Anyone here have a Nikon D40x

[Chupa Chupa]

Back in the days of yore where they used film in cameras I always lusted after Nikons. I never had one because they were way out of my price range. Then I lost interest in SLR photography. But now I'm getting the itch again and I'm looking hard at the Nikon D40x. Anyone here have one...or pick the Canon Rebel over it? Does Nikon still have the same sterling rep they had in the 80s and early 90s? Or do they just stick their name on anything now?

Also how is the Mac compatibility with Nikons? I've had a lot of Canon point n' shooters that worked great. I've never owned anything Nikon other than a slide scanner, which only had marginal Mac support, but that was a few years ago.

[volcs0]

I owned a D70 for two years and now a D80 for the past year. I've taken 30,000 pictures with these cameras. They are wonderful.

I just helped a friend get into the DSLR scene by getting a D40. I steered her away from the Costco D40 bundle with its two lenses and instead had her get the D40 with 18-135 lens from Beach Camera for a little over $700. She absoltely loves it.

Mac compatibility is not an issue. I plug my camera into the USB port, and iPhoto sucks in the pictures. Nikon has its own Mac software for RAW image editing, but I don't use it.

The downside of the D40 is that you can't use old lenses with it (the lens motor is not in the camera as in more expensive models). The 40x has higher resolution.

Personally, after using both, I feel that the D80 is worth the few extra hundred. If you're really feeling the itch, go for the D200 - it is amazing.

Read the reviews at DPReview, Steve's Digicams and Ken Rockwell - you will be impressed.

[vision63]

volcs0 and I have a very similar experience. Including the get the friend the D40. I love my D80 (and it's 18-135) but her d40 (standard kit) is an AWESOME camera. No camera out today captures images better. It's a responsive camera that you take everywhere because it's so unobtrusive. Yet, if you hold it in your hand, the grip and where your fingers fall makes it seem to be an extension of your body. I still have and use the D70 volcs0.

[volcs0]

[quote vision63]volcs0 and I have a very similar experience. Including the get the friend the D40. I love my D80 (and it's 18-135) but her d40 (standard kit) is an AWESOME camera. No camera out today captures images better. It's a responsive camera that you take everywhere because it's so unobtrusive. Yet, if you hold it in your hand, the grip and where your fingers fall makes it seem to be an extension of your body. I still have and use the D70 volcs0.
Well, the true (and sad) story is that after owning and loving the D70 for two years, my family banded together and got me a D200 for a big present. After owning it a month, I fell while on the beach and it landed in salt water, effectively killing it. It was the first and last time I've dropped a camera. I was pretty heartbroken over this. What I ended up doing was selling my D70 for $440 and the dead D200 for $650 (yes, I was amazed too). With this money, I bought the D80 kit with the 18-135 lens. For the brief time I owned the D200, I realized that it is an amazing camera - a real step up from the D80 in terms of build quality and functionality, though the pictures are supposedly similar.

For now, I'm lusting after the 20-200 VR lens... but that $700 purchase will have to wait another year or two...

[vision63]

I find the high iso pictures from the D80 to be a bit nicer.

Yeah, I want that lens too, but I wouldn't pay that as of yet.

I shoot a lot at night and indoors, so fast normal range lenses appeal to me.

That's crazy about your D200. I bet you felt SICK. You have quite the family to share with you so lovingly.

[zachdog]

The Nikon D40 and D40x is fantastic, especially compared to the Rebel. The real-word differences between 6mp and 10mp is pretty small, so you might be fine saving a little money by purchasing the 6mp D40 and spending a little extra on a lens.

The entry 18-55 lens is sharp, small, and lightweight. I'd avoid the 18-70mm lens, as its cost is pretty high. The 18-135mm is a sterling lens -- the only problem is a bit of vignetting at the long end at wide open apertures. The flagship digital zoom is the 18-200mm and it costs $750 from BH Photo, KEH, Pictureline, and a few others. Avoid retailers that gouge up to $900 for this lens, and especially avoid ebay.

I own the D50, which is comparable to the D40. I agree that the D80 is a superior camera, and its ability to use older lenses is really versatile. The 50mm f/1.8 is a fantastic and inexpensive lens and it is virtually unusable on the D40 but perfect on the D80. The cost is higher but the build quality and features are worth it if you're an advanced user.

[Don Kiyoti]

I'll crash the Nikon thread since vision63 crashed the Pentax thread from a couple of days ago! ;-)

Chupa, I haven't heard anything bad about the D40 except for its lack of an internal focus motor which means you can only autofocus with AF-S and AF-I lenses. That also means that a lot of good, inexpensive 3rd-party lenses such as the Tamron AF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 LD Di wouldn't work. That may or may not be an issue for you.

You should also consider the Pentax K100D which uses the same 6mp sensor as the D40 and features in-body shake reduction. The K100D Super is the update which will also feature the dust removal action from the K10D and support for Pentax's new ultrasonic motor lenses (which will be expensive, probably more than the target market for the K100 may want to spend). The Pentax kit 18-55mm is widely regarded as the best of the kit lenses from Canon, Nikon & Pentax.

You might also consider the K10D which is 10mp and more of a semi-pro body. It's bigger than the K100D or D40 but it's still very nice to use (I have one). But I agree with the others about Canon's entry level cameras. They've always felt cheap and toylike to me.

I would also say to avoid Ken Rockwell. He's pretty much the John C. Dvorak of the camera world. Among his bad habits is posting "reviews" of cameras he's never even handled. There's plenty of other sites for more objective information.

A good place for lens reviews and some cameras too:

http://www.photozone.de/8Reviews/

[volcs0]

[quote Don Kiyoti]A good place for lens reviews and some cameras too:

http://www.photozone.de/8Reviews/
Thanks for that site - it looks great.

[space-time]

[quote vision63]volcs0 and I have a very similar experience. Including the get the friend the D40. I love my D80 (and it's 18-135) but her d40 (standard kit) is an AWESOME camera. No camera out today captures images better. It's a responsive camera that you take everywhere because it's so unobtrusive. Yet, if you hold it in your hand, the grip and where your fingers fall makes it seem to be an extension of your body. I still have and use the D70 volcs0.
emphasis added. Now, do you really believe that? do you know there are other brands out there, i.e. Pentax, Olympus, Minolta (Sony), and other formats, i.e. medium format, have you ever heard of Mamiya, etc. ?

if you said "no other camera out today within $X and $Y", then I might believe that.

[vision63]

[quote space-time][quote vision63]volcs0 and I have a very similar experience. Including the get the friend the D40. I love my D80 (and it's 18-135) but her d40 (standard kit) is an AWESOME camera. No camera out today captures images better. It's a responsive camera that you take everywhere because it's so unobtrusive. Yet, if you hold it in your hand, the grip and where your fingers fall makes it seem to be an extension of your body. I still have and use the D70 volcs0.
emphasis added. Now, do you really believe that? do you know there are other brands out there, i.e. Pentax, Olympus, Minolta (Sony), and other formats, i.e. medium format, have you ever heard of Mamiya, etc. ?

if you said "no other camera out today within $X and $Y", then I might believe that.
I stand by that statement for all practical purposes (I receive images from a variety of sources). I've seen amazing 3200 iso images from Canon's 5D etc., but then I don't see what's practical about that.