Nikon Cameras

[Dick Adair]

I was at a Ritz Camera store looking at a Nikon D40 and wanted to buy a telephoto lens instead the 55 mm lens that is standard. The sales rep said they cannot sell one without the 55 mm lens, You need to purchase any other lens in addition. Something about their contract with Nikon. Can you not buy just a D40 body and add any lens you want. I have a very old Maxuum 7000 (27 years old) with a 70-210 lens, and this is basically what I wanted. Is this standard with these cameras. Any advice appreciated. Thank you.

[Anthony Scira]

Amazon is a GREAT place to buy camera gear and they have a D40x body only.

I am a Canon shooter myself.

[Dick Latshaw]

Look at Amazon, but also consider Adorama or B&H Photo. All good places.

[Eric DeSilva]

I'd also look at Craigslist. I've sold Nikon bodies on CL. On a digital, if you get the seller to shoot a frame, you should be able to ascertain from metadata exactly the number of times the camera's shutter has been activated. That and a visual inspection should give you some comfort about buying used.

If you liked a 70-200mm lens, you should also look at the Nikon 18-200mm DX lens. Its not super fast, but respectable at f/3.5-5.6 and the optics are fantastic--much better than some of the narrow range zooms Nikon has. Its also got VR, which can help you out a bit and allow you to shoot slower shutter speeds. With the 1.6 crop factor of a DX lens, the 18-200 on a DX camera would have been like having a 28-320mm lens on your old 35mm film camera. It is like the world's ultimate travel lens...

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Dick,

I bought my wife a D40X last year. She loves it. It is a great camera.

[Bruce Page]

I bought my D40X from Cameta.com
You can get it body only or with any lens you want.

[Ted Shrader]

Dick -

Yes you can buy the body only. Either the sales person was uninformed or Ritz has a really messed up contract.

Take a look at Adorama Camera and Abe's of Maine. I have had good experiences (multiple) with them. As the others have said Amazon has choices available, too.

For reviews see Steve's Digicams. There is good information to get you going oin the right direction.

I have a Nikon D80, my wife wants a D40X so we can share lenses. Seems like a reasonable deal as long as she gets a lens I can use.

Good luck,
Ted

[Scott Vantine]

As a camera buff, I had looked closely at the D40/D40X! One of the biggest issues that I have against this camera is the lack of interchangeable lens that will fit it. They designed this camera as a cheaper DSLR aimed at family's for persons that need a bit more than Point And Shoot capacities in a DSLR without the cost!! I can't tell you if the lens that you are looking for will fit this camera but make sure you find one for the D40 sized Nikon DSLR!

[David G Baker]

I was going to buy the Nikon D80 but now am looking at the D90 because of its ability to shoot video (approximately 25 minutes depending on the memory card) and it has a few extras that the D80 doesn't have. I keep saving money for the Nikon but things keep coming up that we need the money for. I am going to get the 50mm and 18-200mm DX lenses plus a few other accessories. Probably going to set me back just under $2000. I did a lot of research and found out that my 35mm film Nikon F camera lenses are not compatible with the newer digital cameras.
If a person needed a digital camera that will do quite a bit of things that a DSLR will do check out the Kodak Z980. It has 24X optical zoom lens made by Schneider and 5x digital. It can be purchased for under $400 but I would do a lot of research on it to make sure it will do what you want. Walmart in my area carries the camera if you want to touch and look.
I researched the D40X and found it to be fine for most general photography but I wanted a few more bells and whistles but there is a big $ trade off. Scott V is right about checking any lens you purchase to see if it is D40/D40X compatible. Some will fit but the auto functions may not work on them.

[William Payer]

Nikon bodies are available from many dealers. I would think that Ritz buys their Nikon"s as a body/lens package, and they don't want to split up the package and have a bunch of extra normal lenses to deal with.
I bought my D40 a while ago from Berger Camera on the net.

[Jim Becker]

For the D40, which is Nikons base DSLR, Ritz only carries it with the kit lens for $449. Same goes for the D60. Only the D90 and some higher end Nikons are available from them as body only. Why? Because most consumers buying a DSLR, especially the lower end models, buy the kits. Stocking inventory these days has to be done with care. If you do want a D40 body only, as folks pointed out, there are other retailers that can help you. I will say, however, that Ritz has always taken good care of me when I've purchased from them.

[Norm Koerner]

Best source of information regarding the evaluation of cameras is dpreview.com (Digital Preview).

[Colin Giersberg]

I was going to buy the Nikon D80 but now am looking at the D90 because of its ability to shoot video (approximately 25 minutes depending on the memory card) and it has a few extras that the D80 doesn't have. I keep saving money for the Nikon but things keep coming up that we need the money for. I am going to get the 50mm and 18-200mm DX lenses plus a few other accessories. Probably going to set me back just under $2000. I did a lot of research and found out that my 35mm film Nikon F camera lenses are not compatible with the newer digital cameras.

David, the lenses should be compatible with the newer Nikon Dslr's, specifically the D300 and up, but I would think that the older cameras should be compatible also. If the bayonet mount is the same on the lenses as it is on the camera, then the lenses should fit. The only thing that wont work would be the autofocus.
I have the D300, and it has a menu that you can go in and program for an older, non-autofocus lens. It allows you to enter some basic information about the lens and store those values. The D300 allows you to enter up to 10 different lenses if I am not mistaken, and store the values. When you attach one of the lenses, you go into the menu and select the number setting for that lens, and the camera will do everything else, except focus. I trust the D700, D3 and D3X will do the same.
The only catch to this I see is the cost of these cameras. There are rumors that Nikon will be coming out with a D400, which will replace the D300. If this is the case, then you may be able to get one for a substantial discount. On one forum, the D200 was on sale at Best Buy for around 600 or 700 dollars. This is the camera that the D300 replaced. In fact, if the price does drop like that, then I will buy another 300 in a heartbeat. I am in awe of all of the settings available to you.

Regards, Colin

[Colin Giersberg]

Check out FM Forums, Nikon Cafe, and Planet Nikon for information on the camera that you are interested in, also.

Regards, Colin

[Eric DeSilva]

Depending upon the vintage of the old lenses, it may be more than AF that doesn't work--the lenses may have manual aperture control and may not work in auto modes.

I went from a Nikon film cameras to a D100->D200->F5->D80->D700. My wife is a photographer, so its not as bad as it sounds--the D80 was a second shooter (although, I think the only ones we've gotten rid of have been the D100 and D80). The one thing I would think about is non-DX lenses. Aside from the 18-200mm DX lens, I would seriously try to buy normal 35mm framed lenses. After dealing with both the DX and FX size CCDs, its clear to me that eventually--if you are really serious--you will end upwith a full frame camera based on high ISO performance. Since you can use normal 35mm lenses on a DX camera, but you have to shoot in DX crop mode to use DX lenses on an FX (or analog) camera, bite the bullet and stay away from DX lenses...