Good Day OPF

Hello all. I'm glad I can introduce myself here, it looks to be a very respectable place! Well let me start off by saying I've been an amateur photographer for 2 years now, but have gotten into much more of it this year. I use a Digi-Shot DS6200 camera by Oregon Scientific so my total 'image spectrum' I'm able to take is a quite limited. Oh well. Anyway, glad to be here!

Alex Furbush said:

Hello all. I'm glad I can introduce myself here, it looks to be a very respectable place!

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Hi Alex,

Welcome at OPF. As you've probably noticed, there's a lot of info for all sorts of levels of experience here. Your modest camera, a compact P/S with a viewfinder and flash, looks like a fun camera to use. It's a much more sophisticated camera than my first one, a plastic contraption with roll film, a fixed shutterspeed an 2 apertures (sunny/cloudy). It had a plastic single lens with manual focus. I have upgraded since ...

When the photobug bites, and budget permits, you may aspire to upgrade. You'll find lots of helpful people here if you need advice.

Enjoy,
Bart

Hi! Thanks for the welcome. Wow when you described yours I was in shock about the plastic lens and stuff, it really sounds like a disposable camera! Soon I will be ordering a Nikon D40 so I should be all good for upgrading

If you are going Nikon and that's excellent, BTW, then the D90 will be out shortly, although I don't know the price difference! do you already have lenses? If not, you may do well with the Canon G9 which is a very capable digicam and no lenses to have to schlepp around.

Asher

Welcome to the forum Alex. You will not find a nicer, more talented, helpful, and experienced group of photography lovers anywhere.

I started out with the Nikon D40 myself. It is an excellent starter camera and gives great results, especially at the price it sells for now. If I were to do it all over again however I would go a step up from the D40 as Asher mentioned. The D40 does not have its own auto focus motor drive. That means that for auto focus lenses you will be forced to purchase the AF-S lenses that have the focus motor built in. Nothing wrong with that but the AF-S lenses are just more expensive than non-AF-S lenses. There are a lot of older Nikon lenses out there that are wonderful and less expensive that you could put to better use on a higher model than the D40. You can use these lenses on the D40 but you will have to manually focus everything that is not an AF-S lens. The D40 also does not have the exposure bracketing capability or a mirror up function, both of which I found myself wanting soon after getting started with my D40. Just a little more food for thought.

Hehe now I'm thinking I should get something better..ah but that's impossible at the time. And probably for any time from now haha (I'm only getting the D40 because of the price) and since I'm only 16 I can not even afford this with my own money. BUT! In the years to come I will remember all of these, and also take note of future models that will come out for when I upgrade from D40. Right now I can't wait to get it on Friday, I'm *very* excited and hope I have as much fun with is as I think I will.

If money weren't an issue I'd buy...say...a D50 or D60 in a heartbeat, but as this is my first DSLR - second digital camera I think a D40 will suffice. It'll have to XD But thanks for the helpful advice guys!