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D40 AF Motor: Huge Problem?

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Hergt

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I should probably start of by saying I’m a senior in high school and am soon to be going off to college. I have a Nikon N55 film SLR which I absolutely love and am now looking into DSLRs.

After research with money constraint issues, and probably a lot of bias from loving my Nikon, I’m pretty set on getting the Nikon D40. The only problem I’m having with it is that it doesn’t have built in autofocus so you need lenses that have AF motors.

The kit lens comes with it so that’s good obviously but from what I hear, there aren’t a whole lot of lenses that are compatible. Now I never have used another lens than the kit lens on my N55 because I don’t have the money, though I have thought about it. And perhaps later down the road I will, but I’m not sure. I want to have the camera for awhile because, frankly, I don’t have the money to buy the latest and greatest.

So I guess basically my questions are: how big of a problem would the lack of built in AF motor be for me? Have many of you have ever used another lens or have had problems with not being able to use another lens? And, do you think that the D40 is a good investment? If not, what camera DO you recommend?

Sorry if this is confusing or really long. It's a burning question! Haha thanks in advance.

-Anna
 
Anna,

I have used manual focus SLRs for many more years than you are alive and am very good at manual focus. I would not want to do with out autofocus on a regular basis. Autofocus simply allows us to take photos faster and this means less missed opportunities and subjects that don’t get frustrated while we prefect focus. There are still some D50s out there, grab one before there gone. I don’t think you will be disappointed.

Morris

--



http://qcpages.qc.cuny.edu/~morris/POD
 
to Anna
the best thing to do is go to a store and try them both out.

For my tastes----

the d40 comes with a newer version of the 18-55 which is real cool.

I own a D70 and a D40. I prefer the D40 because

it is lighter
the rear lcd is huge and bright and makes it easier to judge the results of your
shots in the field
you have built in corrections in the camera like black & white and color balance

the cool d lighting adjustment allows you to do in camera correction on copies of your originals
the image quality at higher iso's are really good-the d40 goes to iso 3200

the shutter release is silky smooth
the camera is quiet
you have tweakable white balance controls
you can manually focus prime lenses

the choice depends on what kind of photography you do

the quality of the pictures with the built in flash is fantastic
the exposures are good and even

the best reason for the d40

the quality of camera jpegs are rich
the auto white balance out of the box is beautiful

the kit lens is real sharp and focuses real close

the d50 is better is you want to purchase inexpensive prime lenses used

on a subjective basis
the d40 feels better in my hands

the viewfinder is brighter

It has manual exposure and focus zones and all the controls a student photographer could want.

I love the D40!!

Milton
 
I'm wondering how white balance fares on D40 as compared to your D70?

White balance on my D70s can be too cold looking and sometimes inconsistent hence I use RAW.

Gary
milts_99 said:
to Anna
the best thing to do is go to a store and try them both out.

For my tastes----

the d40 comes with a newer version of the 18-55 which is real cool.

I own a D70 and a D40. I prefer the D40 because

it is lighter
the rear lcd is huge and bright and makes it easier to judge the
results of your
shots in the field
you have built in corrections in the camera like black & white and
color balance
the cool d lighting adjustment allows you to do in camera
correction on copies of your originals
the image quality at higher iso's are really good-the d40 goes to
iso 3200

the shutter release is silky smooth
the camera is quiet
you have tweakable white balance controls
you can manually focus prime lenses

the choice depends on what kind of photography you do

the quality of the pictures with the built in flash is fantastic
the exposures are good and even

the best reason for the d40

the quality of camera jpegs are rich
the auto white balance out of the box is beautiful

the kit lens is real sharp and focuses real close

the d50 is better is you want to purchase inexpensive prime lenses
used

on a subjective basis
the d40 feels better in my hands

the viewfinder is brighter
It has manual exposure and focus zones and all the controls a
student photographer could want.

I love the D40!!

Milton
Click to expand...
--
[D70s]-[18-70mm f3.5-4.5]-[55-200mm f4-5.6]-[105mm f2.8 Micro]-[50mm f1.8]
http://www.pbase.com/barnettgs
 
To Gary

I have my D70 set on IIIa for the color mode
The white balance is auto but tweaked to -3 for more warmth

I also have an 81a filter on my lenses to warm up the pictures

the color saturation is set to more on the optimize controls

my exposure is tweaked to +.3ev to counteract the "darkness"
tendency of the d70

my D40 is set to -.3ev to counteract the "lightness" tendency of the d40
my white balance is set to auto

I have gotten real nice color in an office environment with florescent lighting
and no flash
skin tones are real nice

in my experience, the white balance is neutral but you could bias it toward warmth
by setting your white balance to cloudy or shade

overall, the d40 seems to handle contrastly lighting better
the exposure in the shadow part is more open

The out of box jpegs are real good.
In a D40, you can use the color balance controls to tweak a copy of the photo.

Milton
 
In one of the Antwerp photography school, the d50 is used as the dslr for learning and experimenting. Since you are going to use it as a student, chances are you are going to get secondhand primes. In this case autofocus with the d40 won't work. Also, as the d50 is getting discontinued, you are going to find it cheaper than the d40.

D40 is good for:

1) people moving from point and shoot camera who would never change their lense nor experiment further.

2) people who already have expensive cameras and using the d40 to carry around as a second body (like me in the future)

3) people who don't mind the lack of autofocus and use it like a toy/gadget (me in the future).

However, if I was a student I would get the d50 (just like the f301 in the analoge days, the cheapest but useful camera). Remember: you will need to experiment with shutterspeed and aperture, in which case the d50 is better designed to change these features (lcd on top). as well as the possibility to buy cheap secondhand lenses.

--
http://www.flickr.com/photos/namakumo
 
Hergt said:
So I guess basically my questions are: how big of a problem would
the lack of built in AF motor be for me? Have many of you have ever
used another lens or have had problems with not being able to use
another lens? And, do you think that the D40 is a good investment?
If not, what camera DO you recommend?
Click to expand...
The D50 can use other non-afs lenses if you want that.

But how many lenses are you going to own. I have been using Nikon equipment for years, and have 5 lenses. I can certainly find 5 afs lenses I want that would fill all my needs. So I would never need to go beyond the D40

You have high-end AFS zooms - the 17-55dx and the 70-200vr

midrange AFS zooms - the 17-70dx ansd 70-300vr and 18-200vr

low-priced afs zooms - the kit lenses for the D40 and D50

A great prime would be the sigma 30m 1.4 hsm (their version of AFS). It would be great for low light. The 100mm Nikon Prime is AFS.

All Nikon lenses released in the last 4 years have afs. I bet they all do going forward.

See if you can pick out a set of lenses that fit the D40 that would meet all your needs over the medium term. If you need some older lens that's non-AFS in your ideal kit, get the D50 or D80/
 
Hergt said:
I should probably start of by saying I’m a senior in high school
and am soon to be going off to college. I have a Nikon N55 film SLR
which I absolutely love and am now looking into DSLRs.

After research with money constraint issues, and probably a lot of
bias from loving my Nikon, I’m pretty set on getting the Nikon D40.
The only problem I’m having with it is that it doesn’t have built
in autofocus so you need lenses that have AF motors.

The kit lens comes with it so that’s good obviously but from what I
hear, there aren’t a whole lot of lenses that are compatible. Now I
never have used another lens than the kit lens on my N55 because I
don’t have the money, though I have thought about it. And perhaps
later down the road I will, but I’m not sure. I want to have the
camera for awhile because, frankly, I don’t have the money to buy
the latest and greatest.

So I guess basically my questions are: how big of a problem would
the lack of built in AF motor be for me? Have many of you have ever
used another lens or have had problems with not being able to use
another lens? And, do you think that the D40 is a good investment?
If not, what camera DO you recommend?

Sorry if this is confusing or really long. It's a burning question!
Haha thanks in advance.

-Anna
Click to expand...
On paper the D50 is more capable. In the hand the D40 feels nicer. I think the only thing you will miss with the D40 is a fast portrait lens with AF like a 50 1.8 or a 85 1.8. The Sigma 30 1.4 is a good alternative for general low-light shooting.
--

http://www.pbase.com/interactive
http://tri-xstories.blogspot.com
 
buydig.com has a Nikon refurbished unit for $359, and Adorama has a new unit for $399. I picked up a refurb and works great, also have a 50mm F1.8 on the way ($94 from Ritz after PayPal discount!).
 
I Don't.....I own the D40 and it's a more advanced camera electronically and easier to use......Every picture has to be composed thru the viewfinder.....Check out the D40 and D50 side by side.......Big Difference.......and there are plenty of great lenses available......also most of the primes fit and manual focus seems more like I'm "creating the Pic".....no big deal.....Milts comparison was very factual and for a great review AND COMPARISON http://www.KenRockwell.com I just think the D50 is "old technology" compared to the NEW D40....Sorry D50 owners.......My next camera is the D90.
 
Go with which ever you like the most, try out several cameras, its a substantial purchase. There are lots of good posts and great feedback here. This was my main resource with several other sites.

I purchased a D40, and returned it 4 hours later for a D50.While this saved me $100, plus I got a free photo printer(that I'll probably never use) I did it mostly because of feel.

The D40 felt too small in my hands. That being said, I LOVED the viewfinder and the LCD. The D50 gives me a few more options and I am shooting RAW so the in camera processing isnt a major thing for me. If I was relying on JPEGs out of the camera the D40 would probably score extra points there too. The kit lenses are nice, but they arent the fastest thing so you'll probably be shopping for some other lenses after you get it. I've already started that myself.

The comment about manual focusing on the D40 is subjective, as someone who wears corrective lenses it's not so easy for me so it was a consideration. Whichever camera you choose I wish you the best of luck.
 
klh wrote:
[snip]
klh said:
But how many lenses are you going to own. I have been using Nikon
equipment for years, and have 5 lenses. I can certainly find 5 afs
lenses I want that would fill all my needs. So I would never need
to go beyond the D40

You have high-end AFS zooms - the 17-55dx and the 70-200vr
Click to expand...
17-55/2.8 ~ USD$1100
70-200/2.8 ~ USD$1500
klh said:
midrange AFS zooms - the 17-70dx ansd 70-300vr and 18-200vr
Click to expand...
I think you mean 18-70/3.5-4.5 ~ USD$350
70-300/4.5-5.6 ~ USD$500
18-200/3.5-5.6 ~ USD$700
klh said:
low-priced afs zooms - the kit lenses for the D40 and D50

A great prime would be the sigma 30m 1.4 hsm (their version of
AFS). It would be great for low light. The 100mm Nikon Prime is
AFS.
Click to expand...
Sigma 30/1.4 ~ USD$600
Nikkor 105/2.8 ~ USD$830
klh said:
See if you can pick out a set of lenses that fit the D40 that would
meet all your needs over the medium term.
Click to expand...
And definitely consider the cost of those lenses. Where the AF-S line up is particularly lacking is in the area of fast (ie: large aperture), medium priced or low priced lenses. It is also lacking in the super wide category, where your only option is the Nikkor 12-24/4 for USD$900.

Definitely consider what lenses you want and what you are willing to spend, before deciding on which camera body to buy.

larsbc
 
No one can answer this question for you. You already know what the major difference is between the D40 and every other Nikon dSLR. You just have to figure out which lenses you can and can't AF with on the D40 and their prices and figure out if that matters to you. That info has already been posted.

It mattered to me so I bought a D50 (2 of my 3 lenses that I researched before my purchase wouldn't AF with the D40). It doesn't matter to some so they buy the D40.

--
Stujoe -
http://www.flickr.com/people/stujoe/

Nikon D50 (Nikon 18-55mm, Nikon 50mm f1.8, Sigma 70-300 APO DG Macro)
Panasonic FZ7
 
Please don't make the biggest mistake of your life by not getting a D40.
All the reasons are posted and subjunctible as rawthing... Need I say more?

Glad to help

.......O

I would like to post some of mt D40 pics here.
 
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