I suggest you do a search in the Nikon D80 etc forum. This gets discussed about every 12 hours!.
There are now about 25 lenses that will AF on the D40. Nikon has produced only AF-S lenses since 2003 and all Sigma HSM lenses will work. Sigma announced two more lenses just three days ago:.
Http://www.dpreview.com/news/0707/07072502sigmanikondchsm.asp.
Short answer - unless you have specialist needs like low available light photography (theatre, indoor sports) or macro photography you should have no problems particulary if, like most of us, you have to acquire things one at a time..
I suggest you look to get D40 plus 18-135 if you can afford it and consider adding everything else later. A 18-70 lens would also be a good step up from the 18-55 if yoiu cannot afford the 18-135. The cam seems to be available where you are as a kit with any of those three lenses..
Hope that helps..
Chris Elliott.
*Nikon* D Eighty + Fifty - Other equipment in Profile.
Http://PlacidoD.Zenfolio.com/..
If you want Nikon, look for an older D50 or go with the D80. You'll want the Nikon 50/1.8 for less than $100 eventually and it won't AF on the the D40 0r D40X and it isn't going to get replaced any time soon..
Better still would be the Canon Xti for about the same price as the Nikons..
Gene..
R Valentino wrote:.
If you want Nikon, look for an older D50 or go with the D80. You'llwant the Nikon 50/1.8 for less than $100 eventually and it won't AFon the the D40 0r D40X and it isn't going to get replaced any timesoon..
Why?.
The OP says he likes the D40. The 50mm f1.8 is a specialist prime lens for low light work and doing lots of portrait work. The OP expresses no such ambitions. True it is a good and cheap lens but it is a waste of money if you do not use it and a complete waste of money if you base a system around it and do not use it..
I do not have the 50mm f1.8 or any other prime. My kit is all zoom. I have a D80 body plus a D50 body, a Sigma 17-70 f2.8-4.5, a Sigma 24-70 f2.8 , and a Nikon 80-200 f2.8 (none of which will AF on the D40) all of these because I do a lot of low light theatre work. I have been shooting DSLRs for 8 years but I do not have a single prime..
You are assuming that the OP will take up photography as a consuming passion. It is more likely that he will enjoy getting good photos but that it will not rule his life. Your solution assumes a need for specialist glass that the OP does not express. That is as logical as recommending an off-road 4WD to a driver who expresses an interest in a VW..
Chris Elliott.
*Nikon* D Eighty + Fifty - Other equipment in Profile.
Http://PlacidoD.Zenfolio.com/..
OK. find a 'normal' prime and not a specialty one that will fit. The lack of top LCD and only 3 focus points are also issues. Sales people call it a "Soccer Mom camera." It is for someone who wants a Nikon and will probably never buy another lens in their life. For someone who is willing to go to this forum, it is safe to assume, they want to pursue this hobby. That puts them beyond this camera..
The K100D and now the K100D special have so much more and are in the same price range...
If the OP likes the D40, there's no point sending him to a K100D ( although I bought one, and I like it ). It must be said you get to use every old ( and new ) Pentax compatible lens and get image stabilization for free. The Nikon has other advantages over the K100D, however, so don't get dissuaded if you like it..
But if you are really worried about lens compatibility for the Nikon then the D50 or D80 are your best bet. They will take older lenses. However the D40 will support newer lenses and these will eventually supplant the older ones, so unless you need something specific quickly don't worry..
StephenG.
Pentax K100DFuji S5200Fuji E900PCLinuxOS..
R Valentino wrote:.
Better still would be the Canon Xti for about the same price as theNikons..
Gene.
You didn't just honestly say that the D40 costs the same as the XTi. Where the heck do you get your prices? The XTi is at least a few hundred more..
And it is getting rather ridiculous how people who don't own or use a D40 comment about it all the time. It has 3 AF points...so what? Focus and recompose if you really have too. It's really not that hard. For soccer moms? Well those "soccer moms" over in the Nikon forum sure do take some nice pictures with it..
The fact is people want to act like it is a bad camera because it is a completely different and people are scared of different. Get this, it takes good pictures without the photographer having to ALWAYS be the smart one. Even if you NEVER touch the manual modes it still selects appropriate settings. A old school photographer may hate this because they only know one way to do things, manually. But thats OK, if you really do want to take control you can. The option is still there for you..
People want to beat the D40 down because it doesn't follow the mold of throwing 10 different buttons on the body of the camera to access features. Instead Nikon took the MUCH harder approach of making a GOOD user interface. It's like a Microsoft, Apple, Linux OS argument..
The fact is the D40 is going to be what the future of Nikon's line will be like. They will slowly phase out old lens support. Same goal as what Canon did, just a different approach. In 5 years there will be 100's of AF lenses. If your buying a camera while looking to the past and to use old lenses that aren't optimized for the new age, then fine. But if your looking at the future then there is NO reason not to get a D40.
If people can't see that the camera's of the future are going to become smaller, lighter, and less complex looking with more refined user interfaces then they are IMO pretty dumb...
Chris Elliott wrote:.
There are now about 25 lenses that will AF on the D40. Nikon hasproduced only AF-S lenses since 2003 and all Sigma HSM lenses willwork. Sigma announced two more lenses just three days ago.
There are over 40 lenses that will autofocus on the D40. Here's a slightly outdated list that doesn't include the two new Sigma lenses you mentioned:http://forums.dpreview.com/...forums/read.asp?forum=1030&message=22402124..