jazzman

is this a good starter camera?

josoIII

starter camera, it is a better camera than 90% of every camera that was ever made before it. "starter" and "pro" are sales and the camera industries terms, not a photographers term.

jazzman

what would be a good lens to get and external flash for wedding

gerald Loc: Georgia

Yes,the Nikon d40 is a great starter camera, the model is a discontinued model. My friends who own one, love it!

Freddie Loc: Orlando, FL

I agree it is a great camera, I have 2 of them. It is lightweight, has a large LCD screen and plenty of features. Google D40 reviews and you will be impressed. Be aware that you must use the viewfinder, the LCD is for viewing your photos, not for taking pictures. I always prefer the viewfinder anyway, it's easier to hold the camera steady while holding it up to your eye. Also be aware that for the autofocus you will need to use AF-S lenses, the body does not have a focus motor. You can use non-AF-S lenses, but you will have to manually focus. Even then, the camera will tell you when you are focused, so for some photos, it is not a big deal.

Cecil Loc: United Kingdom

The Nikon D40 is a very good camera - I have been using it for about 5 years now, and it has given me excellent service!
Cecil

bobmielke Loc: Portland, OR

Here's the review from Ken Rockwell on the D40. I owned the D40X, my first DSLR. The kit lenses that came with the camera, the 18-55 & the 55-200 are highly rated by Ken & they are cheap.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d40.htm

cellaga Loc: monterey

If you get the D40 with the kit lenses, you might get pleasantly surprised with one of those lenses, the 18-55mm---very sharp. A good percentage of Wedding shoots happen during prep/dressing that happen in close quarters. This short zoom is wide enough.

Freddie Loc: Orlando, FL

I agree with Cellaga, the 18-55mm is a great lens, very sharp. The VR ones are a gem. Even without VR they are great, at that focal length it is not necessary. I have several of them and buy them when a good deal comes along. I use them on all my cameras because they are so lightweight and perform so well.

cellaga Loc: monterey

I own a D40. Im loving it. It was the bottom of the line Nikon then. Now that it's discontinued, I think the D5100 becomes the 'starter' Nikon. The only disadvantage I see is that the D40 has no internal motor to drive AF lenses. For autofocus, it needs an AF-S lens, which costs just a bit more. For instance, the 50mm1.8D(non-AFS) is about $140; the 50mm1.8G(an AF-s) is about $220. If you could get a used D40 for a substantial discount~$250, get it...you won't regret.

Cecil Loc: United Kingdom

Hi Cellaga
There seems to be considerable 'unanimity' for the D40! I will swear by it!
Cecil

Overly Hackled Loc: Still in Siagon

I read all I could on the D40 and compared it to several other DSLR's in the Nikon and other lines of cameras at the entry level and determined that for a starter camera it cant be beat both for the price and for ease of operation for a newbe. I bought a refurbished kit from B and H and love it . As you have heard others say it has features that make it an exceptional value buy. Once I got over "pixel envy " and figured out I wasn't likely to be printing mural size prints the choice was a no brainer. For some one (like me ) who was just getting started in digital photography it has been fantastic. As stated here the kit lens is very good. It also has not been intimidating in that the functions and operation have not overwhelmed me as I have been going up a steep learning curve. I don't see how any one who is looking for a reasonably priced ,easy to operate feature rich, DSLR could go wrong with a D-40. The more I learn about how to use it the more I am amazed by its ability to allow me to grow and expand my knowledge of digital photography. Since I knew about zero going in the D40 has made my progress both fun and inexpensive. I'm very glad I didn't initially over buy and spend a lot of money on a camera that would have been way beyond my ability to use to it's full capacity . Now when I decide to upgrade I will go in knowing much more about what I really need and want in a DSLR .

bobmielke Loc: Portland, OR

You are a wise person indeed. :)

51

I bought a used D40 about three or four years ago and I love it. It has a ton of features. it only has 6.1 mega pixels, however, I have made 20x24 and 18x36 panorama's from it and they were nice ans sharp. I would highly recommend it for a great starter camera. Make sure you AF-S lenses so you can use auto focus. Enjoy.

bobmielke Loc: Portland, OR

Never let the resident resolution of any camera hold you back from buying it. I was doing 16"x20" posters back when the best cameras had 3.0 Mpix sensors. Software such as OnOne's Perfect Resize allow up to a 1000% increase in the original size without significant loss of quality. It's a Photoshop Plug-in or stand alone application.