Dilemma: Used D40/D60 kit or New D3000


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southadam

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Jan 18, 2008
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Hi Guys,

Just to get some advise on which model to get as a newbie?
Used D40/D60 Kit is around $500-650 where D3000 Kit is about $850.
The drawbacks on getting D40 kit is the lens is without VR which I don't know whether crucial for newbie or not.
 

Some say yes, some say no, it depends on your shooting style, but VR definitely increases your hit chance while shooting static objects under low light situation, where flash is not wanted / possible. If you can, get a D40 body only, then get a VR kit lens separately.
 

Are you set on nikon? Have you also looked at Canon, Pentax, Olympus and Sony? Some even have the VR built into the body so no worries about VR lenses, and you could get a brand new set with lens for less than 650.
 

firstly i hope you realized that AF-D lens on the d40/60/3k/5k, you will have to manual focus.

if you don't intend to move up to the d90 or d300 in the future, i suggest you go for the d5k which have controls close to the d90 except it doesn't have any focusing motor.

vr kit lens does help in some ways but don't expect too much from it.
 

As I keep digging into the forum, I found the options is more as the the sony, olympus & pentax.
can i ask one noob question?
can pentax, sony & olympus use canon and nikon lenses?
 

As I keep digging into the forum, I found the options is more as the the sony, olympus & pentax.
can i ask one noob question?
can pentax, sony & olympus use canon and nikon lenses?

Not without an adapter. All brands use their own mounts (iincluding C and N).

But, do consider that other brand's lenses can be far superior to the C and N camp. some of Oly's Zuiko lenses are awesome, sony has auto-focus Carl Zeiss lenses, and some of the Pentax lenses are great too. Of course, C and N also have their shining stars

I use sony, but have never thought "I wish I could mount that other brand's lens". That, to me, means that the system I'm using has the lenses that match my needs.
 

Welcome to CS:) Go find out more before rushing into buying. ;)
 

Hi Guys,

Just to get some advise on which model to get as a newbie?
Used D40/D60 Kit is around $500-650 where D3000 Kit is about $850.
The drawbacks on getting D40 kit is the lens is without VR which I don't know whether crucial for newbie or not.

The non-VR 18-55mm lens works well with my D40 but I feel my other VR 55-200mm lens seems to give me better focus pictures when both were shooting at 55mm under low light situation (slower shutter speed). Maybe the difference is due to the VR performance.

I am happy with the D40 but if I had not bought the D40, I will go for D3000 kit. The 6mp D40 is a good camera but a bit restrictive in cropping when I need to fill the frame with the subject shot at a distance due to physical constraint.

I suggest you get the D3000 body with a 18-105mm kit lens which gives you wider range as a walkabout lens.

Hope this helps.
 

Hi Guys,

Just to get some advise on which model to get as a newbie?
Used D40/D60 Kit is around $500-650 where D3000 Kit is about $850.
The drawbacks on getting D40 kit is the lens is without VR which I don't know whether crucial for newbie or not.

get the d3000.
i would never advice newbies to buy 2nd hand items as most of the time there do not know enough to check the item.
just pay more for a warrantied set and brand new, worth the peace of mind.
 

get pentax k-x series...they are so cool

anyway to ans ur question
I would get d40.
why?
becos d40 d60 and d3000 use the same sensor! just a minute difference in mega pix...they wanna jack up the price!~and who cares abt d3000 guide mode? we have GOOGLE and CLUBSNAP!
 

get the d3000.
i would never advice newbies to buy 2nd hand items as most of the time there do not know enough to check the item.
just pay more for a warrantied set and brand new, worth the peace of mind.

i agree.
the las thing u need is a set with troubles...
 

As a beginner, I suggest you find something with IS/VR.
Maybe if you think you need an image stablizer (IS) function, you can try Olympus body.

You have the in-body IS, so whatever lens you mount onto your body, you have IS.
If you don't want, you can switch it off too.

I'm using an Olympus body. It suits me well.
I have the IS to help me in low light situation, shooting at 1/8 or 1/10.

Hope this helps you in choosing your camera. ;)
 

Thanks guys.
Thank goodness i found this helpful forum with lotsa info and great peoples.
however, i think i'll change my mind to get a K-x instead.
reason being is what shaoken & photophilic suggested which has built-in IS & it's new.
another plus point is K-x has built-in AF motor.

The next question i want to ask is, what the photos that captured by Nikon & Canon on Flickr seems more vibrant than F-x?
Is this because the Image processor of Canikon is far better than Pentax?
 

Thanks guys.
Thank goodness i found this helpful forum with lotsa info and great peoples.
however, i think i'll change my mind to get a K-x instead.
reason being is what shaoken & photophilic suggested which has built-in IS & it's new.
another plus point is K-x has built-in AF motor.

Welcome. I'd have suggested Sony or Olympus for the same reasons, but if you're happy with Pentax then that's all that matters.

The next question i want to ask is, what the photos that captured by Nikon & Canon on Flickr seems more vibrant than F-x?
Is this because the Image processor of Canikon is far better than Pentax?

Not at all. What most people, regardless of system, will do is to use photoshop to increase contrast and saturation before uploading. It could just be that there are very few Pentax pictured uploaded so you didn't see them. But try looking for picture threads in the Pentax sub-forum here and you'll see there's no "advantage" that the other brands have, really.
 

If colour is what you want, you should be looking at 2nd hand Fujifilm S2, S3, S5
They do what they do best... Colours
But expect them to loose out in every other aspect. For example, speed, AF, live view, video, etc
 

thanks for clearing the air.
 

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