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Anonymous
Hey, /p/ I don't know who else to turn to. I'm pretty low on funds at the moment, I only have £300 to spare really, but I want to buy a pretty decent entry level dslr. I've looked about a bit and it seems a Nikon D40 is my best bet. All reviews on it seemed pretty positive, but every critic mentioned the fact that it has a 'very basic autofocus system' or that it was coompletely manual with most lenses?? Does anyone have a d40 and can elaborate? Or can anyone suggest a better bang for my buck at around £300/$600? Any advice would be really appreciated, 'cause I had to work pretty hard for the small amount of cash that I have and I really don't wanna waste it. Christ, I talk too much.
>> Anonymous
>Hey, /p/ I don't know who else to turn to.

Help me, 4chan /p/, you're my only hope! (Sorry, couldn't resist.)

The D40 doesn't have a motor in its body to work the autofocus in lenses, so it will only autofocus with lenses that have a motor themselves. Most good lenses for Nikon don't.

Get a used D50 instead. Basically the same thing, but with a motor. Buy yourself a 24 or 28mm and a 50/1.8 and go to town. (24mm is a moderate wide, 28mm is "normal," which means it approximates the human vision sees.)
>> Anonymous
>>202542
Hey, thanks very much!
Would you get a 24mm or a 28mm, if you were getting one? I can't think which one would be better.
>> Anonymous
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>>202546
It's 100% personal taste. A wide will have space look slightly expanded compared to the way we see. Lots of people like it in their work; I don't and use a normal myself.

The attached picture is from Josef Koudelka, a great photographer who uses a 35mm lens on 35mm film, which is almost exactly the same as a 24mm lens on a crop digital. (The 24mm is like a 36mm.) See how the background slightly recedes behind the subjects in front, and it looks just a little more spatially spread out in terms of depth in the scnee than real life? That's a wide angle.
>> Anonymous
>>202557
Here's a more obvious example of that effect, from David Alan Harvey, who used a 35mm when he shot film.

http://davidalanharvey.com/#a=0&at=0&mi=2&pt=1&pi=10000&s=2&p=0
>> Anonymous
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These days, you can get a used D70s for less than a D40. It's bigger, heavier, the image stabilizing isn't as good, and the GUI isn't as fancy. But if you're a manual photographer, the level of control can't be touched by the 40, 50 or 60.
>> Jeremo !iKGMr61IHM
>>202657

>>the image stabilizing isn't as good

Whaaaaat?
>> Anonymous
>>202657
>image stabilizing

Lol what? It's not a Pentax/Olympus/Panasonic/Minolta/Sony.
>> Anonymous
>>202663

a lot of people think the d80 and d300 are full frame so i stopped gasping when people say stupid shit like this
>> Anonymous
The D40 isn't compatible with all lenses, I'm told. The 1000D by Canon looks like it'll be the best entry-level SLR. It'll be a bit more expensive though: $700/€649. Let's see how Canon prices it in GBP.
>> Anonymous
>>202667
For that price, you could get a d80.

Which is compatible with all
>> Anonymous
>>202665
I guess I should have said stability. I found that the lighter body allowed me to take much slower pictures. Slowest shutter speed I use on my D70s is 8, where I found at about two feet I could keep it sharp at about half a second.
>> Anonymous
>>202657
lol wow
>> Anonymous
>>202667
its compatible, you just can't AF with older lenses. This is irrelevant since 99% of d40 users will buy af-s lenses.
>> Anonymous
>>202675
yea, thats what a tripod is for. next.
>> Anonymous
>>202680
I still suggested the D70s over the D40, didn't I?
I was just impressed with how easy it was to keep the D40 steady.
>> Anonymous
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You never know who you're advising, or what they like to shoot, so if their hands are a little shaky, it's a good thing for them to know.
>> Jeremo !iKGMr61IHM
>>202695

but to assert from that conclusion that the 'image stabilisation' is better?

LOLz
>> Anonymous
1000d is £500 in britain. Canon claims you can buy it now, but when you can Actually buy it, it had better be no more than £350 from amazon, or I'll stick with the d40 for £270, 'cause they seem pretty similar from the specs.
>> Anonymous
>>203048
Get the D50.
>> lobstercake !pJDFbJZtxk
I love my d40.
>> Anonymous
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I enjoy my Olympus E-510. But then, I take crappy pictures and I probably can't tell a camera from a brick.
(Seriously though, the focus ring that isn't mechanically connected to anything is really lame.)

Camera-Specific Properties:Equipment MakeOLYMPUS IMAGING CORP.Camera ModelE-510Camera SoftwareVersion 1.0Maximum Lens Aperturef/3.5Image-Specific Properties:Image OrientationTop, Left-HandHorizontal Resolution314 dpiVertical Resolution314 dpiImage Created2007:12:26 21:06:56Exposure Time1/40 secF-Numberf/5.0Exposure ProgramManualISO Speed Rating400Exposure Bias0 EVMetering ModeCenter Weighted AverageLight SourceTungstenFlashNo Flash, AutoFocal Length14.00 mmColor Space InformationsRGBImage Width3648Image Height2736RenderingNormalExposure ModeManualWhite BalanceManualScene Capture TypeStandardGain ControlHigh Gain UpContrastNormalSaturationNormalSharpnessSoft
>> Anonymous
I had a D40, and as my first DSLR i have to say it taught me most of the basics, the menus are helpful, and using the apature and shutter priority modes you can get some nice shots. The fact that lenses need a focusing motor isn't that big of a problem, as you won't want to be spending loads on lenses for your first camera, and you can pick up some nice nikon ones that work anyway.
>> Anonymous
>>203070
>as you won't want to be spending loads on lenses for your first camera,

Exactly. The only good lenses with motors in the body are expensive, and there aren't any primes except a few superteles, I think a macro, and two by Sigma.
>> Anonymous
Yeah, maybe nikon should have just always put the motor in the lens like canon instead of the MASSIVE FAIL that is in-body focusing.
>> Anonymous
ITT, D40 owners patting themselves in the back to convince each other their camera is worth shit
>> Butterfly !xlgRMYva6s
Sony A200, cheaper + better performance and compatibility.

Sony are doing rather well at pricing themselves into the dSLR market. A700 going for some 800gbp with lens atmo.
>> Anonymous
>>203230compatibility

you mean instead of a d40 not working with half the lens lineup they can get a sony with expensive sony lenses or try to find used km ones?
>> Butterfly !xlgRMYva6s
>>203231
which is about 1000x better than only being able to use 3 decent lens AT ALL.

Isnt trolling about picking at the weakpoints?
>> Anonymous
>>203233

i don't think one way is better than the other

and what 3 decent lenses
>> Butterfly !xlgRMYva6s
>>203238
i duno, you name them. But do pick appart sony's lens lineup while you're at it.
>> Anonymous
>>203228
Poetry...
>> Anonymous
>>202675

Lol, an "optical^H^H^H^H^H^H^H *manual* image stabilization" rating
*facepalm*
>> Anonymous
>>203110
There is nothing wrong with in-body motors or mechanical connections to the body. Why are people so hung up about this?