New Nikon D40 or used D50 ?

peasant

Guys, I need your help !

I was initially going to buy a new Nikon D40 (most likely the two lens kit) which comes in at around 650 € on t'internet

Now I've come across this ad on adverts which has got me thinking:
http://www.adverts.ie/showproduct.php?product=51420

I have an old SLR (Nikon F601) and two Sigma AF lenses (35-135 / 70-200)

The lenses, while far from professional grade, have served me well in the past and fulfilled my limited needs and it would be a shame to ditch them.

Now, as far as I understand, I could use them on both the D40 and the D50 ...but in manual focus only on the D40, whereas the D50 would still be able to autofocus them ...is this correct?

Going by reviews, the D40 is slightly better and easier to use than the D50 ...but the ability to continue using my old lenses in full AF functionality might just swing me towards the D50, even if it is not quite as good as the D40 ...that and the price savings, of course.

I'm new to digital SLR's and somewhat confused concerning the usability of old lenses in digital mode (someting about crop factor and other things making the lenses perform less well on a digital body than they did on an analog one ???)

What would you do?

Buy a new D40 with the appropriate kit lens and only use the old lenses very sporadically (possibly ditch them at some stage)

or

Get the D50, use the old lenses and learn how to get the best out of them?

pete4130

I'm really not a fan of Nikon removing the motors from the entry level cameras. It does limit the amount of lenses you can easily use on the D40. My personal preference would be to go for the D50. I know they are older cameras but they have stood the test of time and can produce some great images.

I wouldn't go anywhere as near as the guys asking price. He's basing alot it on the cost of the 70-300 lens (which can be picked up 2d hand for between €100-€120, probably cheaper on ebay!). The D60 is out or coming out really soon so that should push the price of the D50 down a little.

He also bought the cam on pixmania so didn't pay as much as it woucd have costs here (and i think it was out of production in July 2006?) so it would have been old stock going cheap?

I think he's asking too much money for the D50. For an extra €200 odd, you get a brand spanking new camera with 2 kits lenses that work perfectly with the D40. If the guys price was lower for the D50, around the €320 mark then I'd be tempted.

If you do go with the D50 and decide to upgrade later to a D40 or D60, then you have think that the lenses with the D50 wont AF on the newer camera if you decide to upgrade, making it more expensive in the long run if you decide to buy new lenses as well.

With such a relatively small difference in price, I'd go with the D40. Thats just my opinion though.

peasant

pete4130 wrote: »

I think he's asking too much money for the D50. For an extra €200 odd, you get a brand spanking new camera with 2 kits lenses that work perfectly with the D40. If the guys price was lower for the D50, around the €320 mark then I'd be tempted.

Thanks for that!

As the ad currently stands, he would sell the 70-300 to someone else and is asking 300 for the camera and 18-55 lens ...which is probably fair enough.

As regards later upgrades ...I usually use things until they're broken beyond repair, so hopefully that would be a good few years down the line and I'm not really worried about that.

Can you (or someone else) put my mind to rest as regards to using analogue lenses on digital bodies ...I seem to have something in the back of my mind about focus length etc being slightly altered.

pete4130

As far as I know, all Nikon F mount lenses will work, some wont have 3D matrix metering of AF, but they will fit on the camera and allow you to take good pictures.

melekalikimaka

get the d50, af motor makes a huge difference whenpicking lens...well for the 50mm 1.8 anyway, and thats allyou really want on a camera. really not a fan of the d40 forthat reason

Stephen

The only thing to note with your older lenses (unless they're REALLY old, like 1970s old) is the crop factor. The D50 (and every other current Nikon DSLR bar the D3) has a DX format sensor, which is a bit smaller than a 35mm film frame. The size of the sensor means it has a crop factor of 1.5x - i.e. multiply the focal lengths of your lenses by 1.5 and that's what they'll be like on the D50. For instance, a 70-300 on a DX-format camera will give you the equivalent of a 105-450mm focal length on a 35mm camera. This can be a bit confusing because they still use the 35mm focal lengths even on lenses designed only for the DX format. Your lenses should be fully functional unless they're so old that the D50 can't meter with them.

peasant

Stephen wrote: »

The only thing to note with your older lenses (unless they're REALLY old, like 1970s old) is the crop factor. The D50 (and every other current Nikon DSLR bar the D3) has a DX format sensor, which is a bit smaller than a 35mm film frame. The size of the sensor means it has a crop factor of 1.5x - i.e. multiply the focal lengths of your lenses by 1.5 and that's what they'll be like on the D50. For instance, a 70-300 on a DX-format camera will give you the equivalent of a 105-450mm focal length on a 35mm camera. This can be a bit confusing because they still use the 35mm focal lengths even on lenses designed only for the DX format. Your lenses should be fully functional unless they're so old that the D50 can't meter with them.

ahh ..that's actually quite good as it would push my existing lenses further into tele regions.

So I'd get 18-55 with the camera, the existing 35-135 would become 53-200 and the 70-300 becomes 105-400 ..brilliant !

I think I'm going to go for this !

whyulittle

The only problem is if you like wide angle stuff - your 18mm will become 27mm.

peasant

as I'm used to not having a wide angle lens (35 was the lowest i've had) that shouldn't be a problem.

And the difference between a new D40 kit and this offer could go towards a proper wide angle lense (some day)

Ideo

whyulittle wrote: »

The only problem is if you like wide angle stuff - your 18mm will become 27mm.

But that'd occur with all the Digital cameras in the Nikon range bar the D3 (and about 15times the price of the excellent D50 deal)

I'm the one selling the D50 peasent, just posted a reply in the ad if you want to take a look!

peasant

thanks @everyone for helping me make up my mind!

The AF capability on my old lenses has swung it for me ...I'm getting Ideo's D50

melekalikimaka

nice one,looking forward tosee your work,great camera