New Camera - looking for input

AsSiMiLaTeD

I just bought a Nikon D40 to replace my Canon S3 IS. I bought the camera, the 15-55 lens that it sells with and the 55-200 VR lens - have a couple questions:

1 - First obvious question - did I make a mistake? I did a lot of research before I settled on the D40, but I'm open to any thoughts. I'm hoping the trade off in going with a less convenient camera setup over the S3 IS will be realized with better picture quality. I can't afford the D80, and didn't see much else in the price range of the D40, but maybe I missed something.

2 - Where is the best place to get filters? I have a bunch of filters and such for my Canon Rebel G film camera, but assume they're not going to work on the Nikon.

3 - Any thoughts on this camera vs the D40x? Everything I read seems to indicate that the differences were very small, but curious if anyone has tried both. The 10mp on the D40x doesn't do anything for me really, as I'm not doing any large prints.

Any other thoughts or recommendations you have will help as well...

GaryZ06

I just bought the new Cannon S5 IS.....Your camera sounds very cool....Good luck and happy shooting:D

SKsolutions

Filters aren't brand specific so if the outside diameter is the same, and the threads match, you are in business. The lenses however, are only for the D40 as they have the AF motor in the lens IIRC. If you move up the line, the motor is in the camera so you can use lenses from prior series. If you are looking for some sharp lenses or accys for cheap, I had good luck with Sigma matched with Nikon 35mm. I would find what I wanted at a local camera shop, then find it online for much less. Markup is huge.
I'm still on the fence with a new one, and one thing I noticed at the store that may mean nothing. Almost every D40 display I saw was broken in some manner. If there were 4 on display, 3 were inoperable, and this was more than one store. I didn't notice this with the Canons. I wouldn't say that there is a reliability issue, but there may be a durability issue, especially with the popup flash retaining clip. FWIW.

Strong Bad

You did not make a mistake. I know photographers that have the D40 and it's awesome! The big thing about the D40 is the image sensor. It's fantastic! The trade off with the D40 over higher models of course is the features (frames per second, internal buffer size, max shuter speed, etc..). Sounds like you just want a DSLR to shoot some sweet photos. 6mp is way more than enough. No need to be a "pixel peeper."

As far as filters, I don't use them. I wind up converting photos in Nikon Capture NX and Photoshop. The only filter I use on all of my lenses is a UV, but thats mainly to protect the glass on the lens.

A site you may want to visit quite frequently (free registration) is...

http://www.nikoncafe.com

I hang on there all the time. Great people and alot of knowledge.

Have fun and be sure to post some photos.

John

AsSiMiLaTeD

Was hoping you'd chime in John, thanks for the link - I'll check it out. Any good books you would reccommend for someone wanting to get into the hobby?

As for the D40s being inoperable in the stores, I don;t know. They're typically the least expensive SLR that I see in the stores, so they're probably the first thing (and likely the only thing) that most people pick up - they get handled and mistreated alot more...

mhardy6647

Just bought one for our son for Christmas (bundled with both lenses), so I hope you didn't make a mistake!

SKsolutions

I never checked any consumer reports, just an observation made twice at two stores. I've owned nothing but Nikon for 20 years, and have been happy. I didn't want to mention it, but if someone is now more careful than they might have been . . . they shouldn't have to repair it. It's a nice camera, and a lot for the money, . . but any professional that shoots one, also has about four others in his bag, and that's his lightweight point and shoot. If it's his main shooter, he's most likely not getting paid.

Strong Bad

Polkmaniac, check out this book. Maybe click on the links on the page and find it used.

http://www.amazon.com/Essential-Lighting-Manual-Digital-Photographers/dp/2880467632/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197850408&sr=8-1

The first big thing with photography is understanding light, cause that is what the sensor captures. It's what our eyes see. Through much trial & error, I found that it's not only essential to know what shutter speed, aperture, white balance, ISO and the other settings on the camera are...BUT...ya gotta know how they all interact with each other. Know how to set them to get the shot you want. When you get that down, you'll be throwing it into full manual and blasting away.

Here is one from today's shoot. Did this with my new Nikon D300, Nikon 28-70mm 2.8 lens, a single studio strobe with 24"x36" softbox. We were a bit rushed, so I didn't really get to play with the lighting as much as I wanted to. One more thing, if you decide you want a prime lens (fixed focal length lens), go for the Nikon 50mm f1.8. It's the best bang for the buck prime lens out there. For $100, it's quality is amazing!

So, here is Jessica...

jcaut

Super! How about a full resolution jpeg of Jessica??


...


D40 is a great camera and should be a big step-up from any P&S as far as image quality. If you've used SLR's before, you should be all set. I'd highly recommend a good fast prime like John mentioned, as it opens up a whole new area vs. the consumer zooms. 50mm is a good portrait length on the crop body cameras, and the price is right.

John Strong: Would you be able to post (or e-mail me, PM for gmail address)some 100% crops from the D300 at ISO 1600 or better? I'd like to see a real-world comparison to the 200- Is it as good as its rumored to be?

mhardy6647

So... here's a dumb question. Is the CCD format of the digital SLRs similar to the "full-frame" 35mm negative format (i.e., 24 x 36 mm)? I am just wondering how the dSLR lens focal lengths and magnifications compare to the traditional 35mm film format (i.e., is a 50-ish mm focal length a "1x" lens for the current crop of dSLRs)?

kthanxbai

AsSiMiLaTeD

I'm going to check out those prime lenses...

Strong Bad

Jcaut, check out www.nikoncafe.com. Search around as there are lots of people on there doing high ISO 100% crops. I'll give it a whirl one night this week. I will say though, the high ISO performance of the D300 is awesome, but the D3...WHOA!

Zero, i'll limit it down to 2 manufacturers...Nikon and Canon. both have a stellar lineup of cameras, lenses and accessories. Nikon owners will scream go Nikon and Canon owners will scream go Canon. I love Nikon's build quality and feel. Image quality is stellar, but so is Canon. The Nikon D40 is a great start into the DSLR world. Remember, you're buying into an entire manufacturers system (i.e. lenses, flashes and accessories). Again, Nikon and Canon are both at the top of the game.

Mhardy, CCD is a type of sensor technology, just like CMOS. Most Digital SLR's are DX format or "cropped" down from full 35mm. Nikon's new D3, Canon's 5D & 1DmarkIIIs (I think thats right) are full 35mm sensors.

DX sensors normally have a crop factor of 1.5, so a 200mm lens would be more like a 300mm lens.

Hang tight on the larger Jessica photo.

John

jcaut

Now that I got this typed out, I see that John beat me to it, but since we didn't say exactly the same thing I'll go ahead and post it.

Sean: http://www.dpreview.com or http://www.steves-digicams.com/ are good places to start. I've always liked dpreview, but it's not as good as it used to be. The forums are very active, though, and you should be able to find a lot of information to help narrow down your choices.

mhardy: Most DSLR's use a sensor that's smaller than 24x36mm, roughly 22x15mm for Canon (they it APS-C). Nikon crop-sensor cameras use DX format which is roughly 24 x 16mm. So for lenses designed for 35mm, the focal length is effectively multiplied by about 1.6x for Canon and about 1.5x for Nikon. A 50mm lens gives roughly the same field of view as an 80mm does on 35mm. Pentax DSLR's use a sensor that's about the same size as Nikon, and Olympus use the "Four-thirds" system and a sensor that's about 17x13mm. Sony (who bought out Konica-Minolta's DSLR) use the same(?)size sensor as Nikon.

All of those sensor sizes are huge compared to the tiny sensors found in most P&S digital cameras.

Canon has had "full frame" 35mm DSLR's with a sensor that's about 24x36mm, available for quite a while with the top-of-the-line 1Ds and the 5D, as well as an in between size currently used only on the 1DmkIII. Nikon has just introduced their first "full frame" model, the D3.

Strong Bad

Polkmaniac wrote: »

I'm going to check out those prime lenses...

Primes are awesome, but start climbing into some big $$$. Make your first prime the 50mm 1.8. Through B&H, it'll run around $100. My favorite is the 85mm 1.4. Best damn portrait lens! Hands down my favorite studio lens. BUT, it'll run you around $1000! :eek:

Enjoy! It only gets worse from here for your wallet!

John

jdhdiggs

John, could you post your photog website addy again?

mhardy6647

I do know what CCDs are, John. Just wanted to know how physically large the array is in the dSLRs. Thanks!

Strong Bad

Here ya go...

http://www.strongdigitalart.com

I have some uncropped shots of Jessica on there under Gold Club Girls, Jessica. I've been working hard lately to get my shots as perfect in-camera as possible to minimize the amount of post processing work. You'll see the 2 uncropped (resized for web) shots.

Mhardy, Jcaut got it right with the sensor sizes. I'm assuming thats the info you are looking for.

John

rskarvan

Strongbad,

What do you think of the Canon 40D for $1199? Good value?

Thanks.

Ron

Strong Bad

rskarvan wrote: »

Strongbad,

What do you think of the Canon 40D for $1199? Good value?

Thanks.

Ron

With everything I've read, it's a sweet camera! I've never touched it nor even seen it in person though, so...

Read the DPReview review on it.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos40d/

Zero, the D300 is alot of camera, but it is awesome! It's not a point and shoot, so you may be disappointed with the images if you try to use it that way. When I got my first DSLR, the D70, I tried doing mainly P&S in full auto. I was very disappointed. Wasn't till I learned to control it that I was happy.

Happy shooting guys!

John

SLOCOOKN

Polkmaniac,

Addressing your number 2 concern about filters.

There are only three filters that would be really useful with the level of camera that you have.

1. UV filter. MY feeling on this filter is that it is only necessary when shooting in dusty conditions or when shooting around children. ( They love to muck up such things as lenses and tweeters.). You should have a NICE camera bag to protect you other lenses not in use.

2. A polarized filter. There are several types and perhaps the only type of filter I would recommend.

3. If you shoot a lot of sunsets or land scape you MIGHT choose a graduated filter.

Other than that your photo editing software will make more than enough changes.

My last suggestion would be to shoot with you zoom lens as much as possible at first. This will reduce the possibility of getting dust onto the sensor.

You have a very nice camera, learn to use it and together you will produce wonderful results.

Steve

Ricardo

I've got a D50 for over a year now and absolutely love it. I have a smaller Canon P&S for everyday use (as if I took pictures every day:rolleyes::rolleyes:), but the Nikon paired with a 70-300 gets awesome sports pictures. Use it all the time for the kid's soccer games.
One thing that is not too good on the D50 (might be better on the D40, I wouldn't know) is the flash; definitely get a good flash if you plan to take lots of indoor pictures.

Strong Bad

Good suggestions by Slocookn!

Defintely get adjusted to shooting with the camera first with a zoom. When I'm out and about, lets say at the Zoo, it's pretty much 1 zoom lens on my camera the entire time i'm there. When I go prime lens, it's normally for a specific shoot where I know I won't be flipping lenses around alot. Studio shooting for me usually involves me keeping 1 prime lens on the entire time, except for a few cases.

The hunger for more will get you though, just like audio. Primes tend to make you think more about your composition. The only way to zoom is with your legs (i.e. walk forward or backward). Their quality can't be beat though!

The onboard flashes usually do suck, no matter what camera. I use the Nikon SB-800. Killer flash!

John

SKsolutions

Cool snapshots.

AsSiMiLaTeD

I got the D40 yesterday and played with it for a couple hours and absolutely love it.

I have a Canon S3 IS, and I think it's one of if not the best point and shoot available. It's done well for me and takes great pictures in most conditions.

The D40 blows it away, period. I expected a better picture out of the Nikon, that's why I bought it. I wasn't expecting this much of an improvement, and I haven't really ever started playing with it yet. Right now everything is on full auto, default settings.

For those of you like Sean who are on the fence - the D40 is a damn nice upgrade, from even the best point and shoot.

Strong Bad

Quite an amazing little camera, ain't it? I know a guy that mounts a Nikon 200-400mm zoom lens (Thats a $5k lens!) and gets some unbelievable photos. I met him at the local Ren-Fest back in October and he had that camera with the Nikon 200mm f2 prime ONLY (another $4k for that one)...shooting with that combo all day. Absolutely stunning photos! He sold his other cameras and was waiting to see what Nikon models were coming out. I think he is going the same way I did, the D300.

Polkmaniac, try throwing it into A mode. Thats Aperture Priority. You choose the aperture and the camera will set the shutter speed for you. It gives you a little bit of control over the camera. Also, try turning off Auto ISO. Play with setting the Aperture and ISO manually and see what you get.

Now, kiss your wallet goodbye! Lens lust will grab you in the best and worst ways. I can attest to that!


John

AsSiMiLaTeD

Let me see if I understand a couple of basic photography concepts correctly. Yes, this is basic photography, but I wanna make sure I'm clear on this:

Aperture is used to control depth of field. So if I wanted to have a close object in sharp focus but the background not, I'd do that by adjusting aperture, right? I belive it's technically how much light is being let into the lens, but that's the effect right - anything else this is used for beside depth of field? Are the impacts this has more or less dramatic with different focal lengths?

Shutter obviously controls how long the shot is exposed, also in effect controlling how much light the sensor gets. Long shutter times can be used for capturing dark scenes without a flash, or to illustrate something like the flowing of water in a river (given a tripod is used). Short shutter times would be uused for something like sports and stuff like that.

I get that ISO is the sensitivity or speed of the film (or sensor in this case), and in effect controls how much light the sensor gets. How do I use this creatively? I think I get the direct impacts that aperture and shutter speed have on the picture, not so clear on ISO, other than I thought it was best to use the lowest ISO possible in a shot to avoid graininess.

I need to read up on macro shooting, as that's what I'm most interested to learn...

jcaut

Not trying to answer for John, as he's the pro here, but I think I can help.

Unlike aperture and shutter speed, your ISO setting doesn't have anything to do with how much light actually reaches the sensor. Instead, what happens is that cranking up the ISO cranks up the gain on the analog output of the sensor to simulate the sensitivitiy of different speeds of film. With most any camera, shooting at lower ISO settings will give you a cleaner image, with less digital "noise".

Aperture and shutter speed DO control how much light reaches the sensor. In real basic terms, aperture is the size of the opening in the lens that the light passes through. Smaller f-numbers correspond to larger openings that let more light in. Better , "faster" lenses have larger maximum apertures (like f/1.4 instead of f/5.6). Those larger apertures also are the key to getting a nice blurred background, since the area that will be in sharp focus (depth-of-field) is smaller at large apertures. Shutter speed is pretty straightforward in that it is the time that the shutter remains open when you click the button. It's expressed as a reciprocal like 1/100 of a second, so again lower numbers let more light in. ISO, shutter speed and aperture all interact in determining the exposure. Your camera will have auto exposure modes where it will determine aperture or shutter speed or both to obtain the correct exposure, and it will also have manual mode that lets you adjust everything for yourself (in which case you have the responsibility of determining the correct exposure)

Shooting real macros generally will require a special macro lens (that will focus closely enough to get the magnification you want), possibly a tripod, though you can shoot handheld macros, and an extrenal flash (though again you can shoot existing light macros too). The nearer something is to the lens, the narrower the depth of field- so macros generally need to be taken at small (larger numbers) apertures--which don't let in much light, etc.

That's just the tip of the iceberg, so-to-speak, but maybe that'll help get you started.

Strong Bad

Jcaut hit it right on! Well done!

I don't see myself as a pro though, still lots to learn. Thanks for the kind words though.

Macro photography is very cool. Back in the late summer, I sprung for the Nikon 105mm 2.8 VR Macro lens. Damn fine lens in every sense. It usually takes a tripod for you to get those extreme macro shots though. Thanks to the VR feature in the lens, I was able to get this shot at the Baltimore Zoo handheld. This was the first time shooting this lens and I was using available light (sunny day thankfully). I picked up the lens at the camera shop on my way to the Zoo.



Tokina makes a 100mm 2.8 macro, Tamron a 90mm 2.8 macro and Sigma makes 5 macros ranging from 50mm to 180mm, all 2.8. I've read great stuff on all of them, especially the Tokina and Tamron which get high marks. 90mm - 105mm are great focal lengths for Macros.

Enjoy and post more questions if you have them.


John

AsSiMiLaTeD

Thanks for all the tips guys. john, how do you like that 105mm Nikon lens? Am I seriously going to have to pay $800 or more for that lens? I need to start saving now...

Strong Bad

Polkmaniac wrote: »

Thanks for all the tips guys. john, how do you like that 105mm Nikon lens? Am I seriously going to have to pay $800 or more for that lens? I need to start saving now...

The 105mm Macro is stunning! A great great lens that I have also used as a portrait lens in the studio. Yeah, a portrait lens!

B&H has it for $760 plus shipping.

The previously mentioned Tamron and Tokina Macros are very good lenses also at about $300 less than the Nikon. I'm just a Nikon **** and won't buy anything other than, EXCEPT for my Tokina 12-24 wide angle lens. The Nikon version of that lens was almost double the price. Their quality is nearly a toss up, with a tiny nod going to the Nikon. Not double the price though.

John

john

fatchowmein

I'm a Canon user jumping into a Nikon thread so I'm not going to go into specifics. Regardless, I highly recommend you get a decent tripod. Even if you have image stabilizing technology, a sturdy platform will give you sharper pics. Next, for those vacations, grab a portable storage device that doesn't need a laptop to connect to. I have this.

http://www.amazon.com/Wolverine-FlashPac-Memory-Storage-7080/dp/B0007WLI0W/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1198039135&sr=1-2

Now, this particular unit won't display pics but that's not the point. Sometimes, you just need to change out memory cards, slap the full one in and tap the copy button, throw the storage device back in your backpack, stick an empty memory card in your camera, and go. Repeat as necessary once you erase the card when the copying is done. One drawback with this unit is it's a bit slow on the copying so shop around and look at features. YMMV.

And, yes, hang on to your wallet because you're about to go on a wild ride.

Enjoy!