Welcome to the forum!

Post up your question in the "What to buy" section, it'll probably give you the chance to get a better response.

-K

*ETA* now that I think about it, I will put this over in What to Buy to give you a head start

Welcome! Best places to check online are BH and Adorama. Amazon is good too, but some deals really arnt as good as they seem. If you dont NEED the lens, or dont think youll use it, Dont get it. Start with the kit and see how you like it. Then when you find your niche, use the saved $$ towards a lens you will use.

Welcome to NSOP!

Originally Posted by russd32

Thanks!



Yeah, I've gotten the feeling that it's best to stick to the reputable places such as the ones you listed. I don't think I really NEED that lens but ~$100 for a $200+ lens is a really good deal. I guess it's a really bad deal if you don't use it. Is there anywhere online that gives a synopsis of most popular uses for each lens? (ie. 50mm = photos as they appear through the eye, 18-55mm=halfway macro'ish to ?????) <---those could be, and probably are totally wrong. I'll google the string thing, maybe that'll help.



Thank You!

Popular uses shouldnt be a deciding point, because they only one using the camera/ lens is you. You may hate long zooms and prefer UWAs like some members here, I personally am most comfy in the 40-70mm range... It really depends on you. I think the primary focus for now should be learning the camera and basics of photography. As you shoot more youll lean in the direction that suits you best. Sure its cheaper to get the lens now that wait, but you may never use/ need that lens and that $100 you saved, turns into $100s you lost. I dont know much about the Nikon glass as im a Canon user, but entry glass is pretty much the same accross the board.

the 50mm focal range is supposed to be the equivilant to the human viewpoint, However on the D40 you also have a cropped sensor of 1.5x I believe. That means on a 50mm Lens, your seeing 75mm. The focal lengths are based off a standard 35mm sensor/ piece of film. Cropped sensors are not inferior or worse in any way and can be advantageous. Its just something to keep in your mind.

:cough: k100ds :cough:

maybe i missed it but what made you decide on the 55-200mm as a opposed to a prime or narrower focal range macro? what type of shooting do you want to do?

oh and here's the best deal online:

http://www.buydig.com/shop/product.aspx?sku=NKD40KT2

well, 18-200mm is a pretty wide range that you'd have covered.

I'd buy the body and a decent used lens

Originally Posted by russd32

I'm assuming that's a lot? I think I'll stick with the kit lens until I get a half assed idea of what I'm doing.

yeah, the kit lens is fine but passing up the deal i posted might cause some regrets down the road (ie-when you decide you NEED more range)

Originally Posted by emsmap

Wow thats a great price!!

Do you really get all that with it!!

yep, it's the best deal on the interwebs right now. i've ordered from those guys too, they're really good.

Originally Posted by emsmap

What all do you get with that deal?

Nikon D40 Digital SLR Kit, 18-55 and 55-200mm Lenses, 2 DVDs and Free 1GB Memory Card

Originally Posted by russd32

OK, this is probably going to sound uber-schizo but I decided to go with a Canon afterall. When I reading up on both of them I was swayed towards the Nikon for a few reasons but after more research none of them seem like a big deal. As for ergonomics, the only thing I liked better on the D40 was the fact that it has a bigger screen than the XT's dual screenage. After more reading and comparing, that didn't seem as much of a factor. Anyway, I've got an XT coming so I hope I like it. I'm sure I will as I've heard nothing but good from both of them.

I got a pretty good deal too, Amazon does the same package deal with the XT as they do the D40. If you buy the kit you get a free UV filter, free neckstrap, and a bag for $6.xx with free shipping. I think it ended up being about $465 for the whole deal. Then I found a place on Amazon that has Sandisk Ultra II 2gb CF cards with bulk packaging for $24 after shipping so I got one of those.

nice dude, doesn't sound like too bad of a deal! you'll love the control of the camera.

Grats on your purchase! You wont be dissapointed, the XT is a great camera!

^ they have to be on the same receipt D.

Originally Posted by subimatt

^ they have to be on the same receipt D.

huh?

^ he edited his post... he put up a link for the Canon rebates, but it only works if you buy a specific printer with the camera.. Both have to be on the same receipt so it wouldnt help.

^ dude, I have no idea what your avatar is!

Originally Posted by subimatt

^ dude, I have no idea what your avatar is!

you better be ****ing kidding me.

is it a little angel person?

it's the tacobell dog

i'm going to kill both of you guys.

it's gizmo!

OMG! I havnt seen that movie in forever!