Reading mode: Light Dark

D40x vs D3300?

Go to last post
D

darinb

Senior Member
Messages
1,251
Reaction score
464
Location
Montara, US
Sounds strange, I know, but what are the key differences between the D40x and D3300? My wife has the D40x and likes it except that it performs poorly in night, long-exposure shots. Maybe time to upgrade?

--Darin

Darin Boville
My photo site: http://www.darinboville.com
My new blog, A Bigger Camera: http://www.biggercamera.com
 
I went from D40 to D3100. The one stop improvement mentioned above is what I see, 1600 on the D3100 gives similar noise, etc, as 800 on the D40. Resolution is much higher, which can give better results when cropping or down sizing images.

As far as long exposure is conserned I would expect to be using a low ISO anyway so the better high ISO capability does not come in to it. Where it matters is for hand held low light shooting. A higher ISO will mean a faster shutter speed for the same aperture.

What lenses does your wife have? For low light a f1.8 can make a big difference over a kit lens, though you also have to watch out for narrower depth of field (everything is a balancing act in photography).
 
They both represent the entry-level Nikons of their generation. Aside from the obvious technology advances (higher resolution, HD video, 5fps) they have about the same features I believe. Personally I think the 10mp CCD sensor is awesome in good light. It's the last of the CCD sensors.

The D3300 also has ISO 100, where the D40x starts at 200 I believe. And it's really most usable up to ISO 800. Compare that do the D300 where the usable range is 100 - 3200, so you're gaining a stop at the low end as well.

If you want better low-light then you're probably getting 2+ stops from the D3300. It's basically the same camera as the D3200, but smaller and with better video.

If you wife is OK with the beginner feature set then yeah I think it's a good upgrade. Refurbished D3200's should come in a few hundred cheaper in the next month or two.
 
darinb said:
except that it performs poorly in night, long-exposure shots.
Click to expand...
When you say "poorly", what exactly does it mean? If you use high ISO setting, you'll get more noise, obviously. For long exposure shots, you're better off using a tripod and setting the ISO as low as the camera will let you. I've done it with my old D40 and the quality was good.

With that said, I do find my D5200 images usable up to about ISO1600, whereas I wouldn't dare pushing my old D40x above ISO800. Another benefit of the higher res sensors in D5200 or the D3300 for that matter is that when you downsize the images, a lot of the high ISO noise will disappear. With the lower res images coming out of the D40, you can't downsize as much.

And for better low light hand held performance, you should consider a brighter lens, regardless which body you go with.
 
Escape said:
darinb said:
except that it performs poorly in night, long-exposure shots.
Click to expand...
For long exposure shots, you're better off using a tripod and setting the ISO as low as the camera will let you. I've done it with my old D40 and the quality was good.
Click to expand...
Alluding back to my other post, using ISO 100 on the D3300, vs ISO 200 on the D40x will make a big difference here for long exposure. It will cut the noise in half. Down-sizing the 24mp image, or a smaller print will also make the noise less noticeable.

She might also look at the D5200. The flippy LCD comes in handy when you point the camera at the sky. No more squatting down under the camera to see what it's looking at.

Seems like cameras are marketing towards high ISO, pushing them up into stratospherically high and basically unusable numbers, but forgetting about low ISO. I can't remember the last camera I owned that had ISO 50. The Olympus C-8080?
 
darinb said:
Sounds strange, I know, but what are the key differences between the D40x and D3300? My wife has the D40x and likes it except that it performs poorly in night, long-exposure shots. Maybe time to upgrade?

--Darin

Darin Boville
My photo site: http://www.darinboville.com
My new blog, A Bigger Camera: http://www.biggercamera.com
Click to expand...
I highly recommend getting a D3200 in the coming months, on a deep sale, since the D3300 just came out! Coming from a D40x, you will be quite pleased.

Here is a Kit lens shot (HAND HELD) at 1/2 sec exposure, FL 18 mm, ISO 6400, f 3.5 (wide open).

Venus and other stars October 19, 2013:

D3200 Kit lens shot (HAND HELD) at 1/2 sec exposure, FL 18 mm, ISO 6400, f 3.5

D3200 Kit lens shot (HAND HELD) at 1/2 sec exposure, FL 18 mm, ISO 6400, f 3.5
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Keyboard shortcuts

f
Forum
m
My threads
Mobile site
About
Editorial content
Cameras & Lenses
Community
All content, design, and layout are Copyright © 1998–2025 Digital Photography Review All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction in whole or part in any form or medium without specific written permission is prohibited.
When you use DPReview links to buy products, the site may earn a commission.
©GPS Media - Guides, Products, Services.
Back
Top