looking at D40

13 years 6 months ago #1328 by bramstokerfan
Thinking about getting a compact. Looking at the D40 kit. It's the old model, 6.1 megapixels. I'm hearing more and more that a zillion mp are not necessary. Interested in hearing your thoughts?


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13 years 5 months ago #4911 by Livernois
The D40 is a classic and takes great pics. Perfect camera to get started in the DSLR world.

Good luck!


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13 years 5 months ago #4915 by Screamin Scott
It's true that more megapixels doesn't mean better quality, but more pixels means that you will be able to crop photos more easily. Be sure to check out the total number of shutter actuations before plunking your money down on a used camera. All cameras are rated for an expected number of shutter actuations. Here's a link to some info on the D40's expected shutter life...
d40xd60.wikidot.com/shutter-life

Scott Ditzel Photography

www.flickr.com/photos/screaminscott/

Photo Comments
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13 years 5 months ago #5310 by jyutzey
The Nikon D40 was my first DSLR. I bought a Nikon-refurbished one a couple of years ago. I like it very much. I have printed pix 16X20 with no resolution problem with the 6MP, but I use low ISO's (400 max, usually 200).

The only thing I don't like about it is that my old Nikon AF film camera lenses will not auto-focus because the D40 requires BIM (built-in-motor) lenses to auto-focus, so you have to manually focus old AF lenses (that's not a problem for me, but is a limitation you need to be aware of). You have to go up to a D90 or comparable that has body-driven auto-focus to use those old lenses with AF.

The 18-55 kit lens is quite good. I also have a 55-200mm zoom which avoids the heavy cropping issue that Screamin Scott mentions, which could be an issue with a 6mp sensor with large prints.

I highly recommend it, but they are now getting harder to find. Could consider a D3100 if you can't find a D40, but it will cost more (but has higher specs plus video, if you care about that).

Have fun!


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13 years 4 months ago #5683 by DavidNM
I carry a D40 body in my bag as my backup camera. It's lightweight and does a great job. Sometimes when I'm at a party or something like that I'll just use the D40 as my D300 is pretty heavy.


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13 years 4 months ago #5861 by lfortier
I Bought my wife a D40 because she 1) wanted a small camera, 2) Didn't like shutter lag, 3) wanted a real viewfinder to use on sunny days, 4) wanted pictures of similar quality to my D200, 4) and it had to be a lot lighter than my D200.

The D40 solved all those problems.

There was one problem. She didn't think the reach of the 18-55 lens was enough. She borrowed my Nikon 18-200 and I'll never get it back.

I use her D40 as a backup to my D200.

Lee
www.leefortier.com


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13 years 4 months ago #6970 by Erika
I bought a Nikon D40 a few months back. It was my first DSLR and it was the best decision I made. It's a great camera and takes great photos.

Photographer
Little Blue Leaf Photography

Website: http//:littleblueleaf.com

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