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ty1976

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Hi there i'm totally new to DSLR photography and since i have started a college photo course i will need to get myself a camera. I have been using a Nikon D40x on the one day i'm at college and was thinking of just getting a used one of these on the cheap so i could worry more about the lenses i'm using rather than the cam body. But since a used D40x is about £250 i noticed i can get a Nikon 3000 brand new for £299 but reveiws are not great for this camera can anyone tell me if there is that much difference with the 3000 to a D40x as you would think a 3000 would be better but not the things i have read about it. Also for a beginner is there even much between D40x to a 3000/3100 and a d5000 apart from megapixels and a live view screen? any help would be good thanks.
 
The D3000 is essentially the same camera as the D40x, but a couple of generations newer, so I'm not sure in what way a D40x would be a better buy, especially as Amazon are doing the D3000 with a lens worth about £100 for £299, making the actual camera about the same price as a secondhand D40x......
 
Hi yeh i noticed the amazon price but when i read things about the 3000 online there was a lot of crap talking about it but i thought how much difference can there be to a D40x i know both these cams are low budget but since i new and need to practice thought it might be a option since im now used to a Nikon with using a college one. cheers.
 
If it was D40x vs D3000 at a similar price (is a used D40x really that much?!) it would have to be the D3000 but am I not right in saying that a used D40 can be bought for closer to £100-150? Might be a good option.
 
I think it's just standard practice to put down beginner kit. For what I paid I'm absolutely delighted with my camera, and even find the kit lens to be pretty good. It's an absolute doddle to use too.

Use the search function usind D3000 as your search criteria and look in the Picture Sharing sections. You'll find some excellent quality shots. Some of Ricardodaforce's pictures make me jealous on a daily basis!
 
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D40 was a good camera, but the 3000 must be better I would think, not heard much bad about them.

Could be worth you also getting an old Nikon FM film camera and cheap AI 50mm (with luck around £100) as that will teach you a hell of a lot too!
 
ty1976 said:
Hi yeh i noticed the amazon price but when i read things about the 3000 online there was a lot of crap talking about it but i thought how much difference can there be to a D40x i know both these cams are low budget but since i new and need to practice thought it might be a option since im now used to a Nikon with using a college one. cheers.
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You need to take online reviews with a pinch of salt, many of those doing the writing, as Nick points out, love to rubbish lower end kit. A lot of it is down to snobbery and a good percentage to the writer not wanting people to think that they would lower themselves to using such "junk" personally.

AS a camera to learn on any of the lower end Nikon (or Canon) bodies will do and you can always upgrade at a later date if/when you find that the one you have doesn't have all the features you need. The beauty, as you've highlighted with the D40x, is that such cameras tend to hold their money well, so buy a new D3000 kit and a year or two down the line it'll probably still be worth £250 or more and hobbies don't come much cheaper than that :D
 
Yep i kinda agree with what has been said just thought i would ask other photographers what they thought before i go and buy a camera so cheers for that. Also i am new to this forum and up to now it's really useful thanks.
 
The D40 is about £150 but its 6 megapixel and the D40X is more £250 as its got 10 mp but it does just look like the D40 though. But from what you are all saying get a brand new with warranty D3000 prob makes sense. cheers
 
gad-westy said:
If it was D40x vs D3000 at a similar price (is a used D40x really that much?!) it would have to be the D3000 but am I not right in saying that a used D40 can be bought for closer to £100-150? Might be a good option.
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The D40 is about £150 but its 6 megapixel and the D40X is more £250 as its got 10 mp but it does just look like the D40 though. But from what you are all saying get a brand new with warranty D3000 prob makes sense. cheers
 
If you can - look for a used d80 instead - 10mp should be enough mp and has a screw motor (I believe) for the older af lenses. A few d80 bodies on ebay in the 200-300 area.

3000 is also a good starter, and a colleague here had a d40. He liked it but was more amazed with the d7000 he upgraded to. As a starter camera its ok, but I would recommend one with a motor.


Oh and if you can pop to a shop and handle all the brands and bodies (used or new) so you can see what you may want to upgrade to in the future. Then you can focus on the lenses.

Good luck
 
Megapixels don't matter very much unless you want to make extremely large prints or crop heavily. I've printed A4 from 1600 x 1200 (2 Mp) files when I was still using my old Minolta Dimage 7i, and my Canon 30D is only 8.2 Mp. I haven't found this a restriction.
 
ecniv said:
If you can - look for a used d80 instead - 10mp should be enough mp and has a screw motor (I believe) for the older af lenses. A few d80 bodies on ebay in the 200-300 area.

3000 is also a good starter, and a colleague here had a d40. He liked it but was more amazed with the d7000 he upgraded to. As a starter camera its ok, but I would recommend one with a motor.


Oh and if you can pop to a shop and handle all the brands and bodies (used or new) so you can see what you may want to upgrade to in the future. Then you can focus on the lenses.

Good luck
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On the D80 it doesn't have the dust clean on it like a lot of older Nikon models. So when buying a used camera is it easy to clean a used camera if it did have any dust in there.
 
the d90 , d80 have the focus motor in the body, so the range of lens are wider then d4 ,d40x or d3000. this is only a consideration if you plan to expand your kit. as it will limit your choice of lens.

if you just want it for personal use then the d40 , d40x or the d3000 will do fine but be aware when buying lens that your choice will be silghtly limited

Cheers Steve
 
If the D80 is roughly the same price and has a built in motor that would be my choice. It'll save you money in the mid term as you'll be able to make full use of the old AI lenses which can often be quite cheap.

I've just leaped from a D40x to a D7000, and it really was a leap, but the D40x is still a great camera and will be perfect for you to get your head around all the controls and settings etc.
 
Definitely go for the D3000. For the warranty, brand new, dust and dirt free sensor ... no brainer.

I know people who use D3000, and their images are great. There are a lot of snobby reviewers out there, as already stated. One thing though, it's supposedly not very good at ISO levels beyond 400. Then again, neither was the D200, which is a great camera.

If you have some extra cash, you would be better to go for the newer again D3100. As that is supposedly much better with higher ISO levels. And numerous other improvements. It's the camera the D3000 should have been in the first place! And since most people keep a dslr for years, it's worth the extra.
 
ecniv said:
If you can - look for a used d80 instead - 10mp should be enough mp and has a screw motor (I believe) for the older af lenses. A few d80 bodies on ebay in the 200-300 area.
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Grays of Westminster have a few low mileage D80s, ranging from one with 7223 shots at £265 to one that's only taken 360 shots, for £80 more...
 
On the D80 it doesn't have the dust clean system on it like a lot of older Nikon models that dont. So when buying a used camera is it easy to clean a used camera if it did have any dust in there. As this is could be something to think about with used cameras.
 
Also when using older lenses do you still set aperture/shutter on the lens itself instead of the LCD dial on the cam body?
 
Scrimja said:
If the D80 is roughly the same price and has a built in motor that would be my choice. It'll save you money in the mid term as you'll be able to make full use of the old AI lenses which can often be quite cheap.

I've just leaped from a D40x to a D7000, and it really was a leap, but the D40x is still a great camera and will be perfect for you to get your head around all the controls and settings etc.
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Also when using older lenses do you still set aperture/shutter on the lens itself instead of the LCD dial on the cam body?
 
steve_lyt said:
the d90 , d80 have the focus motor in the body, so the range of lens are wider then d4 ,d40x or d3000. this is only a consideration if you plan to expand your kit. as it will limit your choice of lens.

if you just want it for personal use then the d40 , d40x or the d3000 will do fine but be aware when buying lens that your choice will be silghtly limited

Cheers Steve
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With the great range of value for money DX lenses available now I would not consider not having in camera focus drive much of an issue!

I started with a D3000 and absolutely loved it.
 
ty1976 said:
Hi there i'm totally new to DSLR photography and since i have started a college photo course i will need to get myself a camera. I have been using a Nikon D40x on the one day i'm at college and was thinking of just getting a used one of these on the cheap so i could worry more about the lenses i'm using rather than the cam body. But since a used D40x is about £250 i noticed i can get a Nikon 3000 brand new for £299 but reveiws are not great for this camera can anyone tell me if there is that much difference with the 3000 to a D40x as you would think a 3000 would be better but not the things i have read about it. Also for a beginner is there even much between D40x to a 3000/3100 and a d5000 apart from megapixels and a live view screen? any help would be good thanks.
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I had the same problem.
Was going to get something like a d300 but in the end i decided to get a 2nd hand d40 and spend the rest on good lenses.

I figured that this was the best way as a good lens is something that your likely to keep for ever
 
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