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Upgrade D40?

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8 replies to this topic

#1
bobthebuilder

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Greetings one and all,

 

Not sure where to post this as it's not related to a specific camera model but more of an open ended question.

 

I have been using a refurbished D40 for around 10 years now and am very happy with it. It is however a 12 year old, discontinued model and perhaps I should start considering an upgrade but what will a newer, more expensive camera actually give me? What features and improvements should I be looking at? Would I be better off upgrading my lenses instead?

 

I'm only a hobby photographer who now spends most of my time photographing my family.

 

Thanks,

Bob



#2
morticiaskeeper

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I upgraded my D40 for a D80. Last year I upgraded the D80 for a D7000, after the D80 went swimming :-)

Moving up to a semi pro body will be the biggest step. Having two control wheels makes a big difference, as does auto bracketing. The biggest improvement I found was the CLS flash system for indoor work. Controlling two remote flash heads, making brightness adjustments from the back of the camera, makes things so much easier.

You will notice an improvement in the sensors these day. The lowlight capability is much improved. Continuous shutter and focus speeds are a lot better than the D40. More metering points may be of help to you, but I tend to manually meter these days!

#3
Merco_61

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If you stay with the D3xxx series, you will only get the better dynamic range and signal to noise ratio of the modern sensors. If you take the small step up to a D5xxx, you will get some extra capabilities, but still with the crippled F-mount that was introduced in the D40 and the pentamirror finder. The real step up is when moving up to the D7xxx, where you get a much less menu-driven interface, two control wheels, much better compatibility with older lenses and the much better pentaprism viewfinder.

 

It might be possible to pick up a NOS or lightly used D7100 *very* cheap for the performance it gives now that the D7200 is so cheap new. The only big difference between these two is the better buffer of the D7200, the other improvements are very small.



#4
Gobae

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My upgrade path was very similar to Morticia's Keeper.

 

I started with a D40X -> D90 -> D7200. I still use my D90 as a second body and would totally recommend it as a D40 upgrade. For me the biggest advantages (over my D40X) were the additional focus points, frames per second, higher ISO and internal focus motor so I could seamlessly use legacy glass from my wife's N6006 film camera.

 

That said, make a list of where you've outgrown your D40. You may find a newer generation D3XXX, D5XXX, D7XXX would be better than a D90 since that camera was discontinued in 2011.



#5
Merco_61

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One thing to remember is that the 12 MP sensor won't give as nice skin tones SOOC as the 6 MP did or the 24 MP does without customized picture controls. They are ok, but not quite as good. The D80 was better in that respect.



#6
bobthebuilder

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Thank you for the replies, gives me a lot of things to think about.

 

I see a certified refurbished D7100 can be picked up for $650.

 

the crippled F-mount that was introduced in the D40 and the pentamirror finder. 

 

@Merco_61, excuse my ignorance, but what do you mean by "the crippled F-mount"?

 

Thanks again!



#7
Merco_61

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Beginning with the D40, the lens mount in the entry-level bodies no longer have a focus motor built-in. This means that AF will only work with AF-S and AF-i lenses but not with the earlier AF lenses. This means that some of Nikon's best primes can only be used with manual focus, which is why it is seen as crippled by us who have lots of older lenses. Even the D7500 is slightly crippled as it won't meter with manual focus lenses. A full-spec. F-mount such as the one in the D7000, D7100 and D7200 will mount, meter and focus with all autofocus lenses except the rare F3AF lenses and will mount and meter with almost all lenses and accessories since 1977.



#8
bobthebuilder

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Extremely helpful, thanks!

 

You might remember you helped me out here with a lens i inherited. So that lens would auto focus with a D7100 and D7200.

 

[edit] I see you actually said on the original thread that it may work with the D7xxx



#9
Merco_61

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It should work, but one never knows with older Sigmas as some early models need a new chip to work on today's bodies and the recall window is long gone. If they were done then, they work. There are some lenses of that vintage that work anyway, so you will have to try the combination and hope for the best. The lens doesn't hurt the camera in any way even if they aren't compatible, so it is just a matter of trying.







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