Nikon D40x or Canon 400D??

[kong_m_c]

I'm new here and are interested in getting a dslr..I'm torn between those two cameras...i prefer the Nikon but dad prefer the Canon..some shops even recommended the D80(i feel it's too high end)..

-Comments pls.....tq

[ShaolinTiger]

The D40x and the 400D are not really a fair comparison.

Better to compare the 400D with the D80, then the D80 wins by a clear head.

I'd recommend getting the D80 with the 18-70mm kit lens, that would be a great start.

[xman]

if i may add...

i'd suggest u forget about even considering the D40x - start comparing from at least the D50 onwards

the D40x doesn't have its own onboard autofocus motor, thus auto-focus can only be used with the newer lenses which have their own motors, even the loveable 50mm f1.8 can't be used with the D40x, so thats pretty screwed

[Mclaren]

In full agreement with ST. This DSLR is going to be very addictive. Soon you would want to add lenses, accessories and D40x can only handle so much. Also when you have progressed (and you will, trust me on this I know!) you would want to play the next level which is the manual setting both at camera software and lenses manual focusing. By now you'll considering the D40x as avery good 2nd body or take the hit and sell your D40x very cheaply since you can't really use it. Otherwise stick to PnS and you will never have all this trouble.

My 2 cents and I hope I didn't stepped on anyone's toe here.

[Initiald]

I'm new here and are interested in getting a dslr..I'm torn between those two cameras...i prefer the Nikon but dad prefer the Canon..some shops even recommended the D80(i feel it's too high end)..

-Comments pls.....tq

Have you read this review?

http://www.popphoto.com/cameras/3896/camera-test-nikon-d40x.html

In the noise test, it even beats the Rebel XTi aka 400D.

Anyway, what kind of user are you? Are you planning to take photography seriously? If yes, then you should go with the D80 route. If you're just a casual shooter who likes to shoot pretty holiday pictures, the D40 or D40x is for you.

i'd suggest u forget about even considering the D40x - start comparing from at least the D50 onwards

The D40 and D40x bodies are meant to cater for people coming from PnS background and who would like to flexibility of a DSLR but not the complexity of using it.

the D40x doesn't have its own onboard autofocus motor, thus auto-focus can only be used with the newer lenses which have their own motors, even the loveable 50mm f1.8 can't be used with the D40x, so thats pretty screwed

You're partially right. But to say that the 50mm f/1.8 CANNOT be used on the D40x is incorrect. Yes, it will not autofocus but you can still meter and manual focus with those lenses. :)

[clemong888]

i'd hafta agree with InitialD.. the d40x is taking too much flak just because it has a lack of autofocus. i was initial on the anti-d40/x side but it's a very very decent cam for people jumping into dslr. manual focus using primes arent too hard. downside is that there are alot of non afs 3rd party lenses. on the good side, very good noise control, which i think is on par with the 400d. color reproduction is a good. compared to the 400d, 3 af points compared to 9 is a bit on the downside but very livable(really depends on what u're shooting)

hope it helps

[cucubud]

I'm new here and are interested in getting a dslr..I'm torn between those two cameras...i prefer the Nikon but dad prefer the Canon..some shops even recommended the D80(i feel it's too high end)..

-Comments pls.....tq

Go with the D80.
IF your dad insist to go with Canon, then choose the 30D.:)

[HCN]

I'm new here and are interested in getting a dslr..I'm torn between those two cameras...i prefer the Nikon but dad prefer the Canon..some shops even recommended the D80(i feel it's too high end)..

-Comments pls.....tq

Kong_M_C, trust me, try to grab D80. I already hooked with this monster and ordered one new unit.

Tried 400D, not so font of the weight. Just felt something when put on the batt grip.

Try out first and follow your "feeling". :)

[somy nex]

I actually bought the D40 over the D80 & Canon Rebel before the D40x was introduced. I think you should consider both your current intended use & situation, and future use & situation.

Although i know some basics having used a film SLR & prosumer digicams before, i don't have time or money right now to devote to hardcore photography. I don't have any existing lenses to worry about (unless you consider my old film Minolta SLR), and, most importantly, I wanted something relatively small, light & convenient, especially for travel. For me, the D40 fit the bill perfectly for the following specific reasons:


the body w/kit is cheap enough, and the kit lens quite good for a casual user
the price difference between the D40 & D80 allowed me to buy a 18-200vr to go with it, a SB-800 flash, two high speed 150x speed SD cards (2gb & 4gb), and (soon) a tripod.
it's small and light, just a bit bigger than my Panasonic FZ10 with hood (although heavier)


Now do I want the D80? Yes I do. Do I need it at the moment? Probably not.

If I ever do get more time to go develop my photography hobby, by that time, there will be newer bodies to buy and I'll probably have more cash to buy it with. Not to say that the D40 will go obsolete like computers, but these digital cameras are becoming like that a little bit. But if & when i upgrade my body, I'd already have the basics covered, like lenses, flash, tripod, memory cards that I can go straight out with this body (or the new one) and enjoy myself.

in the end i think it's all about what you want, balanced with what you need, tempered with what you might want in the future. :tounge_smile:

[bllizard]

I actually bought the D40 over the D80 & Canon Rebel before the D40x was introduced. I think you should consider both your current intended use & situation, and future use & situation.

Although i know some basics having used a film SLR & prosumer digicams before, i don't have time or money right now to devote to hardcore photography. I don't have any existing lenses to worry about (unless you consider my old film Minolta SLR), and, most importantly, I wanted something relatively small, light & convenient, especially for travel. For me, the D40 fit the bill perfectly for the following specific reasons:


the body w/kit is cheap enough, and the kit lens quite good for a casual user
the price difference between the D40 & D80 allowed me to buy a 18-200vr to go with it, a SB-800 flash, two high speed 150x speed SD cards (2gb & 4gb), and (soon) a tripod.
it's small and light, just a bit bigger than my Panasonic FZ10 with hood (although heavier)


Now do I want the D80? Yes I do. Do I need it at the moment? Probably not.

If I ever do get more time to go develop my photography hobby, by that time, there will be newer bodies to buy and I'll probably have more cash to buy it with. Not to say that the D40 will go obsolete like computers, but these digital cameras are becoming like that a little bit. But if & when i upgrade my body, I'd already have the basics covered, like lenses, flash, tripod, memory cards that I can go straight out with this body (or the new one) and enjoy myself.

in the end i think it's all about what you want, balanced with what you need, tempered with what you might want in the future. :tounge_smile:

couldn't agree more.

[noruazumi]

get the one that u prefer the most, the one that also suit your financial status.

if u want to go for D40/x, one day u'll find that u've reached its limitations and u want more. i've been there, that's how i know.

my piece of advice is, it's ok to go for D80, even u think it is too high end.
there'll be a lot for you to explore.
and trust me, photography is addictive..... and don't forget poisonous! :D

[HCN]

Already got poison, just waiting for the DSLR price to go down and "affordable" based on my budget. :)

Very addictive, trust me.

[supazta]

couldn't agree more.


u took the words right of my mouth!
am i biased?
not really..
i initially considered 350d.
=D
why nikon?
maybe my name starts with N as well?
:cool:

basically why i chose d40:

1. dont need extra mps
2. dont have existing lenses/ sources to borrow them
3. current student financial situation doesnt permit poisonous thoughts:mad::mad:
4. suited for travel and fun
5. by the time im bored with it..new bodies will be available and lenses will be cheaper, no?

[KYspeaks]

Price difference in 400D and D80 is actually greater than 400D and D40x. In the same token, we can't really compare 400D with D80 laa.

[sweetcheeks]

i am also interested in getting a d40... which i have been eyeing for a very very long time now. way before d40x came out. now that d40x is out.. its only a few hundred differences... but my student budget not exactly very expandable at the moment. hahaha..

i guess i wan to get a camera that can capture the beauty of the places that i have travelled to. i am getting frustrated with pictures that my old ixus40 produce and the limit it has which is why i want to try my hands on d40 instead. i heard it is good for noobs like me. hahaha...

i am not sure if i'll be seriously hooked to serious photography so i should think that d40 or d40x would be a good buy for a beginner? better still do you think its still worthy to get a d40? *hehehe.. poor poor student speaking here* *please give face*

[somy nex]

i think the D40/x are great cameras especially for beginners/amateurs who are on a budget. the cameras may have a slightly reduced featureset, but Nikon took out those which the amateur/beginner demographic are least likely to use and still delivered a very capable camera with a lot of strengths.

They have great image quality; great low light / high ISO performance; small & lightweight body for a dSLR; and a fast write speed and buffer implementation.

The main differences between the D40/x are that
- the D40 is 6MP, the D40x 10mp
- D40 lowest ISO is 200, D40x is ISO100
- D40x autoISO option includes ISO200 (logically)
- D40x capable of 3fps compared to 2.5fps on D40

I guess only you can decide whether those are worth the higher price to you. They are definitely things that are better & good to have. In full disclosure, I bought the D40 before the D40x was available, but in "20/20 hindsight" i probably would still buy the D40 anyway--the 'upgrades' weren't worth the price difference to me. the extra MP might be nice for cropping, but instead I got an additional lens with more zoom, and more zoom > cropping. 100 vs 200 ISO is not a big issue for me, and neither is the 3fps vs 2.5fps. YMMV though.

One possibility is to get the D40, and put the difference into buying a flash or another lens (like the 55-200VR for more zoom). When i bought the D40, the D40x wasn't out yet and my other option was the D80--there are a heck of a lot of things you can get with the difference between those two cameras! :)

[reds]

if you are really tight on budget, dslr is not for you.

owning a dslr means you have the opportunity and flaxibility to purchase specific purpose lens, flash gun and other accessories. it is not supposed to be, even though often, used as a club membership ticket.

therefore if you just want to puchase a dslr body with kit lens, better buy PnS which gives greater value for money. they give super long range zoom, cheap, light and many cool auto function. if u buy a dslr thinking to buy the next lens only 2 years later, then buy PnS now and 2 years later buy a more advanced dslr when it is cheaper. i suppose many high end prosumer models have better lens than most dslr kit lens.

a dslr body is expensive but lens that are worth buying are even more expensive.

[Grant S.]

therefore if you just want to puchase a dslr body with kit lens, better buy PnS which gives greater value for money. they give super long range zoom, cheap, light and many cool auto function. if u buy a dslr thinking to buy the next lens only 2 years later, then buy PnS now and 2 years later buy a more advanced dslr when it is cheaper. i suppose many high end prosumer models have better lens than most dslr kit lens.

I had the Panasonic FZ30, with the 12x zoom Leica branded lens, which is definitely one of the highest end prosumer PnS. It was satisfactory, and handled beautifully, but when I recently changed to a Pentax K100 DSLR I was blown away by the quality difference that the larger sensor gives. And of course the fantastic high ISO capabilities. And I paid more for my Panasonic when it first came out than for my Pentax.
So my judgement is that if you can afford it, then buy the D40 and if you want to use it as a PnS you will get all the advantages of the larger sensor capabilities, and virtually no downside - especially since some prosumer PnS cost more than the D40. The lens means nothing if the sensor can't handle the information. It's a great lightweight camera that takes superb quality pictures - way better than any PnS IMHO.

[ykgen]

Have you read this review?

http://www.popphoto.com/cameras/3896/camera-test-nikon-d40x.html

In the noise test, it even beats the Rebel XTi aka 400D.



true or not? just writing.. no pix to prove..

see this.. with pix to compare http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond40x/page17.asp


if you are really tight on budget, dslr is not for you.

owning a dslr means you have the opportunity and flaxibility to purchase specific purpose lens, flash gun and other accessories. it is not supposed to be, even though often, used as a club membership ticket.

therefore if you just want to puchase a dslr body with kit lens, better buy PnS which gives greater value for money. they give super long range zoom, cheap, light and many cool auto function. if u buy a dslr thinking to buy the next lens only 2 years later, then buy PnS now and 2 years later buy a more advanced dslr when it is cheaper. i suppose many high end prosumer models have better lens than most dslr kit lens.

a dslr body is expensive but lens that are worth buying are even more expensive.

i dun agree. the quality that a dslr can deliver is near impossible to achieve with pns.. if u say venturing into dslr means u must spend a lot of money then why canon n nikon keep designing entry level dslr like 400d n d40x? this is to give the chance to photo hobbyist who CANT afford a 1d or d2x..:P

my opinion to thread starter is.. if u r about to get your first dslr n u r not RICH.. dun have to go the intermediate type like d80 or d200 or 30d... just get d40x or a 400d will do.. each new body will obsolete in less than 2 years.. save the money get more lenses n flash than u will have more fun..

[nikonuser]

I'm a D40X user. Nikon D40X, Canon 400D, Sony A100, Olympus e-410, Pentax K10D are all in the same price bracket and all are entry level DSLRs with 10MP.

Why I choose D40X over Canon 400D is very subjective. Both have very high image quality and both have comparable noise level. But I chose D40X because it feels better on my hand with better build quality, great viewfinder and has a better kit lens. The color looks more punchy (which I like) and still accurate and man it's fast.

On the downside, you can't autofocus with older lens (who cares I don't have any old lens), a lot of functions are buried in menus so you need to know the menu very well to access them quickly making it more fiddly than the 400D and of course feature wise 400D also has a little advantage. But these are less important to me than the pros.

Some may have other priorities and prefer the 400D. So you see these 2 cameras are very comparable in terms of image quality so there is no clear cut which is the better camera. Which one you choose really depends on your preference.

[ykgen]

a balance comment from nikonuser.. just a brand we r choosing..

i have to admit that nikon color is more saturated.. but this is not a factor, u can always fine tune it later in photoshop.

as for 400D with nice AF points VS d40x 3 points? not a factor, we can always pre-focus and re-compose.. especially to center-point only users..

[nikonuser]

Yeah I find centre point focusing is faster and more versatile than limiting ourselves to the few points. I may be wrong...:)

[sweetcheeks]

Hey all! Thanks for all the advice!! :) :)

In the end, I got myself a D40x with twin lense :D. I'm loving it! Now now... the only problem I have is taking the time off to go shot some pictures! :P

[adyzul]

Mind telling us how much you spent on that?

[Mavik]

Hey all! Thanks for all the advice!! :) :)

In the end, I got myself a D40x with twin lense :D. I'm loving it! Now now... the only problem I have is taking the time off to go shot some pictures! :P

Congrats on your purchase and welcome to the dark side. Twin lens? What lenses did you get? 55-200mm VR?

[lu_fc2001]

i noticed that the prefered cameras are nikon and canon...how is d40 when compared with k100 pentax, d40x with k100d super? d40x with e410 olympus which is also hardly mentioned in any fight-offs!!:run_away::run_away:

[noruazumi]

between 400D and D40, i would go for 400D.
but again, it is not a fair comparison between both cameras.
D80 and 400D are better comparisons.
between D80 and 400D, D80 wins by miles.
D80 is not too high end.
well balanced camera for a starter.
high end features, u'll grow into them.
but limitations in D40, u'll stuck with them forever.
spend a bit more for long term investment.
with D80, u can do more.
but if budget restricts u, go for 400D.
still a good camera tho'.
in the end, photography is all about the photographer, not the gears.



*added up some comments after reading all the posts*
so u end up with D40x eh?
good buy. and welcome to the wonders of photography! :)