The telephoto lens will be needed for 150' distance at most The problem with the Nikon D40 is the camera doesn't have autofocus in the body. Every lens you buy has to have autofocus built in or be used manually.
For 1k, I'd go with the Pentax K100D and a good zoom lens. The 100D has autofocus built in and it has comething neither Canon nor Nikon cameras come with, Image Stabilization built into the body. This helps steady the image when you're shooting at a slower shutter speed.
The link below is to a Pentax rebate on the camera and various accessories. You could be out-the-door with the camera, an 18-55 and a 55-200 lens for $600 after rebate. You could add on a 70-300mm or even a 100-400mm telephoto and still stay under your limit.
The following is the minimum I'd go with:
Pentax K100D with 18-55 kit lens
Tamron 75-300mm f/4-5.6 lens
After rebate, that's under $600 depending where you buy from, leaving plenty for another lens, memory cards, a bag, etc. What camera you use? 70-200mm f/2.8 is one of the best lenses with or without IS. I own Canons 70-200mm f/2.8 without IS and its a dream. Also if your doing a lot of outdooor sports I would get teh 300mm f/4 L lens if you want the best imagine quality for about $1000. You could go with the Nikon D40x and the Nikon 18-200mm VR lens. The combination is just about at your price point and you wont find this much capability any smaller and lighter, if that's a priority. my suggestion
go to yahoo shopping
digital cameras
digital camera GUIDE
be sure to check titles on the left side
the guide should answer your questions The Nikon D40 is a great little camera, very easy to use and quite reasonably priced. It will get you in the Nikon family which is a great place to be. If you buy accessories and lenses, you will be able to use everything on any Nikon that you might upgrade to later on.
Here are a few reviews, in case you have not read them yet. Be sure to note that they are several pages long and some of the reviews also have some sample images that you can look at.
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond40...
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2007_revi...
http://www.popphoto.com/cameras/3756/cam...
http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d40/d40...
I hate to see people slam the camera because it can't autofocus with older Nikon lenses. It is true that there is a "slight problem" with older Nikon lenses not autofocusing on the D40, but if you do not own a bag full of older lenses, it is not going to be a problem. It is barely a problem anyhow. If you check www.nikonusa.com for "AF-S" lenses, which are ALL 100% compatible with the D40, you will find 23 lenses, including 7 "VR" (vibration Reduction) lenses and one true macro lens with "VR". There are another 25-plus lenses in the current catalog that provide all functions except autofocus as well as many (possibly dozens) "out of print" lenses that will work just as well. In addition, although these lens will not autofocus, most of them will still give focus confirmation. From the D40 manual: "If the lens has a maximum aperture of f/5.6 of faster, the viewfinder focus indicator can be used to confirm whether the portion of the subject in the selected focus area is in focus. After positioning the subject in the active focus area, press the shutter release button halfway and rotate the lens focusing ring until the in-focus indicator is displayed."
The D40 only has 3 autofocus zones arranged horizontally at the center, 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock positions. This might be considered a limitation, but realistically, most people will find this perfectly adequate, especially if you are moving up from a point and shoot with only a center zone.
You can get the D40 with the 18-55 kit lens at B&H Photo (available through Yahoo! Shopping or at 1-800-622-4987) for $550 (May 2007) and this is with TWO Lexar 1 GB cards. You can get the same kit with one Lexar Platinum (higher speed) card for $560. Or - get the D40 with 18-135 lens and 1 GB Lexar card for $760. Okay, this is getting quite a bit more costly than something like a Canon S3-IS, but it's quite a bit more camera.
I just posted this same message to one of our regulars and I think the D40 with the 18-135 is a good place to start and it's well within your budget. The Nikon 18-200 VR lens would be nice, but it would put the deal over $1000, assuming you could find the 18-200 VR in the first place. |
