Thinking of a new Camera

C

cj10jeeper

Lifer
Lichfield, England
Well as the title says.

I'm no pro photographer, but thinking of getting a basic SLR camera with a view to taking some better car shots. It would also be used to catch a few pictures at off road events and usual family shots. To date I work with a reasonable Sony digital, but it has limitations.

I'm not going to spend a lot, so it will be basic.

I'm sort of drawn to a Nikon D40 or D40X - what do the photographers think?

What lens should I have?

Is used a real bad idea for SLR?

Done searches but the responses seem to get carried away and start getting way expensive. Lets say £300 - £350
 
cj10jeeper, I have a D40X which is now discontinued and replaced by the D60. It has some limitations and I am thinking about moving up. I do have an Nikon 18 to 200mm lens which I really do like as it is pretty much one lens does it all.
 
I was in the same position you're in... went for the Canon EOS D400 - brilliant! Bought mine second hand from a friend and so far loving it. Have a Canon compact too and they're both very easy to use. Got used to the manual mode (setting ISO and shutter speed) quite quickly and never use the auto mode these days. Still using the auto focus though. Canon EOS and Nikon D seemed to be sharing the awards when I was looking.

I got by with the standard lens for a while and then got a Sigma zoom lens last Christmas - great! Quite fancy a wide angle next.

I think there is a life span to the shutter or something, but it's in the number of thousands so I'm not overly concerned.

So while you wait for the photographers that's a numpty's point of view!

:tumbleweed:
 
CJ - I use one of these - it a terrific camera with lots of features and very robust, http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Nikon-D70s-Camera-body-lens_W0QQitemZ270480587829QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CamerasPhoto_DigitalCameras_DigitalCameras_JN?hash=item3ef9e63c35 - its the daddy of the smaller D40/50...check the reviews of the D40 as I think it uses a different focussing mechanism that limits its use to more expensive lenses with built in focussing motors - imprant if you want to get longer/shorter lenses later. Not the case on the D70s.

The one in the link would be a good buy at that price - it was nearly £700 when new.

You can always get a handbook separately from ebay, or I'll copy bits of mine :)

and used is not a bad thing at all....some people just gotta keep on upgrading LOL
 
My new one is the Sony A200 (alpha, I think).

It's bottom end DSLR, but comes with a decent lense, is about 10 or 11mp, and was 280 quid. Gets great reviews. Highly recommended.
 
lacroupade said:
check the reviews of the D40 as I think it uses a different focussing mechanism that limits its use to more expensive lenses with built in focussing motors -
Click to expand...
Yes...that is a problem and one of the reason I want to upgrade....

cj10jeeper said:
Bill - want to sell a D40?
Click to expand...
It will be going to my daughter.
 
CJ as lacroupade said the D40 requires lenses with their own motors, which means you can only use a certain type of lens for auto focus. THis might not seem to bad but a colleague of mine wants a prime 50mm lens for his D40 and he says they are around £300 at present where as a 50mm lens for a D90 is easily availalbe secondhand for around £100.

So might be worth a little more initial investment to save in the long run, or get a Canon like my 40D :thumbsup:
 
I have the Nikon D40. As someone that will not do more than use a few different settings and a bit of point and shoot its perfect.

Spending anymore money for me seemed pointless, i knew it was never going to escalate into a hobby that i would spend hundreds more pounds on.

It does its job very well, the battery lasts a long time and its never gone wrong in any way. :)
 
srhutch said:
CJ as lacroupade said the D40 requires lenses with their own motors, which means you can only use a certain type of lens for auto focus.
Click to expand...

I echo this... One of the guys at work had a D40 and we always used to take the piss that his nice little 50mm f1.8 lens (great lens!) wouldn't autofocus! Seriously, it was a nice camera at the time but it won't cost you much more to move up to a slightly better Nikon or even better a Canon (as you may have realised the Canon vs Nikon debate is as bad as Chelsea vs Man Utd, LOL).

I use a Canon D400 and it is perfect apart from one fundamental limitation... a crap piece of organic material behind the eye piece! (me!)
 
Wow - lot of good info guys - thanks

Best start searching on various sites and see what i can come up with.

Might be a non Z4 Christmas present if I spend too much (my wife starts buying thisngs from about October that I can giver her at Christmas - neat con she runs)
 
I am think about upgrading to the D90 or the D700. I'm really leaning toward the D90 as I can't justify the cost of the D700.
 
sp3ctre said:
I echo this... One of the guys at work had a D40 and we always used to take the piss that his nice little 50mm f1.8 lens (great lens!) wouldn't autofocus! Seriously, it was a nice camera at the time but it won't cost you much more to move up to a slightly better Nikon or even better a Canon (as you may have realised the Canon vs Nikon debate is as bad as Chelsea vs Man Utd, LOL).

I use a Canon D400 and it is perfect apart from one fundamental limitation... a crap piece of organic material behind the eye piece! (me!)
Click to expand...

:lol: must have been a bad batch... I have exactly the same issue with my D400!

There's so little between them IMO that I'd be looking at the Canon and Nikon and going with the one that gets me the best deal - memory / lens / case. Only thing that would have been nice was if the Canon took SD to fit the slot in my laptop!
 
I started with a Nikon D60 when I went DSLR but now use a Nikon D90. Very pleased with it so far. :thumbsup:

To be honest, if you are going to spend most of the time in full Auto mode, the D60 is a great camera. :thumbsup:
 
I have the Canon 20D which is the most excellent piece of equipment and spent a fortune on lenses as I enjoy taking the best possible pictures. However, as someone else mentioned, I was very impressed with the Sony Alpha200 that my son got, certainly for the money!
 
Sony have always had a bit of a bad rap when it comes to SLR's though.
Interestingly you don't get many pros using them. Actually, look at the press guys when you see them on the news and most use Nikon!
 
We are talking different price ranges though. The Sony I paid well under £200 for whilst the Canon was way over £2k.
 
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