Is this camera any good?

Fifer

energy80s wrote: »

Being used with professional video cameras also means I miss an electronic viewfinder so I know what the shot will look like before I actually press the shutter.

Sounds like you maybe should've gone for something with live view.

Marty_J

energy80s wrote: »

Indeed, it looks as if the autofocus has actually managed to focus on the subject! I rarely get that to happen!! Even with landscape shots the focus won't be exact. In fact the manual states that the AF ALWAYS focuses on the closest object in with the landscape program - how mad is that!!! Oh for the days of split screen manual focusing! Being used with professional video cameras also means I miss an electronic viewfinder so I know what the shot will look like before I actually press the shutter.

Rodney.

I don't think I've ever used any of the scene modes, so I don't really know much about that. I just stick with M, A, S and P. You would probably get much better results using them rather than the scene modes. It does seem strange focusing on the closest subject in landscape view though. In the manual modes, there are several different methods of auto-focusing you can choose from.

I upgraded from a bridge camera which had live view, and I actually prefer using the optical view-finder. Horses for courses I guess!

energy80s

I normally use Programmed Auto and always shoot RAW - so that I can re-expose the shots that the auto-exposure has messed up! I might actually go back to a bridge camera as I have no intention of swapping lenses and need something with a decent 300-400mm zoom.

The problem with live view on SLR's is that it only works on the LCD screen on the back of the camera - which I never use anyway. A decent high resolution EVF is really what I want.

Fifer

Marty_J wrote: »

I upgraded from a bridge camera which had live view, and I actually prefer using the optical view-finder. Horses for courses I guess!

My camera has live view, but I rarely use it. It's proved handy for setting up long exposure night shots, but that's about it so far.

Marty_J

energy80s wrote: »

I normally use Programmed Auto and always shoot RAW - so that I can re-expose the shots that the auto-exposure has messed up! I might actually go back to a bridge camera as I have no intention of swapping lenses and need something with a decent 300-400mm zoom.

I agree that the metering on the D40 isn't the greatest in the world, but why not fix it while taking the shot? It's pretty easy to adjust the exposure compensation to get what you want. I normally have it at -2/3, and I just adjust from there as needed. Since getting my D40 I've stopped shooting in RAW and just shoot in JPEG now. I like the simplicity of getting what I want right out of the camera.

The problem with live view on SLR's is that it only works on the LCD screen on the back of the camera - which I never use anyway. A decent high resolution EVF is really what I want.

My Fuji bridge, while an excellent camera, had an awful low resolution EVF. It wasn't much use for anything other than the basic framing of a shot.

Fifer wrote: »

My camera has live view, but I rarely use it. It's proved handy for setting up long exposure night shots, but that's about it so far.

I haven't missed mine as yet, but I guess it's a nice thing to have if you need it.

energy80s

Marty_J wrote: »

I agree that the metering on the D40 isn't the greatest in the world, but why not fix it while taking the shot? It's pretty easy to adjust the exposure compensation to get what you want. I normally have it at -2/3, and I just adjust from there as needed. Since getting my D40 I've stopped shooting in RAW and just shoot in JPEG now. I like the simplicity of getting what I want right out of the camera.

My Fuji bridge, while an excellent camera, had an awful low resolution EVF. It wasn't much use for anything other than the basic framing of a shot.

I haven't missed mine as yet, but I guess it's a nice thing to have if you need it.

How do you accurately adjust the exposure "in the field" if you can't see it in an optical VF? The little screen on the back of the camera (or indeed any camera) is too poor for decent measurements and it's usually in quite bright light anyway which renders any judgements useless. Most photographers think that the D40 overexposes by about half a stop - but not all the time! At least in RAW you can push and pull the exposure by up to 2 stops, so can at least get back to what you would have liked at the beginning. Also the D40 doesn't bracket. To be honest, the more I write about it here, the more I want to flog the camera as I never want to see or use it again!!!

Marty_J

energy80s wrote: »

How do you accurately adjust the exposure "in the field" if you can't see it in an optical VF? The little screen on the back of the camera (or indeed any camera) is too poor for decent measurements and it's usually in quite bright light anyway which renders any judgements useless.

I just use the LCD screen. I don't really find it to be much of a problem judging exposure on it. If it's really bright out I'll find some shade or shade it with my hand to get a better look. Sometimes I'll manually bracket a shot just to be sure.

Most photographers think that the D40 overexposes by about half a stop - but not all the time! At least in RAW you can push and pull the exposure by up to 2 stops, so can at least get back to what you would have liked at the beginning.

I would definitely agree that the D40 exposes for the shadows, which often leads to over-exposure in the highlights. I never have to go too far from my standard exposure compensation of -2/3 though. I have it set there and then I forget about it most of the time. Looking at the EXIF data from the photo I linked to above, it was set to -2/3.

Also the D40 doesn't bracket.

Bracketing is in my opinion, a holdover from the film days. If you want a range of exposures, it doesn't take a second to change the exposure compensation. The only time I miss it is when making HDR images.

To be honest, the more I write about it here, the more I want to flog the camera as I never want to see or use it again!!!

If I didn't already own one, I'd buy it from you!

energy80s

Anyway, back to the original poster, and I would ask them "Why Do You Want A DSLR?" - unless you are going to buy extra lenses and use manual settings, then an SLR is probably not for you. The two most important parts of a camera are the piece of glass at the front and the eyeball at the back! The bit in-between is only a lightproof box with a shutter.