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Nikon D40x vs. D60

acejones

New member
I have an opportunity to buy a brand new Nikon D40x for $350. This is a U.S. market camera with warrenty, etc. I've been looking at a D60 which is $749. Is there enough difference in the two cameras to justify the additional $ for the D60.
I've been away from SLR's for a long time and haven't kept up.
 
Wow, that's a pretty hard question since it really depends on You more than anything anyone else may say. What is that You want/are looking for? What features are important to You?

Is the one worth twice the other?

Looking at the Nikon site and doing a quick compare...

the D40x is small and light, big plus for riding with gear, its 10 m, good slection of lens, pretty fast start up and multi-shot speeds

the D60 is bigger, but comes with a VR kit lens, has dust off feature and airflow control to help prevent dust build-up, which can be a bonus when changing lens lots and riding a bike, (though its really very easy to clean the sensor and the glass plate protecting it is pretty hard).
D60 is faster start up and more responsive/faster shutter.

Both have the same size sensor it seems, same resolution too.

So is one worth twice the other to you? look at the features and decide. If it was me and just getting back into SLR work, I'd probably go with the D40x and sink my additional funds as they come into good lenes, filters, a good flash and tripod. With those you will have a very versatile system. Go the other route and all you have is a camera and maybe one other good lens. So again what do you want to do? Just shoot with the basic camera or go for more?

Its all a very subjective and person thing, but that's my take. I'm sure Tom and others will put is some good points to consider as well. Either way you go, make sure to share some of your shots with us!

RM
 
I would check out dpreview.com for a side-by-side comparison of these two models.

In fact, I did. Here it is.

Also, here are the conclusions of an in-depth review of the D60.

And finally, here are the conclusions of an in-depth review of the D40X.

In addition to features, you might also consider less tangible factors like processing speed, speed of startup, etc. It appears to me that the D60 may be self-cleaning (a HUGE plus) and have a faster processor like the D3 and D300. You should double check those findings. Like computers, newer is often (though not always) better. Value is a subjective concern that only you can decide. It's a pretty hefty price difference.

I recently purchased a new camera, and the processing speed and self-cleaning features are worth their weight in gold. YMMV.
 
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I just bought a Nikon D40.

Whats this "self cleaning" thing you guys are talking about? Does the D40 have it? If not do I have to learn how to Clean something?

thanks,
jason
 
Go for the D60 the added features are well worth the money. I've got a D 70s and enjoy the heck out of it, and saved a few bucks in the process.

You get good quality of photos. It's rugged, and has great features.

I've had a number of Nikons and love them.

I learned to rollerblade in Venice Beach with my son, and fell on my b--- with a smaller Nikon in my back pocket with no damage (to the camera). That's quality. That same camera went on a number of bike trips taking great photos before being eaten by Kansas.

But if you do go with another camera, I recommend Olympus.



Easy :german
 
Couple of points

First the $350 price for the D40X sounds too good to be true. There are a lot of scam bait and switch camera internet stores. When something is over $100 less than reputable dealers beware!
Second be aware that both of these cameras while excellent only support autofocus on lenses that have their own drive motors. There are plenty of them out there, but make sure before you buy you know which ones and how much. The D80 for example can drive other lenses to autofocus without a motor. See the www.dpreview.com articles noted above to see it in writing. I'm sure either one will do you well.
Good luck.
 
I am well aware of the scams. This store is a general salvage business that has been in business over 25 years. They have about 12-15 stores and buy from insurance companies. Often they will buy inventory from fires, etc. They carry everything from electronics,sporting goods, furniture, to you name it. The merchandise that goes on the floor is perfect. They usually get it at 10-25 cents on the dollar. I've seen everything in there including Armani suits.
 
Sorry for this hijack.

Whats this "self cleaning" thing you guys are talking about? Does the D40 have it? If not do I have to learn how to Clean something?

IN some of the newer cameras, the imaging sensor is self-cleaning and/or self-correcting. Your sensor is a charge-coupled device; as such, it draws dust to its surface. This dust can be (though often is not) visible in your images. This typically happens at smaller apertures against plain backgrounds like skies or walls. You can fix this with Photoshop (or similar program) in the resulting image. In many images the dust is present but not visible.

At minimum, you need to blow the dust from your sensor periodically. This is best done with a rubber squeeze blower. I used compressed air in a can, but you've got to be very gentle and very careful.

The self cleaning sensor micro-vibrates the sensor every time you power the camera on or off. It's remarkably good at keeping dust at bay. I think my camera also has software the reads where dust is and attempts to address it in processing.

From Canon's 40D White Paper:

"The EOS 40D incorporates the highly practical EOS Integrated Cleaning System to help prevent dust generation and adhesion of dust to the low-pass filter. . . . . The self-cleaning operation can be executed automatically during power on/off, with an operation time of approximately 1 sec., or manually with an operation time of approximately 3.5 sec. Dust Delete Data is acquired when the coordinates of dust adhering to the low-pass filter are detected by a test shot and appended to subsequent images. The dust coordinate data appended to the image is used by the provided software DPP to erase dust spots automatically. Dust removal performance and Dust Delete Data specifications are the same as those of the EOS-1D Mark III."

Often they will buy inventory from fires, etc.

I'd be really cautious about buying a piece of sophisticated electronic-mechanical equipment that may have been exposed to smoke. Many used buyers even show concern about owners who smoke or own pets. Sounds like you know and trust these folks. Caveat emptor is all I'm saying.

Good luck, and as Rocketman said, let's see some pictures.
 
Sorry for this hijack.



IN some of the newer cameras, the imaging sensor is self-cleaning and/or self-correcting. Your sensor is a charge-coupled device; as such, it draws dust to its surface. This dust can be (though often is not) visible in your images. This typically happens at smaller apertures against plain backgrounds like skies or walls. You can fix this with Photoshop (or similar program) in the resulting image. In many images the dust is present but not visible.

At minimum, you need to blow the dust from your sensor periodically. This is best done with a rubber squeeze blower. I used compressed air in a can, but you've got to be very gentle and very careful.

The self cleaning sensor micro-vibrates the sensor every time you power the camera on or off. It's remarkably good at keeping dust at bay. I think my camera also has software the reads where dust is and attempts to address it in processing.

From Canon's 40D White Paper:

"The EOS 40D incorporates the highly practical EOS Integrated Cleaning System to help prevent dust generation and adhesion of dust to the low-pass filter. . . . . The self-cleaning operation can be executed automatically during power on/off, with an operation time of approximately 1 sec., or manually with an operation time of approximately 3.5 sec. Dust Delete Data is acquired when the coordinates of dust adhering to the low-pass filter are detected by a test shot and appended to subsequent images. The dust coordinate data appended to the image is used by the provided software DPP to erase dust spots automatically. Dust removal performance and Dust Delete Data specifications are the same as those of the EOS-1D Mark III."



I'd be really cautious about buying a piece of sophisticated electronic-mechanical equipment that may have been exposed to smoke. Many used buyers even show concern about owners who smoke or own pets. Sounds like you know and trust these folks. Caveat emptor is all I'm saying.

Good luck, and as Rocketman said, let's see some pictures.

Not sure about the D40x but both my D70 and D80 had/have a "dust referance" feature to digitally remove dust spots from the image. Cleaning the sensor is really not that hard, now that I've done it several times it usually only takes a few minutes. Main thing is to make sure the mirror is locked, most cameras from what I've read will not lock the mirror if the battery does not have a good charge (you don't want the mirror slamming down on the tool while you are cleaning). while many sites warn about scratching the sensor, the glass in front of it is actually rather hard, treat it like you would a lens and you'll be fine. the other thing to be conserned about is "where" you clean it (as in not where more dust can get in) and that you don't use something that will cause static build-up or it will just pick up more dust. Plenty of good kits available for doing this.

RM
 
One more thought...

You might want to contact Nikon and ask them if they will honur the warrenty, just because the store says it comes with a full warrenty it might be that Nikon will not honor it if the camera was from a stock that may have been in a fire, etc. Tell them where and under what circumstances you are planning on buying it. Companys can be "funny" about things like that.

RM
 
In my limited experience with the D40X, I know that Ken Rockwell thinks the world of this camera. However, I have a couple of friends with this camera and when we go out shooting, many of my lenses will not work on their cameras. My 400mm 2.8 Nikon and 300 mm 2.8 Tokina will not even work on manual focus. The only zoom lens that works is the 70-200 VR Nikon.I know there is an issue with internal VS external motor in the lenses.The D40 line do not have a motor to focus a lens, so if the lens does not have a motor built in, you must manual focus. Which could be fine for many. I would like to see the D60 fully compatible with every Nikon lens like my D300 or Fuji S5. If the pixel and noise quality of the D60 is similar to the D300, then this camera is a winner.
 
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