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D40

Ok I am going to dive in and buy a Nikon D40. What I need to know is some advice from all of you befor I make the purchase. What do I need ? What is nice to have? etc I guess I am just a wee bit nervous at making the switch from my Canon. I have a Canon S3IS and I hate it, I had the S2 and loved that one until it died. Someone reasure me that I want to shoot raw, and all that other good stuff.

:help:
Tina B
Tina,
The D-40 has been updated by the D-40X. Also Nikon has others in the D series,ie,D-60, and D-80 ,and D-90.
All at different price points and built-in extras. Shooting RAW will give you the most information per photo but it tends to use up a lot of memory card doing this. I use a Nikon D70 which preceeded the newer models and I'm quite happy with it.
Chas
Chas's Gallery
f/16 on a sunny day.....:)
Personally, I'd go for the Canon G10. Once you go for a true DSLR you're expenses begin.... extra lenses, filters, flash etc. G10 has a huge optical zoom, 14Mp, does RAW and is great value, I think. Nothing against Nikon but do you really need the interchangeable lenses etc? If you really want a DSLR there are some great alternatives from Sony, Pentax and Olympus - they have all recently put new cameras out and their "next best" buys will be bargains now..... they're the A700, K20d and E-410(or 420) respectively. I get the impression that North America is blind to camera makes other than Canon and Nikon.
PSE6 on WinXP, Pentax K10d...... and now a Canon G10.

Gallery
Not really blind,Geoff. Cannon and Nikon have the biggest product lines in the industry. Thus they give consumers the most options to choose from.
Chas
Chas's Gallery
f/16 on a sunny day.....:)
If you want a dSLR, you'll probably find a pretty good price on the D40. I think it is soon to be "discontinued".

Nikon brought out the D40 and, a few months later the D40x (same camera, just more megapixels) and promptly discontinued the D50 and D70. Now they have, I believe, discontinued the D40x leaving them, at the so-called consumer level, with the D40, 60, 80 and 90 and one introduced just a month or so ago, the name of which I can't remember. They expect the D60 to be considered a direct replacement for the D40x.

If you already have a dSLR, and are even staying in the same 'family' (Nikon or Canon or whatever), you still have to pay attention to the specifications. When I changed from the Nikon D50 to a D80 I didn't have to buy a single lens. The same lenses that worked on the D50 were just fine with the D80. That is not true for some other Nikon offerings including, I think, the D40.

If you want a dSLR my advice is the same as from Chas, stick with Nikon or Canon and you will have more accessory options to choose from. Also, the less expensive lens options (Tamron, Sigma, etc) always are available in Canon or Nikon mounts ... not always in some of the others.

I was in my camera store the other day and casually mentioned to my usual salesman that, if I had the money to buy another camera, I would like an advanced P&S for times that I didn't want to carry a lot of stuff around. I asked about a new Nikon I had read about, said I had heard nothing but good things about the Canon G10 but it didn't have enough optical zoom for the kind of things I like to shoot, this new Nikon had more than twice the zoom of the G10. He said the Nikon was junk, he and two other salesmen went out shooting and none of them were impressed at all. Picked up a new Canon, "XS-something", that he believed was superior to the G10 ... especially if you wanted a big optical zoom. It's $600 and change if you want to be able to shoot RAW, the exact same thing without RAW ability is $200 less.

Isn't it funny to ask advice here -- wow, lots of opinions. :D

Rusty
There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness" - Dave Barry

If your pictures aren't good enough, you're not close enough. - Robert Capa

www.prestophoto.com/photos/gallery/19932
WEll I did it! I went out and purchased the D40 and now the questions will start. I hope I did the right thing. :woohoo: I have to wait for the battery to charge so I can begin to play. I will be lost for sure so all you D40 uers be ready for this old grandma to start asking questions.

Tina B
Can I open raw in PSE 5 ?
Rusty, re Canon non-DSLR cameras:

G10 is the "flagship" and runs about $450-500. Yes, it has a shorter zoom but largely makes up for it with high resolution images (14.7 megapixels!) that can be cropped without losing a lot. Very sturdy build and great controls.

The other cameras that are at the high end for Canon are the SX1IS and the SX10IS; both are long zooms but don't have the same build quality as the G10. The SX1 does RAW, the SX10 does not. I believe their current price point is about $550 for the SX1 and $350 for the SX10. The SX1 has a CMOS sensor, the first in a point-and-shoot for Canon; however, the reviews have not been kind on the image quality from that camera. The SX10 is getting better reviews for the most part.
Chuck
LR2/CS3/PSE6/Canon 450D, G10/Panasonic LX3
Tina_B wrote: WEll I did it! I went out and purchased the D40 and now the questions will start. I hope I did the right thing. :woohoo: I have to wait for the battery to charge so I can begin to play. I will be lost for sure so all you D40 uers be ready for this old grandma to start asking questions.

Tina B
Can I open raw in PSE 5 ?


You'll have to download the ACR version 4.5
http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/ ... ftpID=3943

Have a look at the installation notes and ask if there is a problem.
Michel B
PSE6, 11,12,13.1 - LR 5.7 Windows 7 64 - OneOne Photo Perfect Suite - Canon 20D, Pana TZ6 - Fuji X100S
Most used add-ons: Elements+


Mes Galeries
Chuck, I wish I remembered the exact name of the XS-whatever the man showed me.
I got the impression that it was quite new and he specifically explained that the two versions differed only in the ability to shoot RAW (to the tune of $200). What he showed me sure sounds like what you just described.

If a buyer has no interest in RAW, it's a no-brainer -- go with the $400-and something version. I don't recall MP count because I wasn't really in the market but I do recall it was up there around 12 to 14. I do specifically recall that it was over six-hundred bucks (bricks & mortar camera store price).

Rusty
There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness" - Dave Barry

If your pictures aren't good enough, you're not close enough. - Robert Capa

www.prestophoto.com/photos/gallery/19932
Rusty, sounds about right on the prices. The higher-priced SX1 does have a few more features that distinguish itself from the cheaper SX10, with the sensor being the most significant. The CMOS chip up til now has been generally used in DSLR's but not in point & shoot models, which use the CCD chip. This is Canon's first foray into that market, and unfortunately it appears that their execution has been less than a total success.
Chuck
LR2/CS3/PSE6/Canon 450D, G10/Panasonic LX3
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