There are no differences that matter between any manufacturer's current bottom of the line, mid-range, and top of the line models, as far as learnign to use them goes..

They all have white balance and variable contrast and selected resolutions and so on and so forth, ad infinitum. All are ewqually challenging..

If the 40D is affordable, there's no downside in buying it..

BAK..

Somebody notify Guinness. This must be some sort of record. Buyer's remorse and the camera's not even in the stores yet. ..

Mikemarshall wrote:.

Somebody notify Guinness. This must be some sort of record. Buyer'sremorse and the camera's not even in the stores yet. .

No, no buyers remorse! I'm very excited about getting the new camera. I'm just wondering if I'm wasting money by getting this body with such a steep learning curve in front of me...

The learning curve can be quite steep, but if you read a couple books before that camera shows up, it won't be that intimidating. If you already understand exposure and the relationship between between shutter speed, ISO and aperture, you're way ahead of the curve.amateurapertures.blogspot.comMy fully documented blunders in Photography..

Personallly, I wish my 1st DSLR (350D) had a 3" LCD like my Panasonic TZ3 P&S has. Your first DSLR will...

Honestly if you think you might upgrade in the future than I would just go with the 40d now and save yourself the need to upgrade and the cost of a second body down the road...

ALL dslrs have a steep learning curve. You would have the same learning problems with an XTi that you will with a 40D. Chances are that you have forgotten many of the basics of photography. Start reading now, and you will be ready to study your manual when your new camera arrives..

Jerryhttp://jchoate.zenfolio.com/..

Thanks to everyone for their comments. I'm pretty sure I will be keeping the 40D, just wanted to hear it from people who have actually been using these cameras for the past 5-10 years!.

Now to go find some glass!.

Thanks again,..

KCFly,.

One of the nice things with the D40 is that you can set it to full auto out of the box. At that time, you basically got a big P&S. As you learn the capabilities and practice, you grow with the camera. I thought the same thing when I bought my D80 several months ago..

If you do not have budget problems, you will love your new camera..

Congrats and enjoy!Mike.

Just starting out and having fun at it!.

Nikon D80 18-135mmNikon Coolpix 3100 (Hey, I had to start somewhere)..

Once you have it in your hands, all doubts will vanish!.

Also, as you are a flight instructor, the tech aspect will not be too much, just more fun!..

KCFly wrote:.

Mikemarshall wrote:.

Somebody notify Guinness. This must be some sort of record. Buyer'sremorse and the camera's not even in the stores yet. .

No, no buyers remorse! I'm very excited about getting the newcamera. I'm just wondering if I'm wasting money by getting this bodywith such a steep learning curve in front of me..

Entry level and advanced cameras can both operate on automatic, shutter priority, aperture priority or manual, and both perform better if shot in RAW and subsequently post processed. So the initial learning is the same..

Where you're better off with the D40 is that you can continue to grow into the camera long after the initial stuff becomes familiar, and that you'll have all of it's other advantages throughout the learning period...

To other cameras, I mean..

Granted, the exact DOF at given apertures varies a bit depending on final print size and camera model, and different cameras may disagree slightly about ISO sensitivity but *shrug*..

PASM are much more standardized than modes like "cuisine" or "auction", which may be proprietary and opaque...

Why are people commenting on the Nikon D40? He is talking about the 40D, you know the new camera coming out from Canon in September? Or did people miss all the comments on the camra throughout the forum and on the front page?..

There are also other manufacturers out than canon..

Going digital is a good opportunity to look if the grass is not sometimes greener on the other side..

Having 2 Film lenses should not keep you forever at the same brand, because Nikon and Oly kit lenses might be already good..

Olympus has very nice greens, Fuji has also great colors, and maybe sony inherited the good colors of the minoltas but I am not sure regardsMartin.

Typing errors are intended to provide a basis for global amusement..

Despite I love my Olympus cameras and also have 'the last Sony Mavica', I would like to have a Samsung forum here on dpreview because they have interresting new pocket cams...