gingernut

Is there a difference?

Also, anyone any experience of using a D60?

I'm after a DSLR which allows easy manual control.

I've had nothing but good experiences with Nikons compacts.

Thanks ginge

Bushfiva

Lenses made by Nikon are branded Nikkor.

The D60 supercedes the D40x. It's a fine camera at its pricing and user-skill point. Canon, Pentax and others have similar cameras at that particular marketing point. Whichever you choose, you won't be making a mistake.

crewmeal

Agreed - I bought a D60 through Amazon.co.uk in April and have never looked back. It came with the standard Nikon (Nikkor)18-55mm lens but I bought a Nikon (Nikkor) 55-200 lens for close up shots. But this lens is best used with a tripod. The quality of the shots are good and you can work in RAW mode for additional quality.

The price of this camera is dropping all the time as I believe a new model has been released.

preduk

This is a big newbie question, I haven't been doing photography for very long but what is the major difference between the D60 and D40x? I've got a D40X at the moment, really love the camera being my first would like to go the next step but not sure what the real difference is.

Is it something that a newbie like me wouldn't really notice?

crewmeal

Have a look at this review

Nikon D60 Digital SLR Compared to D40x and D40

That should give you an idea between the 3 Nikons

Loose rivets

To answer the question, I have to say I can't, cos don't know.

The names seem to be interchangeable, but I'd always thought that the Nikkor might be a slightly cheaper version. However, folk with lenses marked thus, do not seem to think they've gone down market.


I got a D50. The 6mp has never been an issue, and the money I saved getting a 'Refurbished' (obviously untouched) meant that I could put the 15-55 lens to one side, and get a good lens (off Craigslist) for the difference. my 18-70 really is a serious piece of kit. Good light-gathering with its 67mm glass at $240 used.

The higher pixel count is tempting, and I've looked at higher end cameras to get the detail. But the fact is that it just isn't worth having a lesser quality camera just to get more pixels. Wanting to print out to very large photos might change all this, but I do put the pics on a 50" hi def, and never have I been troubled by pixelation.

Bushfiva

Nope. Lenses are Nikkor, bodies are now Nikon. I'd be interested to know which lenses your friends have that are marked Nikon rather than Nikkor.

Loose rivets

Got me curious, so I fished them out again.

The kit lens is Nikon DS AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm 1.35-5.6 G ED

The bigger one exactly the same, 'sept for 18-70mm 1.35-4.5

Underneath, they are both marked Nikon DX SWM ED IF Aspherical the range and Made in Thailand.

Just taken the cap of the kit lens for the first time in ages, and the face rim shows both Nikon and Nikkor on the same ring. Ha! so does the picture on the link above. Seems to answer the question.


Has anyone got any opinion about the build quality of the 40 v the old 50? My son looked at upgrading the pixel count but shied away from the general feel of the body. My dreams of getting one of the new big array units vaporized with conversation with a certain NY company. Load of gangsters.

Bushfiva

40 was replaced by the 40x, which was effectively replaced by the 60. From a 50, go to a 60 or 90 depending on the budget.

Bushfiva

Preduk, if you have the 40x, the only real difference is that the 60 has a sensor cleaning feature. A complete list of differences was posted by Crewmeal.

gingernut

Thanks for the input chaps.

Out Of Trim

A point to note about the Nikon D40, D40X, and the D60 is that these bodies do not have an in-built Auto-Focus motor.

This means, that you must consider very carefully what lenses you intend to use on your new camera.

So if you want to have lenses that Auto-focus you must buy only the newer AF-S type lenses that have their own built-in focus motor.

Otherwise, I think that all of these are fine.

If you want something a bit better, with more features then, I would advise looking at the older D80 which has just been replaced by the new D90 - So you could well find the D80 at bargain prices. These two do include a built-in Auto-focus motor so that they can use a much wider range of lenses.

Have a quick look here for some current pricing info..

Bushfiva

We're talking about newcomers to DSLR. AF-S has been around since 1998. People don't have to be "careful", they have to use the lens which comes in the kit and go from there. Seasoned analog film users will be able to work this out for themselves. And with the D60 and D90 on the market, they won't get the D80.

mixture

Well said Bushfiva. Stop spreading FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt) ... OoT.


Also, to be honest, people using Nikon's consumer DSLRs are probably better off using AF-S lenses, preferably ones with VR too. There are lots of good ones out there... the 18-70 and 18-200 are both fine examples.

Non AF-S lenses are noisy too !

Out Of Trim

Err - I wasn't spreading fear, uncertainty or doubt!

I merely stated a fact.

I have read of many adopters of D40's etc, trying to understand why there newly purchased 50mm F1.4 lens etc etc wont auto-focus!

I'm a Nikon user myself with a Nikon D70 and a Nikon D300 and was trying to be helpful.

gingernut

I love my old Nikon Coolpix, but I miss the ability to have any manual control over the lens ( either to throw things in the background out of focus, or to maintain a large depth of field for landscape shots). I also miss the manual B setting. (the compact has a fireworks mode which is a bit hit and miss.)

I take it that the autofocus mode can be turned off?

And will the software be the same ?

Thanks, ginge

Loose rivets

There are no doubt some good lenses that have easy to use rings, but I find that while DX lenses usually can be clicked to Manual, they are harder to manipulate than the fine old lenses, and I end up using tricks to use the automatics. ie pointing at a brighter scene at the same length, then holding the button till I'm on subject. I went into digital photography thinking that virtually all my work would be manual. Frankly, the auto systems are so good that I find it hard to beat them. Shots at 12" or less are the exception.

Kit lens c$50, has AF/M slider on the side.


Talking of B settings, this was still in the Bucket from JB, so easy to re-show. Taken by camera in the reflection - even though the angle doesn't look right.

I didn't want to flash at the critter.

While it wouldn't win any prizes for photography, I had no idea that it would be a 1.5 second shot. I was astonished that it didn't give more shake than it did. No anti-vibration device.

What I'm again trying to emphasize, is the importance of spending a good proportion of your budget on the lens. Same shot with the kit lens wouldn't have had any significant detail.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...age00001-3.jpg


Although it's an expensive item, I tried out the the hi-selling 18-200 $700 inside Worst Buy. I'll post comparison pix when I get a moment.

Bushfiva

You'll have as much control you want. Autofocus can typically be switched of at the body, at the lens, or simply overridden by grabbing the focus ring even when in autofocus mode. You can do full auto, aperture priority, shutter priority, fully manual or whatever.

The camera shoots two formats: jpegs and RAW The camera can shoot both at the same time. RAW gives you much more control over the final image. I believe you get basic RAW conversion software in the D60. You can also do substantial post-processing in the camera, if you wish. People tend to use their favorite software for manipulating images, ranging from free to very expensive.

The D60 kit lens supercedes the one with the D40x and is reportedly much better, though I haven't used it.

mixture

It's not worth arguing over, but your post was worded in such a way to imply that AF-S was something new and hence a fair amount of attention was needed when selecting a lens.

The fact is that the vast number of Nikkor lenses the average consumer is likely to come across in your average high street shop are going to be AF-S not AF.

Some love it, some hate it. I prefer the 70-200 over the 18-200, but for holiday lightweight backpack moments, the 18-200 is quite handy.

As others have said though, budget priority should go on lenses, not camera.

gingernut

Thanks chaps