Nikon D40 Digital SLR

teejay

Available from Amazon for just over €300 delivered to Ireland. Pretty damn good price for a brand new DSLR camera. Picked one up during the week and very happy with it so far. Camera would be a good shout for somebody looking to upgrade to SLR.

Link

Ogham

It is a good price alright - plus they are giving a half price carry case too with selected SLRs (D40 is one of them)

TheDriver

d60 is much better to be honest but dearer

Thirdfox

Really? How so?

I've had my D40 for over 2 years now and found it to be a very capable camera. In fact I've earned more money from using this camera than the equipment I bought for it (not saying that the D60 wouldn't have performed just as well or better - but that this camera is good enough even for professional paid work).

vectra

TheDriver wrote: »

d60 is much better to be honest but dearer

Canon EOS 450D DSLR would be miles better as well but like your post is totally irellevant to the offer :rolleyes:

eddie73

Is it marginally better or miles better? They both get excellent reviews and the nikon is considerably cheaper.

Thirdfox

There's a reason Nikon kept the D40 going for over 2.5 years (eons in dSLR territory - new models generally come every 1.5 years). It's simple, cheap and has the features that professional photographer need.

But as others have said - this isn't the correct forum to be discussing the merits of different cameras. There is a very lively photography forum where people would be more than happy to answer questions.

http://boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=27

Just to answer your question - I prefer the ergonomics of Nikons over Canons, the 450D has a greater feature set though. Nikon has better flash technology etc. etc. everyone's requirements are different.

TheDriver

Of course the offer is great but if you can afford it, I found D60 better camera and people I know into photography hate the d40 compared to D60

Thirdfox

TheDriver wrote: »

Of course the offer is great but if you can afford it, I found D60 better camera and people I know into photography hate the d40 compared to D60

That would be quite surprising since the differences between the two cameras are rather minute - if they hate the one they would probably hate the other. It's not like comparing the D40 to the D90 or D300 etc.

Well take it from this person who is "into photography" (shooting for university newspapers, publications, competitions) the D40 and most basic dSLRs from any company are all very competent cameras which will in all likelihood perform beyond the requirements of hobbyist photographers.

TheDriver

Thats fair enough, my friends into photography also shoot for publications, prints etc and say there is big differences between the 2 but each to their own. For the price, its nice though.

Fergster

Yeah that is pretty good value. Is Canon not a better camera though?

mjquinno

im looking at buying my first ever DSLR.


Im less than ameteur when it comes to photography but would like to get better is this the proper kit for getting into it?

have had digital camera in the past but want to get something more substantial.

the corpo

the nikons are great camera's, i've a d60 and love it. like any dslr though the stock lens that comes with it isn't great, so to really take advantage of the camera you'd want to upgrade to a better lens. the nikon lens are terribly expensive, but a company called sigma make lens that work with them, are superb, and a third of the price.
currently on the hunt for a 17-70mm f2.8 myself.

if you're going to upgrade though, bear in mind that the d40 and the d60 don't have a built in auto-focus motor, so any lens upgrade will need to include such a motor, and they're pricier lenses, so you're long term spend might be increased

TheDriver

Apparently the VR (vibration reducation) on nikon lens is very good, new cameras come with vr or without. Also good sh deals at moment too for bodies.

dudara

Fergster wrote: »

Yeah that is pretty good value. Is Canon not a better camera though?

Canon and Nikon are the clear leaders in the SLR market. Both have their positives and negatives. It's like comparing apples and pears TBH.

E300 is a good price - I have a D40 and it cost me E400 9 months ago, although I did persuade the shop to throw in a camera bag, SD card and I also received a 1/2 day of Nikon training.

Thirdfox

the corpo wrote: »

the nikons are great camera's, i've a d60 and love it. like any dslr though the stock lens that comes with it isn't great, so to really take advantage of the camera you'd want to upgrade to a better lens. the nikon lens are terribly expensive, but a company called sigma make lens that work with them, are superb, and a third of the price.
currently on the hunt for a 17-70mm f2.8 myself.

if you're going to upgrade though, bear in mind that the d40 and the d60 don't have a built in auto-focus motor, so any lens upgrade will need to include such a motor, and they're pricier lenses, so you're long term spend might be increased

On the other hand - because the D40/60 models don't have the AI indexing tab for older autofocusing lenses it can mount ultra cheap Nikon pre-AI lenses safely.

Two of my lenses cost 35 euro and 20 euro respectively. Be aware that this is manual exposure and focusing... but build quality and optical quality is superior to the 200-300 lenses today.

Sigma, Tokina and Tamron are the most famous 3rd party lens makers (they make the lenses for Canon, Pentax, Olympus and Sony too).

Thedriver: just to clarify - for Nikon and Canon - VR/IS is not in the body of the camera but in their lenses. Pentax, Sony and Olympus put their stabilisation in their camera bodies (effectively all lenses are IS/VR) - pros and cons to both.

And in recent times (due to no small part on the success of the D40 - Nikon overtook Canon as the leader in the dSLR market for entry level cameras). It's a cyclical thing - Canon then comes out with a newer one and people switch. Buying into either of the top 2 guarantees that you'll have great support and a vast selection of new and second hand lenses.

Stam the sham

Im just wondering, did you have to pay VAT on it as well, I was gonna buy it from the same site, but then i thought of the reason why amazon weren't delivering to Ireland (VAT) and then they opened it again so im assuming they're letting the deliverer know that they should charge VAT.

whiterebel

Stam the sham wrote: »

Im just wondering, did you have to pay VAT on it as well, I was gonna buy it from the same site, but then i thought of the reason why amazon weren't delivering to Ireland (VAT) and then they opened it again so im assuming they're letting the deliverer know that they should charge VAT.

I thought Amazon UK's problem was with the WEEE directive, not VAT.

Ogham

Stam the sham wrote: »

Im just wondering, did you have to pay VAT on it as well, I was gonna buy it from the same site, but then i thought of the reason why amazon weren't delivering to Ireland (VAT) and then they opened it again so im assuming they're letting the deliverer know that they should charge VAT.

Amazon automatically charge the Irish VAt on all goods delivered to Ireland (it is added at the checkout screen). It adds about 5% to all prices.

TheDriver

Thanks ThirdFox, I have used a 50mm AF (non s) on a d60 and manual focus can be a bit of a pain but still.
Just to let ye know, if you know anyone going through a UK airport, the d60 pack with vr lens kit is 330 pounds, thats fairly cheap and good value over the d40 pack

MarthaT

Ogham wrote: »

Amazon automatically charge the Irish VAt on all goods delivered to Ireland (it is added at the checkout screen). It adds about 5% to all prices.

Found this out the hard way

TheDriver

Thirdfox wrote: »

And in recent times (due to no small part on the success of the D40 - Nikon overtook Canon as the leader in the dSLR market for entry level cameras). It's a cyclical thing - Canon then comes out with a newer one and people switch. Buying into either of the top 2 guarantees that you'll have great support and a vast selection of new and second hand lenses.

I was told by friends into photos that not to go near anything other than NIkon or Canon as they are market leaders and Sony etc especially for back up, lenses etc and also swapping with friends. I would have to get a Nikon just so I can ask more of mates as they all have Nikon

majiktripp

Haing owned the D40x, I found it a very capable camera indeed, so I would recommend Nikon no problem. However , with Canon I bought a G10 on a whim really, only to have a recall of the unit 3 months later due to sensor issues. Still have to send it back, along with the ongoing 1DMkIII and 1DsMKIII plague of issues as they rushed it out to compete with Nikon at release, it makes me glad I chose the Big N in the end.

jessy

The bloody thing is gone back up to £299, ffs i had this in my basket last night for £246 but didn't put the order through cos had the put money in my CC first.

denat

jessy wrote: »

The bloody thing is gone back up to £299, ffs i had this in my basket last night for £246 but didn't put the order through cos had the put money in my CC first.

That's a shame - I was about to order too.

The D40 seems to be available in bricks/mortar shops in Ireland cheaper than Amazon now.

GBX

This is back down now to £279.99 on Amazon today:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nikon-D40-Zoom-Nikkor-18-55mm-3-5-5-6G/dp/B000KIX65S/ref=pd_ts_zgc_ce_560836_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&pf_rd_p=195504591&pf_rd_s=right-5&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=560834&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=0T3QZ7TCX74YGKDB8QG0