D40 good price but good for long term?

[Deeptoes]

Hello

I'm new here but I've been diving for a while now. I would like to get back into UW photography with a new dSLR camera. I see that the price of a d40 is coming down. I used to have an N50 film SLR and I liked Nikon but that was a heavy camera.

My two choices are a Nikon d40 because it's less expensive and according to kenrockwell dot com it's a good value.

But I'm also intrigued about the Olympus e-620 as it's small and has lots of features.

Nikon-Olympus - can someone give me some direction and some sources of good information. I would like to get a housing and strobes to add to the system in the future.

Thanks

 

[RonFrank]

The Oly has a smaller sensor as well. What does that mean? Maybe not a lot, but in larger prints it can make a difference.

I guess it comes down to are you in this for the long term, or do you just want to purchase one camera, and a couple of lenses. I have lenses that I've been using for 20+ years. I shoot Nikon. Oly stopped producing SLR's for a good long time, and they are now doing so again, but I don't think the lens mount is the same.

So if you are into photography, it's a good idea to go with a mount that is time tested. If you are not that into photography, maybe it won't matter. OTOH, one can purchase a lot of oldish used Nikon/Canon lenses where anything used for Oly has to be more recent.

I have not compared these camera's side by side, but dpreview.com does a good job when they evaluate cameras.

 

[jcclink]

Some Nikon lenses will not work on the D40. Check your intended lenses to make sure they are compatible.

 

[mike_s]

the D-40, D40x, and D-60 only pretty much support the AF-s lens in autofocus. you can still use some of the AF lens, but have to manually focus them (which would be hard to do in a housing).

I've got a D40x and love it, but I've seen some deals on some AF lens that it will not work. like the 50mm f1.4 or f1.8.

 

[RonFrank]

Yeah, I forgot about that. The D40 does not allow one to control the aperture with the aperture ring on the lens. So some lenses will not work, but I *think* they would have to be the old manual lenses. I generally control my aperture via the camera, and I have lenses that are 15 years old or older that work. I use a D200, and still have my D1x.

I'm sure you can find a lens compatibility chart online.

Manual focus UW is not difficult. But why purchase old lenses that won't do AF? If it's important to be able to use older lenses, than purchase a better body. The D300 supports EVERY lens Nikon likely ever made. Yes it is more expensive. I'm a bit out of touch with camera bodies, but there maybe a lower end Nikon body that also supports older lenses at a lower cost vs. the D300.

Keep in mind that if you are in this for the long haul, it's not about bodies, it's about lenses! Bodies come and go, but I have lenses I've been shooting for 20 years. That's about 5 generations of bodies!

 

[JackConnick]

I regularly shoot a Nikon D80 and have been playing with an E-520 this week. The D-40 would be more in comparison to the E-410/420 in my mind. The E-520, and particularly the E-620, would be a big step up. Some initial thoughts:

I think the E-620 will be more in comparison with a D-80, but have live view. It doesn't have the video capabilities, etc of the D-90, nor as advanced an imaging system.

There are more lenses available for Nikon, but there are plenty for the Oly and their better lenses are excellent. S/w is much easier to use on the Olys and more capable.

The Olys are smaller and lighter. I like the speed of the E-520, but it falls down on multiple shots in RAW. I prefer the SD media on the D80. Nikons have traditionally the best connectivity for strobes, BUT that's changed a lot with the new optical sync ports on the Oly and others.

I would check out the viewfinder on the E-620 in comparison with the D80, the E-520's is much smaller. Liveview is cool, but sort of slow.

I think though for UW use, the E system cameras are pretty hard to beat. Excellent housing and ports available at very reasonable prices, small, light, easy to use and a great strobe in the UFL-2, with full TTL and optical sync.

But I'm still playing with it...

Jack

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

You should be able to use darn near any Nikon lens on the D40, though
if it doesn't have an internal motor, you'll need to use manual focus, and
if it's not terribly recent you may need manual aperture. I just ran down
stairs and put my 1971 Nikon 50 f/1.4 on Adm. Linda's D40. It worked,
manual aperture, manual focus. It's AI converted, so the aperture might
even work, but I didn't bother to try.

Any of you Canon guys got a '71 lens on your digital?

 

[Deeptoes]

Thanks all for the quick replies

Mike, if I have a D40 with a lens that does not autofocus, can I still focus that lens through a housing?

 

[mike_s]

Thanks all for the quick replies

Mike, if I have a D40 with a lens that does not autofocus, can I still focus that lens through a housing?

I don't know... I don't have a housing for my D40. (just land based).

But I would guess that would all be different with different housings.


I personally think that manually focusing a lens, while trying to "view" the object while wearing a mask underwater and getting a good manual focus would be hard. (just my opinion... maybe others have tried it).

 

[Larry C]

If you're starting from scratch with a DSLR for UW, forget the D40. The few hundred bucks you save are about equivalent to what you'll spend on a viewfinder alone. Your minimum investment in UW technology for a DSLR is going to be about $3000 and more likely it will be the price of a nice late model SUV, so get a better camera! If you want to keep it reasonable, go for a D90, which is in most ways as good as the D300 and in some ways better. It has HD video and the housings are a bit cheaper than the higher end D300 etc. For UW use, you really only have to worry about a few lenses. Right now, most people seem to like the AF-D60 (won't work in auto on the D-40) The AF-S 60 (will work in auto, but costs a bit more), and/or the AF-S105VR (works in auto). For wide angle, the Tokina 10-17ATX is the current popular choice. Honestly, what you'll pay for the optical dome to use with your WA lens will far eclipse the difference in camera price-right up to D300 territory, and Ken Rockwell doesn't shoot underwater.