Camera Labs

Hello,

First, this is an awesome website! Very informative, detailed, and up to date.

I am a novice who wants to upgrade to a digital SLR from a Nikon N65 w/ 28-105 mm Nikkor lense.

I have two young children (under age of 5) and I'm looking to take pictures:

1) of the kids and family in various settings such as in the house or outside playing sports or riding bikes, etc. (90% of the time), and

2) architecture and landscape (10% of the time).

I considered trying to purchase a D50 so I could use my old 28-105 mm Nikkor and still use AF, then also purchase the Nikkor 50mm f/1.8, but the D50 is discontinued and I'm having trouble finding a reputable on-line seller of the D50 at a reasonable price. (Seems like they are commanding a higher price due to lack of supply and high demand?) Any recommendations on purchasing a "recertified" D50?

Next I pretty much settled on the D40x, and was considering purchasing it bundled with a DX 18-70mm Nikkor AF-S (which will be close to my old 28-105) instead of the kit 18-55mm, but I don't know if I will be able to tell the difference between the 18-55 and the 18-70. Is the extra money for the 18-70 worth it based on my intended usage?

But after reading the reviews on the E-510, I like the features of the live-view, anti-shake and anti-dust. Also, the kit lenses on the E-510 seem to be pretty good, although I'm having a hard time discerning whether they are as good as the Nikkor DX 18-55 and 18-70 AF-S. I read here where the E-510 is highly recommended, but that first time DSLR's should strongly consider the D40x over the E-510 because the D40X is foolproof.

I don't want to mess with editing my pictures on the computer.

My questions are as follows:

If I purchased the D40x and never took the lense off, will dust be an issue for me if I used the camera outdoors, but I keep the camera stored in a camera bag when not in use? I saw your recommendations of how to clean the dust off, but how likely is it that I won't be able to get the dust off and what would the local camera shop charge to clean it?

Is anti-shake really necessary on a D40x with a 18-70mm lens?

Will it be difficult for a novice to DSLR to learn how to use the E-510?

I'm waiting for the E510 to arrive in the local stores so I can see how it feels in my hands.

That being said, with regard to my intended usage, which camera would you recommend?

Thanks,

AB

Hi and welcome!

On the lens front, looking at the type of shots you're wanting to take, the Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 lens would be a very safe choice I would think. I've actually been looking at that lens myself for indoor portrait shots and I've read it's a very competent lens at a very good price.

The lens is very fast with the aperture opening up to 1.8 and is perfectly suited for the sort of low light conditions you'll likely to be shooting in (indoors). Being a fixed lens as well, it will give you very sharp shots. That's not to say the other lenses you've mentioned won't do the job, just that you'll have more flexibility without having to rely on the flash in a lot of instances.

Obviously, you'll also be limited by the fact that it is only a fixed focal length lens and you'll definitely want to have another lens at some point to compliment it.

I don't have any advice on your camera shortlist but I'm pretty sure there are a couple of D40x owners on the board.

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My Flickr

Hello abunc and welcome to the CameraLabs forum!

Before I forget: Is your "old" Nikkor the "AF 28-105mm 3.5-4.5D IF" lens with AF (auto-focus)? This might play an important role in your decision as it may be quite sensible to use this lens on a new DSLR
Beware: A AF Nikkor cannot autofocus on a D40(x) body, unfortunately. So you'd need a D50/70/80 to use this lens!

From a visual (not technical) perspective a 28-105mm lens could be a nice lens to do what you want. The focal lenght is equivalent to a 42-158mm zoom on a 35mm film camera body. That might be a tad long at the short end though. Especially when your shooting indoors with more than just one person, you might find yourself constantly trying to step back to get the "whole picture". This is why the standard-lenses for DSLRs start at 18mm. B.t.w. there is a nice 12-24mm Nikkor zoom lens if you need something wider to complement your 28-105mm.

On the other hand a focal length at the long end of 105mm is better for sports than 70mm or even 55mm.

And look at Bob Anderson (in this forum): He's quite happy with his 24-105mm (although from Canon)!

As to your other questions:
- The E510 can be used fully automatic, so don't be afraid to buy it
- Dust is not so much of an issue when you never change lenses, but it can creep into the body through a zoom mechanism
- Anti-shake is (very) nice, but people have made fantastic photos before without it
- Cleaning the dust requires you to blow into the cam-body with anything else but your mouth (beware spittle!). If you can do that , you can get rid of dust

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Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

"Is your "old" Nikkor the "AF 28-105mm 3.5-4.5D IF" lens with AF (auto-focus?" Yes it is. I know I cant use it to autofocus on the D40x.

I finally got to look at the E-510, but the Nikon felt better in my hands. I decided to get the D40x w/ the 18-55mm. (I'll keep the N65 film as a backup). I got a decent deal with a free sandisk 2GB card. I decided I needed to snap out of the "analysis paralysis" and start snapping pictures.

Now to accessories:

I think I need to get a UV filter to leave on permanently, but should I also get a polarizing filter (circular?) for use in outdoor daylight? Which brands should I get? My local camera shop carries Quantaray filters. Should I try to get Hoya filters at Amazon? Dont want to spend more than $80 on both.

Also, what other accessories should I get? I may get a SB400 flash and a back-up battery.

thanks.

Well, that was a fast decision! Certainly no big case of "analysis paralysis"!
Will you be using your "old" Nikkor now in manual focus mode?
As to the filters: I can't comment on the quality of Quantaray, but with regard to the pol-filter just two remarks:
- You need a circular pol-filter not a linear!
- I have a pol-filter but use it in 5 out of 5000 cases - so you have to judge for yourself whether you'll need one.
A second battery is certainly handy.
A flash is in my opinion only necessary when you can use it as a remote "slave", triggered by your onboard flash. The SB-600 and SB-800 can do that - not sure about the SB-400 though

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Now you should update your signature and happily browse the forum ever after

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Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

"Will you be using your "old" Nikkor now in manual focus mode?"

No, afraid I'm not too good at that, plus my vision is not as good as it used to be, espcially taking pictures of small children. I think Dr. Seuss delivered my children because they run around trashing my house like "thing 1" and "thing 2."

"A flash is in my opinion only necessary when you can use it as a remote "slave", triggered by your onboard flash. The SB-600 and SB-800 can do that"

Will the D40x remote trigger a SB-600 slave? For some reason, I read that was a feature available on the D80 and not the D40 series.

Ah well, that's a pity: Page 100 of your manual says that the SB-400 cannot be used as a remote slave
So I'd suggest to try the onboard flash first. It can deliver quite some light in connection with the fabulous high-ISO quality of the camera. The only setback is that the flash is always straight onto the kids/faces. That gives the pic a little blunt impression. But you can get around a little by shooting with high ISO which gives the ambient light a higher wheight so the onbord-flash has only a little fill-up to do. Problem with that is that the ambient light indoors normally has a warm color and the flash a blueish color. That can mix up the WB quite a bit
See also the thread here: http://www.cameralabs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=390

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Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

Thanks for sharing those tips. I'm slowly, but surely, learning a lot of good tips on how to use the camera.