[fiona_m]

Hi All. I have been away from MB for a year due to Health Problems. They are now all under control after getting to see a different doctor.

Now to get back to the post.

At the moment I have an old (5years) Fuji Bridge camera that has 6 MP and I am happy with the prints I get from that.
My DH bought me a Sumsung S1050 which has 10 MP and I am just never quite happy with the shots I get.

I have saved enough to get a Nikon D40 which has 6 MegaPixels. Would I be happy with this camera or should I save for a couple more months and get the Nikon D60 which has 10 MegaPixels.

Thanks In Advance

Fiona

[LisaL]

I had the Nikon D40x (which I sold to my mother) and for all intensive purposes it is an awesome camera. There are a couple of things you should note though. The is that if you ever want to use 3 party lenses that is more difficult with the D40. The autofucus will not work with them and you will have to do all your focusing manually. Which is fine if you are ok with that. The motor that runs the lenses in not in the camera on the D40 and there for only the Nikkor lenses with AF. There are a lot of really good third party lenses that are way more affordable than the Nikkor. That being said, I have the D80 and ended up buy the Nikkor 18 - 200 lens because it was instock and I didn't want to wait for a 3rd party one to come in since I was going on a trip and wanted it prior to leaving. I have a friend who is a professional photog and the only lens she uses is a Tamron 18 - 300 which is less that $400 if my memory serves me. There are comparison websites that you can search out and compare them both side by side and see exactly what the differences are. HTH!

[PhotoshopScrapper]

Fiona,

Welcome back. Glad your health issues are now under control. I have a Nikon D70 which is 6MP and I am VERY happy with it. My mother just bought a D40 (I did guide her to the lower MP to save some money) she is also very satisfied with it. I do have to say that my mother is not the best behind a camera. It took her YEARS before she would finally break down and purchase a DSLR. She didn't want to be bothered with lenses and hated that they weighed so much.

I would only suggest the 10MP camera if you're looking to print at poster size or larger (like 20x30"). I've printed up to 8x10 from my D70 and have been very happy. I haven't printed larger (I just don't print larger pictures).

What have you not been happy with about your current 10MP camera? I don't personally know anyone that has a dslr that is higher than 6MP so don't have any first hand experience with a higher MP DSLR.

What are the other differences between the D40 and D60? Does the D60 have more creative flexibility? I know my D70 does have more creative flexibility than Mom's D40. I'm not sure about the D60 though.

Hope that helps.

Denise

[HisThao]

Thanks for asking this question, Fiona. I want to buy a new SLR as well and was wondering whether to go with a "basic model" or invest in a higher end one. I look forward to everyone's suggestions!

[LisaL]

Not sure if this will help any but the portfolio link has all pictures taken with the D80. And the Hawaii link pictures where taken with the D40X. I had this camera for less than 2 weeks when we went to Hawaii and all the pictures were on the automatic setting.

Hawaii 2007

Portrait Portfolio

[Vaughnde]

LisaL, on Jan 20 2009, 06:51 AM, said:

Not sure if this will help any but the portfolio link has all pictures taken with the D80. And the Hawaii link pictures where taken with the D40X. I had this camera for less than 2 weeks when we went to Hawaii and all the pictures were on the automatic setting.

Hawaii 2007

Portrait Portfolio

Lisa to view these I have to get a snapfish account and I'd much rather not. Is there another way to view them without having to join snapfish?

[SandiC.]

Hey everybody. Canon makes awesome cameras too. The price on the Canon DSLRs is coming down. Canon does not have the autofocus problem the Nikon cameras does and the CMOS is superior. I know its about a toss up with professionals on Canon vs Nikon. Just look and read all the reviews and know what to look for. Actually, any of them is good for a hobbiest, but if you plan on growing into a camera, be very well imformed before you buy. Know what the limitations are for each model and what is most important to you.

[Reyn]

I have the D40 and I love it. I have printed 12 x 12 LOs with a large pic on it and it turned out great. As far as the lens not auto focusing, I think it is only a problem if you have older lenses. You just have to buy AF-s lenses. Sigma and Tamron both make them as well as Nikkor. I am not sure of the differences between the 2 you are looking at. I would be interested to know them also.

[LisaL]

I am not sure...I got mine in July of 07 and I read online and had to 2 camera shops, and a photography club I belong to tell me that they wouldn't work on mine. But I never tried it for myself.

[MargotW]

I have been looking at a Sony A300. I currently have a Sony Cybershot and am happy with it but I really want a DSLR - just because it is a DSLR!
The Sony has the image stabilization in the camera and not the lens. I am thinking of getting body only and buying the Tamron 18-300 lens.
I had this lens on my old Olympus film camera and loved it.

[Dollykatz]

I would go high end if you can afford it. I am coming from a Cannon, but will be checking out the Sony camera. It has a Carl Zeiss lens which is far superior than any other lens out there. I think it is reviewed in dp-preview. It is bigger and heavier than the Cannon 12mp camera I was looking at. Haven't made a decision yet??????

[Dollykatz]

Forgot to tell you......if you want to go real high end, I would check out full frame cameras - around $2,000. What you see is what you get with these cameras. I know Cannon has them.

[Dollykatz]

Vaughnde, on Jan 20 2009, 08:15 AM, said:

LisaL, on Jan 20 2009, 06:51 AM, said:

Not sure if this will help any but the portfolio link has all pictures taken with the D80. And the Hawaii link pictures where taken with the D40X. I had this camera for less than 2 weeks when we went to Hawaii and all the pictures were on the automatic setting.

Hawaii 2007

Portrait Portfolio

Lisa to view these I have to get a snapfish account and I'd much rather not. Is there another way to view them without having to join snapfish?

[LisaL]

I don't have them posted anywhere else. I do have a slide show of some of my portrait photos on a slide show on my blog right now if you want to see those. It is at llaxton.blogspot.com I would love CC on any of my work you guys see!!

[JenniferZ]

I also have a Nikon D70s and I love it! For 35mm cameras (film or digital), I am a dedicated Nikon user.

Hope you find something that meets your needs!

[sweetaudrey]

I have had my D60 for about a month now and I LOVE IT! It was the perfect camera for my specific price range and requirements. I treat it like a little baby. I still have a lot to learn...but I'm so happy with it. Good Luck with your decision.

[sweetaudrey]

Oh, and I am so happy to hear that you are well and that you are back with us again!!

[DaveUK]

Glad you're back and feeling better!

I've used Nikons all along, currently using a D200.

Either the D40, D40x or D60 would suit your needs, but there are some things you may need to know:- (apologies for long post)

Nikon entry level DSLR series, the D40, D40x and D60 are great cameras that can do a lot of the fun things that more serious cameras can do but without the bulk and weight that more pro-level cameras are often burdened with. One reason some people shy away from these excellent little gadgets is the stigma of not being able to focus on all Nikkor lenses. Sigma and Tamron offer selections of great alternatives to Nikkor lenses. However again not all of them will autofocus with D40/x or D60.

Of course, Nikon is remedying that with lots of new Nikon AF-S lenses that will work just fine on the D40/x and D60, just find any Nikkor lens with the term AF-S in the name. But Nikkor lenses aren't budget lenses so Sigma and Tamron are coming up with quite a few lenses that have internal focusing.

If you want a replacement lens, or you are thinking of a little more specialty photography like macro photography or wildlife, your D40/x or D60 is not going to bog you down because you can't find the proper lens. Below I have listed some of the Sigma and Tamron lenses that you could consider instead.

Sigma Lenses

10-20mm F4-5.6 EX DC HSM
12-24mm F4.5-5.6 HSM
17-35mm F2.8-4 DG HSM
50-500mm F4-6.3 DG HSM
APO 50-150mm F2.8 EX DC HSM
70-200mm F2.8 DG MACRO HSM
80-400mm F4.5-5.6 EX DG OS
100-300mm F4 DG HSM
120-300mm F2.8 DG HSM
300-800mm F5.6 DG HSM
14mm F2.8 EX HSM
30mm F1.4 EX DC HSM
150mm F2.8 EX DG HSM
180mm F3.5 EX DG HSM
300mm EX DG HSM
500mm EX DG HSM
800mm f5.6 EX DG HSM

Tamron Lenses

AF 18-250mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II LD Aspherical [IF] MACRO (Model A18NII)
AF 70-300mm F/4-5.6 Di LD MACRO 1:2(Model A17NII)
AF 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 XR Di II LD Aspherical [IF] MACRO (Model A14NII)
SP AF 17-50mm F/2.8 XR Di II LD Aspherical [IF] (Model A16NII)
AF 28-300mm F/3.5-6.3 XR Di VC LD Aspherical [IF] MACRO (Model A20N)

They won't work very well on film cameras and full-frame sensors. Of course, they can work with other sensors with a crop factor, but we're talking about the D40/x and D60 here.

Tamron has only recently begun adjusting their lenses to fit the D40/x and D60, but the list is growing. So far, only five lenses will autofocus on the D40/x and D60, you can fit the other lenses on (provided that its got a Nikon D lens mount) but they won't autofocus as they lack the built in motor. That means you have to manually focus which can be a little tough.

I hope this helps!

[Kara]

I have the D40 and am pretty happy with it, but do wish that it supported an inexpensive prime lens in the range of 50 mm. I still have a ton to learn, so I'm happy with it for now!