Test Drive - Nikon D40

HappySnap · Jul 27, 2008

Hi All,

Well as someone of you maybe aware I was in a bit of confusion as to which dslr to buy. Well I did indeed settle on the Nikon D40 and you know what, I am glad I did. I got a great bit of kit which didnt break the bank but which also delivers great photos.

I got myself the nikon d40 for my birthday so I took it out to the zoo - just cos I am another year older doesnt mean I am too old for the zoo!!! :thumbup:

I wasnt really going for 'great' photos I just wanted to see what the camera was like and how it performed and to be honest it did really well indeed.

Have a look below at a few shots I took today, feel free to comment on them. Thanks to everyone who contributed to my thread regarding which camera to buy, i am 100% sure I made the right decision.

Here you go -

Thanks for looking!!!

Nik :mrgreen:

Dao · Jul 27, 2008

Congrats~~
So you finally get the D40.

BTW, happy birthday!

Copacetic · Jul 27, 2008

NICE shots! Glad you're happy with the camera, congrats! I see you went with the two lens kit? I too spent the day taking pictures, can't beat it, aye?

I think a few of those could benefit from better cropping, but I'm probably worse, so I'm not really one to talk.

I love the little yellow duckling, the meerkat, the pelican(?) and the zebra. The zebra I would have taken a bit wider, the cropped a bit more horizontally to make the composition a bit less square, but again, that's just me. I do love the consistent color in the shot of the pelican, the way the background matches its feathers. Brilliant!

Keep up the good work, and keep having fun!

dklod · Jul 27, 2008

These are great. Im interested to know which shots are cropped and which aren't. I posted in another thread about the D40 and not wanting to stay at 6mp, but these are good shots, even better if some have been cropped. Cheers

pongerts · Jul 27, 2008

is it a camera trick or just the angle, but the does the first bird only have one leg?

kcon · Jul 28, 2008

great photos, what lens did you use?

HappySnap · Jul 28, 2008

kcon said:
great photos, what lens did you use?

I used a Tamron 70-300 lens for all of these shots.

I did actually crop most of them however im just learning so they might not of been the 'right' crop to make.

Below are some non cropped photos - i didnt think these were as good as the ones I have already posted but please feel free to disagree :lol:

I just wanted to see what result the camera would produce so I wasnt really concentrating on the details of the photo/subject - thats next time!

Nik :thumbup:

TamiyaGuy · Jul 28, 2008

Wow, really nice photographs! Was it more of a conservation area instead of a zoo? I just get 50 photos of wire in mine :lol:

Nice work! Great to see that people are understanding that megapixels are not the only thing in a camera.

HappySnap · Jul 28, 2008

TamiyaGuy said:
Wow, really nice photographs! Was it more of a conservation area instead of a zoo? I just get 50 photos of wire in mine

Nice work! Great to see that people are understanding that megapixels are not the only thing in a camera.

Thanks TamiyaGuy - I went to the Cotswold wildlife park - its a zoo but the animals are behind glass etc though the monkeys are behind wire.

I think the D40 shows that its not the size of your megapixels its how you use them! :lol:

Thanks again!

passerby · Jul 28, 2008

Well congrats with the new box and the long zoom. Nice shots you have there, they are sharp pictures. Is the tamron has a VC built in?

Allright have fun.

HappySnap · Jul 29, 2008

passerby said:
Well congrats with the new box and the long zoom. Nice shots you have there, they are sharp pictures. Is the tamron has a VC built in?

Allright have fun.

If VC means Vibration Compensation (??) then no I dont believe the lens does have it built in.

I have the Tamron AF 70-300 F/4 - 5.6 Di LD Macro lens - http://www.tamron.com/lenses/prod/70300_di_a017.asp

I maybe wrong but I cant see a website anywhere saying it does have it and the box doesnt say anything about VC either.

Bifurcator · Jul 29, 2008

Congrats on the new kit man! Nice pics too! Looks like you're having fun and that's most of it right there!

I'm looking forward to seeing more of your stuff dude! Keep'em coming!

HappySnap · Jul 29, 2008

Bifurcator said:
Congrats on the new kit man! Nice pics too! Looks like you're having fun and that's most of it right there!

I'm looking forward to seeing more of your stuff dude! Keep'em coming!

Thank you Bifurcator - I am sure I shall post some more photos up soon!!! :mrgreen:

TamiyaGuy · Jul 29, 2008

Wow, I just checked out the price on that lens. What is the sharpness/IQ like? Every time I see a lens like that, my heart sinks about buying a Sigma 55-200

.

HappySnap · Jul 29, 2008

TamiyaGuy said:
Wow, I just checked out the price on that lens. What is the sharpness/IQ like? Every time I see a lens like that, my heart sinks about buying a Sigma 55-200 .

Sorry, I dont know that much about it. I got it in the kit i bought from Jessops. I believe they were selling the lens seperately for £199 (not sure what that is in $) however I got the nikon d40 with 18-55 lens, 2gb memory card, a bag and the Tamron lens for £409 (again, dont know what that is in $)

So far, IMO, I think its a brilliant lens. Very clear and sharp.

Edit to say - I have just realised you are in the UK - no need to worry about the $ then!! lol