Nikon D40 Vs Sony Alpha A200

A

andyhuddy

Suspended / Banned
Messages
4
Edit My Images
No
Hi All,
im new to photography and dslr's but its my birthday on saturday and i am hoping to buy either the Nikon D40 Or Sony Alpha A200.

Mainly i will be taking sport pictures using the continuous shot system, also some landscapes and family pictures.

i am looking for a camera with good build quality and feels strong, also i have quite big hands so this needs to be included, and i am not bothered about megapixle.

I just want a good trust worthy camera which feels good

Im sorry if i have said anything wrong :)

So please post

Your the experts :clap:

:help:

Andy
 
Hi Andy, i was once told that with the Sony you are stuck with their own brand lens but with the Nikon, you can buy different types which are cheaper than a branded lens.

Good luck in your quest, i have a Fujifilm s9500 bridge cam, fixed lens that covers 28mm -300 mm optical, and is a nine meg cam, never caused me any trouble, has a super macro setting, and the newer version is rated at 11 meg and lens goes to 420mm, just wish i could remember the model number!

Take a look at the pics in my gallery to see my results, have a great birthday, cheers, John.
 
hi andy....what most folk will tell you is to go to the likes of jessops,and try them out,which is about the best advice you'll get.hold the camera for size,browse the menu's to see which you prefer etc....

my mate has the D40,which is a good camera,and he loves it...but it was too small for me personally,so i opted for the sony alpha 100.i've since had the A350,and now have the A700.also,you will be buying into a system,so think about where you want to take your photography in the future.sony's current catalogue of lens and accessories isn't as big as canon's and nikon's,but it is growing,plus you can use minolta's AF range of lens..of which there are plenty on e-bay......plus use 3rd party lens like sigma,tamron etc...

good luck with your quest :thumbs:
 
Hi again,

thanks for the replys,

i think i will try them out, just i dont know what to look out for! haha

Are both cameras very similar?

Thanks

Andy:thumbs:
 
john jo said:
Hi Andy, i was once told that with the Sony you are stuck with their own brand lens but with the Nikon, you can buy different types which are cheaper than a branded lens.
Click to expand...

Not true. Sigma and Tamron also make lenses in Sony fit and, as stan says, there are also the many Minolta lenses which can be bought very cheaply second hand.

Also the D40 has no internal focus motor so certain lenses won't autofocus with it.
 
Hmmm...as a Nikon owner I should say go with the D40, but if you have big hands then you'll find it a p.i.t.a. as it's quite a small camera. I don't have big hands, but even I find it too small.

I haven't shot with the Sony, but it certainly does have a better on-paper specification and is a newer design, but I wasn't all that impressed with the quality of the plastics or the general fit and finish of the one I handled, whereas the wee Nikon, for all it's minus points, does feel quite well screwed together.

You really need to go and try a few different cameras, don't overlook the similar priced offerings from Canon or Samsung etc either :)
 
or olympus....

the d40 and d60 are limited in the lenses that will auto focus - how much of an issue that is to you depends on what you will be doing.
 
Personally speaking, I'd vote for the Sony over the Nikon - for no reason other than I find the Alpha series interesting and the D40 is (relatively) old hat.

Both fine cameras though, you can't go wrong - just bear in mind that kit lenses can sometimes be a varied bag, take some test shots if you can and chuck them in the machines to look at the sharpness...it's not an exact test, but it might help you decide.

Cheers,
James
 
hi,
thanks for all your comments and reviews
they are really helping.
i am starting to sway towards the a200 just because its better on paper
but i need good build quality!
is it really bad?
thanks
andy
 
The A200 is very well built indeed, just from rather cheap feeling plastic. If you actually look at how well put together they are, you should have no complaints. The D40 might feel better built, but I'm not sure either would really survive the dreaded drop test!

Cheers,
James
 
as above go to a shop and have a feel and play with the menu's.

i've had a nikon d40 and have a sony a300 now (similar to a200, but with live view)

things i like about the d40 over my sony,:
-bit smaller (i've got smaller hands),
-menu in software and colours are nicer,
-the battery seemed better in the d40 (but the a300 is new and playing with liveview - so maybe not a fair comparison)
-lighter

things i like about the sony a300 over d40:
- live view (but this won't be true for the a200) and tiltable screen
- internal focus motor - better choice in lenses to build a system i.e. use of old minolta lenses possible
- image stablisation in camera

i'm building a system with the sony with hopefully a few different lenses, and think with the things i like about the sony over my d40, think it suits me better over the coming years.

but i do like the nikon, maybe one day i would go back, but as i'm building a system of kit, it won't be any time soon
 
OK, so the 10Mp over 6Mp isn't a concern for you.
However, the A200 has a better AF system, slightly higher fps rate & it has an anti-shake system built into the body so that all your lenses will become image stabilised & I would think that all of those are beneficial for your sports photography.
there are more lenses that will AF available for the Sony than the D40.
You can get a vertical grip for the Sony (shared design with the A300/A350) whereas there is no official Nikon part.
If you are looking at a potential future upgrade too then all Sony DSLRs share the same battery format & primary storage medium (CF) so that any that you buy now for your A200 would also be usable in the top of the range, as you go up Nikon's range they change battery & from SD cards to CF.

tbh whilst the D40 can still take great pictures by the market standards it's an old camera & everybody expects it to be replaced (I think that it's the only 6Mp DSLR still in production).
Having said that the best camera is the 1 that encourages you to use it most & a lot of that will come down to handling & UI preferences - hopefully you will get a salesman that is familiar with both systems rather than just 1 otherwise you will likely get half-truths & downright lies about 1 of them.

btw if you get an A200 by the end of January you can claim £30 cashback from Sony.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top