'Nifty Fifty' for Nikon D40

spav

(Firstly, apologies if this is an outrageously stupid post. I've tried to work this out by reading the FAQs and doing a bit of Googling, but the more I read the more I get confused, in need of a sit down and a little cry).

I've recently got a Nikon D40 with the standard lens, and fancy getting a second lens to play about with. I gather that the 'Nifty Fifty' is a obvious answer, but unless I'm misreading things I think this is a Canon lens (?). If so, is there an equivalent for the D40 that's cheapish and includes auto focus?

leohoju

Nikon also makes a "nifty fifty", however it won't auto-focus on your D40. Sigma has or will be releasing a 50mm f/1.4 soon, which will do the job for you. It'll cost a lot more than the Nikon 50mm though.

spav

leohoju wrote: »

Nikon also makes a "nifty fifty", however it won't auto-focus on your D40. Sigma has or will be releasing a 50mm f/1.4 soon, which will do the job for you. It'll cost a lot more than the Nikon 50mm though.

Thanks for that, thought as much. I'll keep my eyes peeled and credit card primed for that Sigma lens.

quilmore

this is it:


for a D40 you'll probably need a split focus screen to help with manual focusing

something like this:
http://www.virtualvillage.com/Items/005106-023?sck=16058799

or this:
http://www.katzeyeoptics.com/item--Katz-Eye-Focusing-Screen-for-the-Nikon-D40-D40x--prod_D40.html

I've seen a katzeye on a D80 and I have to admit it's wonderful

Masada

anybody got any reccomendations on where to buy one of these lenses? Id like one for my D80 but id prefer to have a look at them in the flesh instead of buying over the internet,.,:)
cheers,

Overdraft

quilmore wrote: »

for a D40 you'll probably need a split focus screen to help with manual focusing

something like this:
http://www.virtualvillage.com/Items/005106-023?sck=16058799

Jeez, that looks very interesting (especially when I have a couple of non AF lens for my D40).

Would be a bit worried about installing it, though.

1. Turn your camera off and remove the lens
2. Place the camera gently upside down on a stable surface and using tweezers remove the metal bracket from inside your camera
3. Still using the tweezers, remove the original focus screen
4. Replace with your new split image focus screen
5. Gently shake the camera to ensure the screen is in place
6. Replace the metal bracket and lens

How tricky are steps 2 and 3?

spav

Overdraft wrote: »

Jeez, that looks very interesting (especially when I have a couple of non AF lens for my D40).

Would be a bit worried about installing it, though.

1. Turn your camera off and remove the lens
2. Place the camera gently upside down on a stable surface and using tweezers remove the metal bracket from inside your camera
3. Still using the tweezers, remove the original focus screen
4. Replace with your new split image focus screen
5. Gently shake the camera to ensure the screen is in place
6. Replace the metal bracket and lens

How tricky are steps 2 and 3?

I was just thinking the same thing. There's a massively high chance that it'd feck it up. I've only had my camera a fortnight and I've dropped it twice...

padi89

Video here of it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IjSPL584zg

majiktripp

I bought the Sigma 30mm HSM f/1.4 lens which autofocus's on a D40x just fine, paid €275 for it on ebay os it aint cheap but it terribly expensive either. Im happy enough with it! Now to upgrade to a D3...

Overdraft

padi89 wrote: »

Video here of it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IjSPL584zg

Thanks for that. I think I'll stick to out of focus shots with my nifty fifty, that installation process looks too scary to me.

padi89

A bit of practice on auto focus and you'll be fine.Look out for the little green light for help and shoot in burst mode if you still not comfortable.

spav

Does anyone know of a good, cheap second lens for the D40 that has auto focus?

leohoju

spav wrote: »

Does anyone know of a good, cheap second lens for the D40 that has auto focus?

Depends on what your definition of cheap is.

Any of the Sigmas which have a HSM (Hyper-Sonic Motor) should do the trick for you. There's some cheaper lenses with that, then also some more expensive ones. One that seems to (mostly) get good reviews is the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 (recommended further up in this thread), it'll auto-focus on the D40 and won't break the bank either.

They also do a 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5 and a 18-50mm f/2.8 which are recommended by some as well. Do a search on a site like Fred Miranda for lens reviews.

quilmore

spav wrote: »

Does anyone know of a good, cheap second lens for the D40 that has auto focus?

the 55-200 vr is a very good lens and not very expensive at under €200 if you look well

the 70-300 vr is another very good lens a bit more expensive

or you can have the 18-200 vr and will cover most of your needs

another option is to look for HSM sigma lenses, some primes are fast and not very expensive
what sort of focal lenght/speed are you looking for?

spav

quilmore wrote: »

the 55-200 vr is a very good lens and not very expensive at under €200 if you look well

the 70-300 vr is another very good lens a bit more expensive

or you can have the 18-200 vr and will cover most of your needs

another option is to look for HSM sigma lenses, some primes are fast and not very expensive
what sort of focal lenght/speed are you looking for?

See, that's the problem - I have no idea what I'm looking for!

I'm very new to this, just want a good second lens to help me get to grips with what the camera can do. I'd prefer AF while I get into the swing of things, though maybe I should be getting the hand of manual focus anyway.

Maybe I should stick with the standard lens for now while I work out what the fecking thing does...

Thirdfox

I have the D40.

I got the 55-200vr as my second lens (look through my pix.ie account all the telephoto shots are taken with this lens).

I then got a 30 year old 50mm f2 Nikkor-H for 30 euro. Very cheap and very sharp. It's a dedicated manual focus lens so it's a pleasure to use and focus (compared to MF'ing on a modern AF lens).



Not that the 18-55 kit lens is a slouch either:



These are some photos that I'm taking for the TCD diary coming out this October.

punchdrunk

hmmm sigma have discontinued the 17-70 tho

this could be nice!

http://www.sigmaphoto.com/lenses/lenses_all_details.asp?id=3328&navigator=6
it's expensive though definitely a good upgrade to what the kit lense can do

magicbastarder

also, i was told today that sigma have discontinued the 30mm f1.4...

leohoju

punchdrunk wrote: »

hmmm sigma have discontinued the 17-70 tho

Really? The have a nice "NEW" logo beside it here. Mind you that's for the HSM version...

magicbastarder

whoops; ignore.

spav

Thirdfox wrote: »

I have the D40.

I got the 55-200vr as my second lens (look through my pix.ie account all the telephoto shots are taken with this lens).

Thanks for that - I'll keep my eyes peeled for the 55-200vr, there's one for sale on adverts.ie by the looks of things.

Great shots btw.