Just bought DSLR - mistake ?

woolyback said:

Okay, I've just bought a Nikon D40 + kit lens and am now beginning to wonder if I've done the right thing.

For an extra £100 I could have got the D60.

Am I right to regret not coughing up the extra 100, or will I really not notice that much difference for the money?

I didn't bother adding another "which DSLR should I buy thread" on here, just read all the existing ones, so I'm fairly happily with the technical differences between the two, it's just that this is my first DSLR I and know nothing about them apart from having used a D40X once in auto mode, so am just wondering if I'm missing something due to inexperience really ?

Thoughts/comments welcome

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I was looking at getting either the D40, D60, or the D80. The D80 was out of my price range until I heard that Nikon was lowering the price of it(to make it the same price as the D60). I then headed over to Amazon and got an awesome deal. In regards to your question. I too am a beginner but I really enjoy photography and hope I can grow with my camera. The D40 should be ok for now. If I were to buy a D40, I would spend money on better lenses(I REALLY want a macro lens for my D80) instead of buying another body right off the bat. Ultimately, it's all up to you. If money isn't a huge issue and you want a better sensor and dust reduction, go trade it in for a D60. Hope everything works out for you.

Yeah, the D80 price dropped cause a new model is replacing it.

Back to the op question, well surprisingly the D40 has some features that has been left out in the D40x and the D60, its up to you if you need those features or not.

Like Zieg3rman says, better lens will give you better pictures rather then better bodies.
Lets say, a D40 with Nikon exclusive lens lineup and a D60 with kit lens. Even-thought the D60 has a better body, but the D40 will take better image quality pictures.

And like Zieg3rman says, if you are planning to switch to different lenses often and etc. get the D60. Oh yeah, more megapixel does not mean better image quality.

woolyback said:

Okay, I've just bought a Nikon D40 + kit lens and am now beginning to wonder if I've done the right thing.

For an extra £100 I could have got the D60.

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I doubt you would be able to see the difference between an image shot with a D40 or a D60. Moving all the way up to the D80 or D90, then you would be able to make use of a few more Nikon lenses.

Put the money saved away and spend it on something that matters, like an SB600 speedlight or a tripod.

With respect to the dust reduction -- I am highly skeptical of its actual value in the real world. So what if the sensor can shake itself off? The system does absolutely nothing to remove the dust from the rather small enclosed area where the sensor is located. Seems to me, the dust is just moved around and will likely find its way back to the sensor. Now if someone has taken the time to test the effectiveness of a dust removal system scientifically, then I'd be willing to change my tune, but as it stands, I can't help but be highly suspicious of a dust removal system's actual effectiveness.

I think a more valuable comparison between the D40 and D60 is the fact that the D60 includes a kit lens with VR. I personally do not feel it's worth the extra money for such a short zoom. I would rather take the extra 100 pounds and put it towards an external flash (much better than the built-in flash), or the new 50mm 1.4 lens (sharper and much faster than the kit lens at 50mm), both of which will add truly valuable functionality to your camera.

woolyback said:

Okay, I've just bought a Nikon D40 + kit lens and am now beginning to wonder if I've done the right thing.

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The D40 takes spectacular photographs. Stop worrying.

Absolutely nothing wrong with the D40. Use that extra money to buy yourself a 50mm/f1.8 and have fun.

rjg001 said:

Absolutely nothing wrong with the D40. Use that extra money to buy yourself a 50mm/f1.8 and have fun.

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Then he should have got a used D50.

cube said:

Then he should have got a used D50.

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No.

trust me, I have the d60 and I've used d40's before and there is very little difference other than the kit lens. the only reason I got the d60 is because they were have a sale and I got a good deal/ i kind of got sold into it [and i really wanted a VR kit lens] BUT there is one feature that is better on the d40 and that is it has a faster sync speed. So to conclude the d40 is a GREAT camera, and use the extra $$$ to buy another lens or an SB400 speedlight you have NOTHING to regret

rjg001 said:

Absolutely nothing wrong with the D40. Use that extra money to buy yourself a 50mm/f1.8 and have fun.

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The 50/f1.8 doesn't autofocus with the D40. Probably not what the OP is looking for.

ft

woolyback, it would be very helpful if you'd explain exactly why you are asking this question. If you're getting non-sharp photos, for instance, it's got absolutely nothing to do with the differences between cameras - it's something you're doing incorrectly.

So please explain why you're "regretting" not getting the D60 - your post provides little to no information.

aquajet said:

I think a more valuable comparison between the D40 and D60 is the fact that the D60 includes a kit lens with VR. I personally do not feel it's worth the extra money for such a short zoom. I would rather take the extra 100 pounds and put it towards an external flash (much better than the built-in flash), or the new 50mm 1.4 lens (sharper and much faster than the kit lens at 50mm), both of which will add truly valuable functionality to your camera.

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I have to agree with the above. Better to put the money save to some other use that matters. And yes, you would need the new 50mm, the newest one is AF-S. The older 50s don't autofocus.

About the VR kit lens. Not only is VR not needed in such a short lens but the non-VR lens is optically better. The non-VR version has slightly better contrast and is less susceptible to lens fair. So in some cases you'll get slightly better results with the D40. Every design decision is a trade off.

About the above suggestion to get a used D50. That's good too. If you need the focus motor and you are on a budget the D50 is the best way to go unless you can aford a D80.

I spent a while considering the D40 vs D60 question and went for the D40. I'm loving it. I think a tripod will be my first additional extra from the money saved.

On a bit of a tangent... having spent the last few days at a tennis tournament I wish I'd already bought a zoom lens - I've got some nice sharp photos and have learnt a hell of a lot about manipulating the shutter speed, but I was sitting quite far away from the action so feel they could have been even better, (for my beginner level of course!)

Yes I am a Canon dude so i may not be the best one to ask or answer i guess, but,, here is my opinion, the d40 is somewhat a beginer dslr, and the d60...well not so far away from it, i wouldn't caompare it to d200 or anything right? so.... if you enjoy it and you learn soo soso so much in the next year or two that at the end of it you ll just need a way better body, well you would not go for a d60 anyways...and what you can dow ith the d40 compared tothe D60 may not be worth teh extra 100 (IMO) so save that money spend it on some good glass or tripod and then when the D40 is just way too beginerrish for you, you'll have all those other cool things you can use with the new pro-body you ll get...

ftaok said:

The 50/f1.8 doesn't autofocus with the D40. Probably not what the OP is looking for.

ft

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I use the 50/f1.8 with my D40 and manually focus. Not hard at all. You have the focus assist indicator to help.

Probably not a bad thing for a newbie to learn how to do - it makes you think a little bit during the process.

yeah i htink you are good to go, i was having the same dilema, but it was between a rebel XT or rebel XTi, i ended up gogin for the XT, same exact thing you are gogin thru, price was being dropped because the XSi was out for a week or so. Yes i would have gotten so muhc more from the XTi but im mor ethan happy with my XT, I won't be changin my body for a loooooooong time...unless this one breaks of course...

rjg001 said:

I use the 50/f1.8 with my D40 and manually focus. Not hard at all. You have the focus assist indicator to help.

Probably not a bad thing for a newbie to learn how to do - it makes you think a little bit during the process.

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It is terrible to try to focus with the green dot. One needs to invest in a 3rd-party microprism screen.

Saying that the D40 is better than the D50 when you want to use that lens is just not reasonable.

cube said:

It is terrible to try to focus with the green dot. One needs to invest in a 3rd-party microprism screen.

Saying that the D40 is better than the D50 when you want to use that lens is just not reasonable.

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The D40 can be had new with warranty, whereas the D50 will have to be purchased used. If you can find one refurbished with a warranty at a competitive price, then maybe you go for it.

But even then, the D40 has a larger LCD, is smaller, has a programmable Fn button that the D50 lacks, a user controlled max ISO setting, in camera image retouching, and reportedly its in camera processing and high ISO performance are better.

I've taken hundreds of pictures manually focusing with that green dot and have no complaints despite being a total newb. It would probably suck for action shots, but I've not felt a need to use it for such. Further, I wasn't recommending the D40 for that lens so much as I was throwing the lens out there as a cheap option with the extra few bucks the OP had by going with the D40.