is a nikon d40 any good

[buleetu]

hi all

i might be able to get a nikon d40 for cheap

are they any good as a starter dslr?? i already have a compact camera its an e900 i wouldnt be planning on getting a housing for the nikon for a long time yet,would it be a good above water dslr camera for me to start off with??

 

[SPG3K]

You won't find one better for the price. Period.

Canons come close, but they are about 200$ more last time I checked.

D40 is probably THE best entry level SLR, especially considering they are like 380-400 from most places right now. Canon G9's cost more than that.

Just remember you have to buy lenses with built in autofocus. Not a dealbreaker for me, but if you plan on buying lots of lenses, you may look elsewhere.

 

[buleetu]

why do the lenses have to have built in auto focus

 

[SPG3K]

Because the D40 does not have an Autofocus drive motor built into it's body.

It uses lenses that have the AF motor built into the lens. I think they are called AF-X or DX lenses or something like that, I cannot remember off the top of my head.

 

[buleetu]

ohh i see thanks for that. does it make much of a differance when i have to focus manually, or is it just under water that its better to have auto

 

[zzalnera]

Most of the lower level lenses out there are going to be just fine on the D40/D60 series. It's the DX series lenses that you're looking at. The whole range is represented, 18-55, 70-300, 18-200. I'm not sure if there are any primes (fixed focal length, as opposed to zoom) with the motor built in, but you should be fine for a while. The D40 is a great camera.

Nikons are solid, as are Canons. The only thing is Canon doesn't have anything to compete in the very low end of the consumer market. The new Rebel XS/1000D is going to run around 600-700 dollars when it hits the market at the beginning of August, but also has a larger screen, faster autofocus, and less digital noise at high ISO than the D40.

Hope this helps, PM if you have any other questions.

-Zach