Nikon D40 or Nikon D3000

Is it a fact that an 11 point focus system is better than the D40s 3 point system? I always get perfect focus with my D40. Under what situations is an 11 point focus system going to have an advantage? Is that enough of a reason to get the D3000?

And the OP says he "used the D40 and liked it a lot" but doesn't say he owned one and shot with it extensively. And he says he tried a D60 but "didn't like it very much". I own both a D40 and a D60. I can't imagine why if he liked the D40 he wouldn't like the D60. I doubt if he was out comparing the differing flash sync speeds. What's not to like about the D60?

Oh, yeah, get the D40 with kit lens for now (find it as cheap as you can) and use it for a backup down the road.

I'm a relative noobie to digital trying to decide whether to buy the Nikon D3000 or the D5000. I've eliminated the Canon T1i. I familiarized myself with digital photography using a Coolpix point & shoot and joined a local camera club last year. There are different sale promotions on the kits for the D3000/D5000. They come with VR 18-55 mm lens in the kit, and there is a 55-200 VR lens that I would like. Both felt good, the 3000 being a bit lighter. Differences: I'm not sure how important live view is; I'm not sure how important the pivot-rotate feature of the viewing screen is. I hope to grow as amateur photographer and think that either camera would be great for this purpose. The price difference between them is $200 with the 18-55mm lens, and $100 if I buy both 18-55mm and 55-200mm lenses, which I don't mind saving. Are there better lens choices. Any suggestions as to factors in decision-making are appreciated.

To be fair, the AF system (Multi Cam 530) in the D40/D40X/D60 is and has always been adequate for most basic shooters with it's 3 AF sensor points. It's fine if one simply uses the center AF point and recomposes. If I recall it was in fact a step down from the M/C 900 system (5 focus sensors) used in the older D70/70s bodies.
The M/C 1000 system is actually 2 steps up from what's found in the D40.

Obviously Nikon well understood the limitations and competitive disadvantages of this AF system even in this highly competitive entry level segment and had but little choice to include the much improved M/C 1000 system in the D3000. It's kinda nice to know you will have the same highly capable AF system that is found in the much more advanced Nikon D90 .

Here's a good link that should help you to understand the M/C 1000 and why it is in fact so much more capable.
http://www.nikonians.org/nikon/d200_multi-cam_af/

toomanycanons said:

Is it a fact that an 11 point focus system is better than the D40s 3 point system? I always get perfect focus with my D40. Under what situations is an 11 point focus system going to have an advantage? Is that enough of a reason to get the D3000?

And the OP says he "used the D40 and liked it a lot" but doesn't say he owned one and shot with it extensively. And he says he tried a D60 but "didn't like it very much". I own both a D40 and a D60. I can't imagine why if he liked the D40 he wouldn't like the D60. I doubt if he was out comparing the differing flash sync speeds. What's not to like about the D60?

Oh, yeah, get the D40 with kit lens for now (find it as cheap as you can) and use it for a backup down the road.

Click to expand...

If you really like your telephoto lenses, another possibility is to get the D5000 with 18-105mm kit. then save up for the 70-300mm lens. but in the mean time, the 18-105mm should keep you fairly happy until you have more $$$.

But otherwise, let me know what you end up doing!!! please!!! LOL. Im in the same boat as you -- D3000 or D5000 with what lenses???

i ended up getting a D80 body and a 50mm 1.4 lens for it, keep the D40 for back up, the 11 points focus is so much better than the 3 on some occassions, also i have the option of bracketing, more ISO choices, etc.

--
just keep shooting!
monosdesign.org

There seems to be a lag/slow down issue with the D3000 that some people are experiencing when ADL is switched on:

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1034&thread=32931073

Since the D3000 has been out for only a little over a week as of this post, you might want to see what pros and cons pop up before you make your purchasing decision.

The kit lense and the 55-200 lense are a good starting combination. They cover the basics. I use these lense often. I shoot in appeture mode and set the appeture to F8. Image quality is excellent.

For your next two purchases, I would recommend:

• SB-400 flash
• 35 F1.8 lense.

Get the flash first. It allows you to make the most use of our current lenses indoors or for outside fill-flash.

After this, take lots of pictures, read books, and take a photography course or two. What area of photgraphy interests you will determine future purchases.
--
Nikon D40
AF-S 18-55 f3.5-5.6 G ED II DX
AF-S 55-200 f4.0-5.6 VR DX IF-ED
AF-S 300 F4 IF-ED
Sigma 10-20 4-5.6 EX DC NIKON HSM
SB-400

Im moving from a Canon S5 for a entry level DSLR . I have a couple of choices : Canon T1i, Nikon D3000 and D5000 and Pentax K2000.

I dont know why (maybe low sells ) but the K2000 has incredible prices in Amazon ! Body and 2 lenses (18-55 and 55-200) for less than U$ 600 !

What concerns me is that both D3000 and K2000 are CCD cameras. CCD arent good to low light , right ?

I keep reading ...

I shoot primarily with a D90, and I love it, however, I recently decided to sell my old D70 body as it wasn't getting any use in my bag, and replaced it with the D3000 kit. I've not done much with the D3000 yet, however, I am favorably impressed with this camera, and can easily see it becoming my daily shooter of choice. The AF system is a pleasure to work with, and the small form factor really does make it that much more convenient to carry around.

The 18-55 kit lens leaves much to be desired in terms of build quality. The focal ring has a cheap feel to it - more so that any other kit lens I have used. Picture quality, it is fine - I just wish Nikon had spent a little more money on the materials used.

I just bought a D3000...I was also comparing D40 and D3000 online and in-store. Finally I decided on D3000 because of the following:

(1) Faster and more precise 11-point AF system with 3D tracking (used in D90 and D5000 also) compared to 3-point AF system on D40

(2) Best metering in entry-level and mid-range SLRs (D90 tends to overexpose in bright sun and D5000 usually underexpose). Nikon finally nailed the metering with the D3000, its perfect!!! (also better than Canon XSI and XS)

(3) 3" Sharp LCD for reviewing images and focus check.... compared to 2.5" not so sharp LCD on D40.

(4) Better/improved menu system.. for e.g. Auto-ISO under one Auto-ISO menu options compared to under two separate menu settings in D40.

(5) 10 MP sensor gives you slightly more room for cropping compared to 6MP on D40... Although anything above ISO 800 is more cleaner on D40 because of lower pixel density.

(6) Active D-lighting for retaining more detail in Shadows and highlights
--
Tariq | http://thrupixels.com

The D3000 is no more than a D40X MK3 so is a tried and tested camera with a superb sensor which has evolved gradually since the D40X which was a D40 + D80 sensor anyway ......
I'd get a cheap used D40X and shoot RAW

--
Please ignore the Typos, I'm the world's worst Typist