Looking at getting a Nikon D40

[Sol-Badguy]

Any users? I'd like a few opinions because I'm only an occasional photographer, and looking to get a DSLR. I'm looking at this one at Best Buy because it's a great camera for my tastes and in my price range ($599).

Pros/Cons?

[blacknightteg]

if you have the money to do it, do it. But, in my opinion, if you are only an occasional photographer and dont shoot that much, it im assuming being your first dslr. i would go with a canon, something along the lines of rebel xt or xti those two camera's in my opinion are marketed towards begginner users

the nikon d40 is a very good dslr but for someone starting out i wouldnt go to that. thats just my opinion, its a little bit more in depth then you might what, nikons are built for professionals even their lower end slr's but they are good camera's none the less.

[Nemesis]

^ Oh no, you're going to stir up a shit storm with the Canon guys

The XT is comparable to the D50/70. The XTi is comparable to the D80. The 30D is comparable to the D200. And so on. Follow those guidelines.

The D40 is a nice choice, but if it was my decision the D50 would over rule that. The D40 is the lowest end Nikon DSLR, offers a bigger screen than the D50, lightest and smallest Nikon DSLR, however there is one big problem. The Nikon D40's biggest shortfall is its compatibility with lenses.In their efforts to reduce the size of the camera body, Nikon eliminated a focus motor. This motor is used to drive the autofocus mechanism of many of the older Nikon K-mount lenses. Since this is the case, the D40 is only 100% compatible with lenses that bear the AF-S or AF-I designation, since these lenses have their own internal autofocus motors. Here's the key: autofocus won't work with any lens that is not AF-S or AF-I. Yes, you can attach ANY K-mount lens to the Nikon D40 (the lens mount is still the same) but you'll have to make do with manual focus with all of these lenses. Bottom line: you'll have less lenses to chose from if you decide to get the D40. For the beginning photographers this camera is aimed at, this should not be a big issue (since it's more advanced photographers who want to change lenses all the time). But it does mean that you won't be able to use autofocus with many third party lenses that can be cheaper alternatives to the Nikon AF-S lenses.

[aaronfelipe]

wrong section?

[Sol-Badguy]

Thanks for the comments. It was just the first one that caught my eye because I did have a little camera I bought last year, but me/my girlfriend lost it.. (It was tiny.)

I may have to do a little more browsing around.

[osnap]

go with the D50. youll spend more, but you'll be happier. my dad bought a D40, and then returned it after about a week and swapped it for a D50, and it made a world of difference, especially since he could use his old nikor lenses.