I recently borrowed a Nikon D70 digital camera from my office to use for the weekend and I LOVE it!!!!! However, I know that it's used for professional use and I don't need something that nice. But I do want something that takes great pictures and that has manual and automatic settings. Any suggestions? I would mainly be using it for personal use. Also I've heard Nikons are the best. Any advice is greatly appreciated! 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. You already love the D70 and this is not that different. It's a little smaller, but it has many of the feaetures of the D70. 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 (April 2007). You will want to add a decent SD memory card and I recommend a Sandisk Ultra II or Lexar Platinum II - either 1 GB or 2 GB would be great. You can get one from B&H also for $30-45.
As an alternate idea, you might consider buying a refurbished D70s or D50. I see B&H has a few used D70's for sale that they rate either 9 or 10 on a 10-point scale. There is one D70s with an 18-70 lens (nice) for $759. Yeah, it costs more than a new D40, but it's the camera you used and love. It puts the D40 price into perspective, though, doesn't it? Get a D40. Yes Nikon is good but maybe overprice for beginner. why dont u try canon powershot s2 or s3. real nice camera has auto n manual. good reviewed for digital camera too |
