My new Nikon

jqp · « **on:** 7 Mar 2008, 03:27 am »

After reading and thinking I have purchased the Nikon D40. I was influenced a lot by Ken Rockwell's site.

I decided to buy my 'backup' camera since I still intend to get the D300 or something like that in the near future.

Right now the proprietary battery is charging *sigh* a reminder that this is a DSLR.

They say this is light as a feather...well not compared to the Canon S2 IS I have been using for the past couple of years. Still lighter than a D300 with a zoom lense.

The new G-II version of the 18-55mm AF lense that this comes with in the US is huge! Not really, but larger than what I expected in a 'basic' lense.

The camera kit is now $500 or less at Amazon, Adorama, Ritz, and other places. Picked mine up at Circuit City tonight. They also have the D300 at CC! I was surprised! $500 is not much more that non SLR digital cameras were just a couple of years ago.

According to KR this camera is better for everyday use than many of the other Nikons in the areas of base ISO, synch speed, LCD on the back, RGB histogram, etc. Of course, it's a newer (and less expensive

) model than some of them.

lazydays · « **Reply #1 on:** 7 Mar 2008, 05:59 am »

Quote from: jqp on 7 Mar 2008, 03:27 am

After reading and thinking I have purchased the Nikon D40. I was influenced a lot by Ken Rockwell's site.

I decided to buy my 'backup' camera since I still intend to get the D300 or something like that in the near future.

Right now the proprietary battery is charging *sigh* a reminder that this is a DSLR.

They say this is light as a feather...well not compared to the Canon S2 IS I have been using for the past couple of years. Still lighter than a D300 with a zoom lense.

The new G-II version of the 18-55mm AF lense that this comes with in the US is huge! Not really, but larger than what I expected in a 'basic' lense.

The camera kit is now $500 or less at Amazon, Adorama, Ritz, and other places. Picked mine up at Circuit City tonight. They also have the D300 at CC! I was surprised! $500 is not much more that non SLR digital cameras were just a couple of years ago.

According to KR this camera is better for everyday use than many of the other Nikons in the areas of base ISO, synch speed, LCD on the back, RGB histogram, etc. Of course, it's a newer (and less expensive ) model than some of them.

I've read some of Rockwell's reports in the past on various cameras, and find he often contradicts himself. My favorite is his comments about the D70 (a good camera in itself), but then he turns around in another eview and rips it apart basicly saying that the data they put out is bogus. Anymore I think the proof is in the picture not what some reviewer writes that's dictated by advertising venues (hope somebody from Shutterbug reads this).
If your serious about a D300, then spend the extra $300 for the grip option. It turns the camera into a completly different animal. Will give you a much better "multi-shot" capability. I'll probably own one this summer unless I go with an S5 Fuji instead. Both are basicly the same camera but with different senors, and one does B&W better by a long shot. Still the pros are still opting for a true DX series in the Nikons over the D series.
gary

JohnR · « **Reply #2 on:** 7 Mar 2008, 09:30 am »

Cool

BobM · « **Reply #3 on:** 7 Mar 2008, 02:02 pm »

I got one for Christmas also. I upgraded to an 18-185mm tele lens though. Nice camera. I really have to dig in and figure out all the controls though. Been shooting in auto only mode for a while.

Summer's coming!

Bob

Thebiker · « **Reply #4 on:** 7 Mar 2008, 03:48 pm »

I bought the Nikon D40x about 6 months ago and have trucked it all over the place, including the saddlebag of my Harley when the wife and I went out shooting foliage. I have the 18-55 and the 55-200 lenes for it and couldn't be happier. My enlargements are not more than 11 x 14 and detail is clean and crisp.

I have used it for landscapes, macros and low light shooting with tripod. While we were in Phoenix in December we went to "Zoolights". We had a ball! I had the wife handling the IR remote shutter release while I set up my shots and handled the tripod. Much of what we shot we allowed the D40x to run in the auto night mode......surprisingly good, as good as I have done in the past with my AE-1 and push processed film.

Could I have bought better? Sure, but it would have cost a bit more than what I was willing to budget and 10.1 mega pixels is all I need.....at the moment

, who knows what will catch my eye next. Damn I love my toys aa.
Walt

Rocket_Ronny · « **Reply #5 on:** 7 Mar 2008, 06:01 pm »

The D40 is a great way to go, congrats.

Love to read Ken Rockwell's stuff.

But you have to know what you want in a camera and weigh his biases in all that.

My brother bit the bullet and got the Nikon D3.

He normally tweeks in Photoshop, but with the D3, with the color controls maxed, he finds he does not have to tweek the color anymore.

Myself, being a wide angle type of guy, I would go for the Nikon D3 and 14 mm zoom if I wanted to blow $7,000.00. But I will have to settle for a Cannon XTI with the Cannon 12-24 lens. That is all the camera I would ever need, wide angle that is. Almost all my shots are done this way.

Rocket_wide eyed_Ronny

Bob in St. Louis · « **Reply #6 on:** 7 Mar 2008, 06:06 pm »

Nice unit dude, I've got one as well. Very user friendly. Haven't found anything I'd change on the thing. Wonderful machine!
(Thanks to JohnR for the recommendation)

Bob

lazydays · « **Reply #7 on:** 7 Mar 2008, 09:29 pm »

Quote from: Rocket_Ronny on 7 Mar 2008, 06:01 pm

The D40 is a great way to go, congrats.

Love to read Ken Rockwell's stuff.

But you have to know what you want in a camera and weigh his biases in all that.

My brother bit the bullet and got the Nikon D3.

He normally tweeks in Photoshop, but with the D3, with the color controls maxed, he finds he does not have to tweek the color anymore.

Myself, being a wide angle type of guy, I would go for the Nikon D3 and 14 mm zoom if I wanted to blow $7,000.00. But I will have to settle for a Cannon XTI with the Cannon 12-24 lens. That is all the camera I would ever need, wide angle that is. Almost all my shots are done this way.

Rocket_wide eyed_Ronny

seven grand is a lot of cash for a camera! I'd be looking at a medium format camera with a digital back. You can get them for Bronicas and Mamayias with Pentax comming out with one soon. Once you've used one of the better medium format camers you'll wonder how you ever got by without one!
gary

Rocket_Ronny · « **Reply #8 on:** 7 Mar 2008, 10:15 pm »

Good point Gary.

Myself, I want as small a camera as possible.

Dream camera would be a pocket camera with full manual controls, a fixed 20 mm lens (35 mm equivalent), and a full sized sensor. Then the same camera with a 70-300 zoom.

I love having a pocket camera, and have taken many pictures I would not have if I had a DSLR.

I have no idea why they don't make something like that? It seems the next logical step in digital cameras.

But since they don't make it I will have to do plan B.

Rocket_Ronny

nathanm · « **Reply #9 on:** 7 Mar 2008, 11:21 pm »

If you get big enough pcokets your dream will come true! Heh! I would have to wear MC Hammer pants if I wanted to get my 4x5 in there, and I would be happy to see a lot of people it would seem.

There's the Minox cameras, those will fit in pockets for sure!
http://www.minox.com/index.php?id=19&L=1

Can I get an "Awww"?

To get unnecessarily picky; there's almost no real world use for full manual control in the sense that you know intrinsically what shutter and f-stop to use. Sunny 16 rule I guess? More often than not you're going to want some kind of technology\light meter to provide you with at least half of the equation. Shutter priority makes sense, aperture priority makes sense, but manual only applies...hell I don't know when it applies. I guess just trial and error shooting? If you're shooting studio strobes you have a known shutter speed and probably are going to have a light meter to pick your f-stop. I'm not saying that the camera shouldn't have manual control, I'm only saying that for the most part we are beholden to the light meter, whether in-camera or external. You want to make the creative choice of depth of field or motion stoppage, but you usually need some kind of electronics to tell you the rest.

I dunno, do you guys have an internal sense of what exposure settings to use in a given light situation? Maybe I just never tried to correlate and memorize these things.

Rocket_Ronny · « **Reply #10 on:** 8 Mar 2008, 12:01 am »

Well, on my Canon pocket S80, which has manual controls, as well as everything else, I just watch the LCD and choose F-Stop and speed to suite the needs. No rocket science, but love the ease.

Rocket_keep it simple_Ronny

lazydays · « **Reply #11 on:** 9 Mar 2008, 01:22 am »

Quote from: Rocket_Ronny on 7 Mar 2008, 10:15 pm

Good point Gary.

Myself, I want as small a camera as possible.

Dream camera would be a pocket camera with full manual controls, a fixed 20 mm lens (35 mm equivalent), and a full sized sensor. Then the same camera with a 70-300 zoom.

I love having a pocket camera, and have taken many pictures I would not have if I had a DSLR.

I have no idea why they don't make something like that? It seems the next logical step in digital cameras.

But since they don't make it I will have to do plan B.

Rocket_Ronny

about a year and a half ago I was in the same boat. Looking for a very small pocket sized camera that wasn't a toy. I found two or three that I liked (a Fuji, Lieca, and a Samsung), and finally just bought a Samsung NV10. It's all metal with no plastic. Takes great pics at 10 meg of resolution. The flash is a little weak (good for about twelve feet), but all else is great. The glass is by Schnider, and not made on license like some others.
gary

jqp · « **Reply #12 on:** 9 Mar 2008, 07:31 pm »

Finally getting some quality ime with the D40 - it is an amazing little DSLR and I am still marvelling at the price of this kit.

I have set my shooting mode to continuous - Its easy and useful to do and why not, with a 4GB card I bought on sale a few months ago! Its still easy to do single shots in this mode, but when you see a subject moving its nice.

Also set the exposure compensation to -0.7 at KRs suggestion. This is due to the "a flaw in the D40's meter firmware". Thankfully the setting sticks when powered off. Anyone have any other settings they like most of the time?

This camera seems to be very well designed physically. It is light, balanced, just feels right in my hands. I plan to take it with me everywhere! It fits in my backpack, which also holds a laptop and my other necessities.

One cool thing is that if you are in continuous mode and take about 6 shots, they appear on the LCD in a little stop-motion movie! 2.5fps is OK but the D300 will (assuming I do get it) have 6fps or even 8 with the optional grip!

Also I like that there are multiple ways to adjust settings - kind of like using windows or OSX - well not quite...

Bob in St. Louis · « **Reply #13 on:** 9 Mar 2008, 10:59 pm »

Yes, the D40 is one of the few items I've owned that appears to have been designed by users, not pencil pushin' bean counters. They thought of all those little things. You know, things like...when you open the battery door, the battery doesn't drop like a bomb from an airplane. It has a little detent that lets it drop 'just enough' that you can grab it, but not far enough that it falls out and hits the floor. NICE!
It's the little things in life, you know......

Bob

Martyn · « **Reply #14 on:** 12 Mar 2008, 04:06 am »

Quote from: nathanm on 7 Mar 2008, 11:21 pm

To get unnecessarily picky; there's almost no real world use for full manual control in the sense that you know intrinsically what shutter and f-stop to use. Sunny 16 rule I guess? More often than not you're going to want some kind of technology\light meter to provide you with at least half of the equation. Shutter priority makes sense, aperture priority makes sense, but manual only applies...hell I don't know when it applies. I guess just trial and error shooting? If you're shooting studio strobes you have a known shutter speed and probably are going to have a light meter to pick your f-stop. I'm not saying that the camera shouldn't have manual control, I'm only saying that for the most part we are beholden to the light meter, whether in-camera or external. You want to make the creative choice of depth of field or motion stoppage, but you usually need some kind of electronics to tell you the rest.

I dunno, do you guys have an internal sense of what exposure settings to use in a given light situation? Maybe I just never tried to correlate and memorize these things.

Well, some of us are old enough to have grown up with cameras that didn't have built-in light meters, and separate light meters were a luxury for the enthusiast. So your carton of film came with a strip of paper that recommended various shutter/aperture combinations to suit the film speed and lighting conditions (overcast, cloudy, soft shadows, sharp shadows). Most people would have their favourite films such as Kodachrome 25 or Pan X and you'd eventually develop the intuition you speak of.

When do you need manual control? When your light meter's battery is dead! Of course, with a modern camera this means that the whole camera is useless anyway, but not with a manual camera...

Edit: I should have mentioned that I too now have a D40 (just to keep this post relevant).

Danny Kaey · « **Reply #15 on:** 12 Mar 2008, 04:17 am »

haven't had a chance to read the entire thread here, alas, my 2nd D300 body is on its way to being exchanged... regardless of my impression of the camera, this is utterly unacceptable - suffice is to say I will never play guinea pig again and wait 6-8 months before buying another "new" release product off the bat (first one developed a problem with the rear display flashing in and out; the second one after 2 months of use now developed electrical issues, turning itself on/off at will, etc.)

I am pissed!

BobM · « **Reply #16 on:** 12 Mar 2008, 12:32 pm »

Here's a link to Ken Rockwell's page giving you some setting overrides on the D40.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d40/users-guide/index.htm

Enjoy,
Bob

Bob in St. Louis · « **Reply #17 on:** 12 Mar 2008, 02:55 pm »

Hey Bob, thanks for the link Bob.

Bob

BobM · « **Reply #18 on:** 12 Mar 2008, 03:54 pm »

Quote from: Bob in St. Louis on 12 Mar 2008, 02:55 pm

Hey Bob, thanks for the link Bob.
Bob

Bob,

You're welcome Bob.

Bob

lazydays · « **Reply #19 on:** 12 Mar 2008, 08:21 pm »

Quote from: Danny Kaey on 12 Mar 2008, 04:17 am

haven't had a chance to read the entire thread here, alas, my 2nd D300 body is on its way to being exchanged... regardless of my impression of the camera, this is utterly unacceptable - suffice is to say I will never play guinea pig again and wait 6-8 months before buying another "new" release product off the bat (first one developed a problem with the rear display flashing in and out; the second one after 2 months of use now developed electrical issues, turning itself on/off at will, etc.)

I am pissed!

Well I was seriously looking at the D-300 with the grip option, but after looking at a few dozen pics shot thru one I now think I'll just go ahead and buy the Fuji S5pro. The colors are much better with the S5, and black is really black with it. Whites are similar, and better than the Nikon in everyway. And all my S3 setups will work with it.
gary