue.

On the basis of that alone, I'd snap up a D50 (for about the same price) before they're all gone! But then, I have a bunch of D lenses...

i started this thread

...then ended up returning the D40 for a D80:blushing:

the D40 is great, but glass is limited

 

[Sw1tchFX]

I do not like the D40. It's too small for my hands, doen't have enough direct control buttons, and will only work with one of my lenses. simple as that.