NEED ADVICE: D40 + (18-55+55-200) OR (18-200mm)


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warsurfer

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Mar 14, 2008
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Hello

I am really new in photography and am looking to getting a set of dslr. How often do i take pictures? Not very often but when I do, i'd like to get relatively 'crisp and detailed' pictures. Will I venture into photography as a serious hobby? ... unlikely.

So i thought that i'd get a D40 for a start to play around with, but have a feeling that the standard kit lense would probably be insufficient as an 'all-rounder'. I'm sort of in a dilemma here... need all you shi-fu's input...

D40 + (18-55 kit +55-200 VR) OR (18-200mm VR)

Thank you so much in advance.

Cheers
 

Hello

I am really new in photography and am looking to getting a set of dslr. How often do i take pictures? Not very often but when I do, i'd like to get relatively 'crisp and detailed' pictures. Will I venture into photography as a serious hobby? ... unlikely.

So i thought that i'd get a D40 for a start to play around with, but have a feeling that the standard kit lense would probably be insufficient as an 'all-rounder'. I'm sort of in a dilemma here... need all you shi-fu's input...

D40 + (18-55 kit +55-200 VR) OR (18-200mm VR)

Thank you so much in advance.

Cheers

My advice.. save your money and get a good point and shoot. You'll probably get frustrated with DSLR after a while if you're not going to be serious into photography. If you need good zoom, there are quite a number of good superzoom PnS. Nikon just announced the CoolPix P80. Check that out.
 

get a prosumer instead.
if really want to go into dslr, can get second hand D40 + 18-55 + 55-200
 

Hmmm... from the response that i've gotten so far, it seems like prosumers's the way to go.

I've tried my hands on the Panasonic FZ8 before and am not very satisfied with the final results.. admittedly my photography skills is not quite up to 'standard' as well, but the D40 seems to be able to produce pictures, especially in low/dim-light conditions.

That being said, perhaps someone can offer some insight to reasons why a Prosumer's be more suitable for me?
 

Hello

I am really new in photography and am looking to getting a set of dslr. How often do i take pictures? Not very often but when I do, i'd like to get relatively 'crisp and detailed' pictures. Will I venture into photography as a serious hobby? ... unlikely.

So i thought that i'd get a D40 for a start to play around with, but have a feeling that the standard kit lense would probably be insufficient as an 'all-rounder'. I'm sort of in a dilemma here... need all you shi-fu's input...

D40 + (18-55 kit +55-200 VR) OR (18-200mm VR)

Thank you so much in advance.

Cheers

recommend you get the D40 kit + 55-200 VR, for the lowest cost setup. you can always upgrade later if you outgrow ur equipment.
 

if u want quality, prosumer can hardly beat a DSLR bro...
 

Hmmm... from the response that i've gotten so far, it seems like prosumers's the way to go.

I've tried my hands on the Panasonic FZ8 before and am not very satisfied with the final results.. admittedly my photography skills is not quite up to 'standard' as well, but the D40 seems to be able to produce pictures, especially in low/dim-light conditions.

That being said, perhaps someone can offer some insight to reasons why a Prosumer's be more suitable for me?

Prosumer more suitable for you is due to the fact that u do not want to venture into the photography hobby. There are quite a number of knowledge, time and skill to accquire to actually take good quality pictures.. therefore, based on the $ value.. a prosumer makes more sense.. as less $$ is needed.. whilst a DSLR.. requires more funds.

Also not to forget the carrying around of the DLSR and equipments.. which serious photography would not mind.
 

I've tried my hands on the Panasonic FZ8 before and am not very satisfied with the final results..

have u tried the canon G9?
 

That being said, perhaps someone can offer some insight to reasons why a Prosumer's be more suitable for me?

No doubt the D40 can give very nice images. But if you use it wrong, eg wrong aperture, wrong shutter speed, etc, it's going to be less forgiving than PnS. When you say you want to get crisp images, a PnS has much more depth of field than a DSLR, which means that even if the focusing isn't that accurate, you're still going to get reasonably sharp images. That's not going to happen with DSLR unless you're going to close the aperture down, that's going to negate the sensitivity advantages you're going to get unless you know what you're doing.
 

are you willing to learn photography?

a D40 would be a good choice. at least can control the aperture, shuttle speed to begin with.

PnS are good for the quick shot, but i can still do that on a D40 auto...
 

have u tried the canon G9?

Hmmm.. have not tried the G9. It gives me the impressions of being a set of really cool retro-looking, feature-packed but terribly expensive camera. is it as good as an entry level dSLR, more precisely the D40?


lsisaxon: Please forgive me for my lack of understanding of photography jargons, but may i ask if i use the D40 at auto settings, the results would be comparable to the PnS?
 

lsisaxon: Please forgive me for my lack of understanding of photography jargons, but may i ask if i use the D40 at auto settings, the results would be comparable to the PnS?

hmm... personally, the D40s auto settings, are OK (not wonderful, but acceptable) and imho compared to PnSs (namely coolpixes and powershots) the quaility of photos should be comparable, if not better.;)

Of course, thats not the reason why you'd wanna buy a DSLR, right? You'd wanna try tinkering with manual settings to get better shot,yea?

If thats the case, then you shld seriously consider the D40. Its cheapest entry-level DSLR you can get yr hands on (only $300-400 more than decent compacts?) and personally, its pretty easy to learn how to 'manual' it, since on manual it clearly displays all the camera settings on its LCD screen xD Its prolly the easiest entry-level DSLR to use! :thumbsd:

However, as for the lenses, i suggest you play around with just the kit lens 1st before buying anything! But if you wanna get a telephoto zoom fast, then for starters just a 55-200mm(VR!) should be just fine, since you mentioned that you won't be shooting much =P.
i mean, buying a new D40+ 18-55mm kit lens +55-200mm VR lens still costs less than just 18-200 VR lens! heck, throw in a cheap tripod and a camera bag and the total costs will still be short of just one 18-200 lens!:eek:


hope my views help ya ;)
 

Hmmm... from the response that i've gotten so far, it seems like prosumers's the way to go.

I've tried my hands on the Panasonic FZ8 before and am not very satisfied with the final results.. admittedly my photography skills is not quite up to 'standard' as well, but the D40 seems to be able to produce pictures, especially in low/dim-light conditions.

That being said, perhaps someone can offer some insight to reasons why a Prosumer's be more suitable for me?

Why are you not satisfied with the FZ8? Photography is an art and a science. You can get good quality photos with any cameras if you know the limits of the camera. Even my 3 yrs old can use a coolpix L14, which is the cheapest i find here in the Uk to produce good photos, clear images, though she need to work on her composition...;)

It ultimately depends on your budget. and from your post, it seems like you don't mind spending on something to play with, which you are not interested with. You can certainly use the D40 with auto settings, and get good photos, but it may not be what you expect, if you are not interested in developing your skills. You might as well spend your money hiring someone else to take the "clear detailed photo" the few times you want to.

Since you don't have a budget and deciding between the lens, then go get the 18-200mm, as you would find it a hassle to change lens. The 18-200 mm lens is also versatile and good.

If I were you, I would just get a P&S and then decide when I have more interest.
 

well, i started off with a prosumer cam too, but ended up selling it off and getting a dslr..

on aquarium keeping, we have a saying: "buy the largest tank u can afford"

i guess it applies in the photography world too? haha.. "buy the best camera u can afford"

it saves the sense of regret and $$, as selling things 2nd hand, even though just 1 month old = loss..

anyway, the 18-200mm VR saves trouble having to change lenses.. useful when u need to zoom fast to catch any candid moments..

my 5 cents worth.. :)
 

Hmmm.. have not tried the G9. It gives me the impressions of being a set of really cool retro-looking, feature-packed but terribly expensive camera. is it as good as an entry level dSLR, more precisely the D40?


lsisaxon: Please forgive me for my lack of understanding of photography jargons, but may i ask if i use the D40 at auto settings, the results would be comparable to the PnS?

Like I mentioned, the optics are slightly different and it may be harder to control the amount of the image you want crisp and sharp. If I told you yes, then if you'd shot something like that below and ask me why the background is not sharp, then I would have a hard time trying to explain.



For most other cases, you'd see that I would recommend getting at least a D40 instead of a PnS because there are many advantages of using a DSLR, an example is the high ISO noise, another is the minimum shutter lag. Your case is an exception because you clearly stated that you would not be interested. There are some parameters you need to know for DSLR even though you're going to set it at Auto mode. It's not magic and it doesn't read your mind, so it will need some inputs from you to get the images you desire. The images you're going to get from a DSLR will definitely beat that from a PnS, if you know what you're doing.
 

lsisaxon: Please forgive me for my lack of understanding of photography jargons, but may i ask if i use the D40 at auto settings, the results would be comparable to the PnS?

It depends on what u want out. Comparabily.. a DSLR "like D40" might give a better picture than an PNS.. but not way better in Auto mode... but there is nothing wrong in take photo in Auto Mode, but that is not what the SLR is designed to be able to do.

SLR camera provides the users with the options to tweak the settings to create different style.. exposure.. lighting.. for the desired photo.. and since you already mentioned that u might not want to learn these, then getting a DSLR in your case would be quite wasteful IMHO.

Then again.. D40 might be cheaper than some prosumer PNS.. still there are things that you need to pick up to fully use the equipment. Guess the reply in this thread is that you need to know what u are doing to get the most out of a DSLR.. else it would be similiar to any PNS.. and sometimes.. even worst than a PNS.
 

Get the D40. The quality is definitely better than prosumer.
 

My advise from what i have experienced:
Start off with the 18-55 kit lens first.
Shoot a lot, a lot, in all opportunties.
Leave the comfort zone of "Auto" & go into Manual.
Appreciate the exposure triangle of Aperture, Shutter Speed & ISO.
Leave the comfort zone of "AF" & learn Manual Focus.
You will realise photography is a whole new world!

Then, start to think of what lens to upgrade to enhance your power of seeing.

Cheers!
 

Hmmm... from the response that i've gotten so far, it seems like prosumers's the way to go.

I've tried my hands on the Panasonic FZ8 before and am not very satisfied with the final results.. admittedly my photography skills is not quite up to 'standard' as well, but the D40 seems to be able to produce pictures, especially in low/dim-light conditions.

That being said, perhaps someone can offer some insight to reasons why a Prosumer's be more suitable for me?

if you cant get the best out of FZ8 then you more or less would have more difficulties even with a entry level dslr.
i can show you some low light shots that i have with my FZ5 if you want to...
unless you can understand the M settings of your FZ8 then the learning curve of a dslr wouldnt be so tough.
when i 1st move up to a d40, i already find the learning curve rather steep until i came across those recommended user guides that greatly help me along the way.
even though i understand the M settings of my FZ5 but a dslr is another whole new thing altogether.
 

I finally got my hands on a set of D40 and shot some pictures with it using auto mode... looks better than the FZ5... (or maybe i'm just biased.. ;p)

I also tried it using the 'P' mode but i cannot understand why the shutter speed seems slower. I read the manual and it says that the camera will auto-select the shutter speed. :cry: Can someone enlighten me? Thx in advance....

if you cant get the best out of FZ8 then you more or less would have more difficulties even with a entry level dslr.
i can show you some low light shots that i have with my FZ5 if you want to...
unless you can understand the M settings of your FZ8 then the learning curve of a dslr wouldnt be so tough.
when i 1st move up to a d40, i already find the learning curve rather steep until i came across those recommended user guides that greatly help me along the way.
even though i understand the M settings of my FZ5 but a dslr is another whole new thing altogether.


Hmmm... really appreciate it if you could post some pictures of your FZ5 here.

Hmmm.. could you also share what are some of the "recommended user guides that greatly helped [you] along the way?"

Cheers!
 

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