Lenses for D40?

Gliebert said:

So, let's say I was going to spring for a 18-200 VR, or a 70-300VR,
would you go for the D40, or D80?

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Gliebert, what do you hope to achieve with your DSLR? Do you simply want P&S convenience or so you want to regularly take creative control of the exposure?

If you want P&S convenience and small size is crucial to you, then get the D40. Otherwise, get the D80.

Without knowing more about what you intend to do with the camera, it's hard to recommend one over the other without resorting to the rule-of-thumb that more is better.

larsbc

Gelbert....you can pick up a D50 (body only) for about $450 and use whatever lens you want. The D50 should satisfy your needs!!

Nikon isn't that stupid.

martino said:

I was @ samys camera in LA on suday checking out the D40, and the
Nikon
rep said Only Nikon lens would work on the D40 no sigmas tamron or any
other brand.
the staff at samys camera seemed just as shocked as I was!

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--
Tim

I don't understand the thought behind making the most inexpensive DSLR body work only with the more expensive lenses. Seems to me that someone attracted to a $400 body would not like the idea of $600+ lenses. If Nikon thinks they will never buy another lens why would they be looking at camera with interchanging lenses.

JoshReagan said:

I don't understand the thought behind making the most inexpensive
DSLR body work only with the more expensive lenses. Seems to me
that someone attracted to a $400 body would not like the idea of
$600+ lenses.

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The 55-200 is a good lens to compare the 18-55 and in the same price class. But most users of "old" film SRL's know that lenses cost more than 2x the body.

JoshReagan said:

If Nikon thinks they will never buy another lens why
would they be looking at camera with interchanging lenses.

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Nikon know that they sell only 3 lenses on 2 DSRL's. Some will buy 3e party lenses, but the most users of a (D)SRL have not more than 1 or 2 lenses.

I dont know about most only having 1 or 2 lenses. Everyone I know with an SLR has at least 2 lenses, the standard issue 24-120 type lens and one with a bit more reach like a 70-200. This is just the beginning for most people I think. It takes these two lenses just to get the same range as the P&S they upgraded from.

I am really interested in the smallest, lightest body, not the cheapest.
That's why I had Olympus OM's for manual-the bodies were small, light, quiet,
and easy to take anywhere with a few lenses and not have to lug around
a lot of weight. The lenses were samll and sharp and matched the camera
in that sense.

So that's why the D40 is attractive to me. It is much smaller and lighter than the D50 or D80 yet still very capable, from the reviews.

When you pick it up with the 18-55, it is a much more petite package than either of those cameras. Viewfinder and LCD bright-shutter soft.

I found over the years that the smaller and lighter the package, the more you have the camera with you.

when I had an N70 and an N65, I ususally grabbed the N65 because it was light and small-not as many bells and whistles, but gave me beautiful results.

I would like to have a small telephoto that would suit the camera sizewise-
maybe the 55-200 will be suitable.

Everything else is really expensive and heavy. Maybe I'm asking too much,
I don't know.

In Q1 en Q2 nikon sells 2,000,000 (D)SRL's and 2,200,000 lenses (See Financial Data for the First Half Ended September 30, 2006. As of December 13, 2006).
It is now more 1 body and 1 lens as of 2 body's and 3 lenses in last FY.

except the LCD is lame ;-)