Review : Nikon D40 6.1MP Digital SLR Camera Kit with 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor Lens

Price : $661.65 with Free Super Saver Shipping

"The Nikon D40 is a quite capable Digital SLR, that should deliver good picture quality, in a compact and affordable camera. It has all the basic features you'd expect (listed quite well by the staff at Amazon), so let me go into comparisons with other cameras. First and foremost, the D40 lacks the focusing motor built into the body of the camera (like all previous Nikon DSLRs). Instead, it must have a motor built into the lens (Nikon calls these type "Silent Wave" or AF-S), otherwise, you lose autofocusing. While Nikon offers several AF-S lenses, they offer only a handful under $1,000. Additionally, the D40 will only be available in the US with the 18-55 kit, and most the other lenses under $1,000 over lap very much with this lens. Tamron and Tokina currently offer NO lenses with the motor built-in for Nikon cameras, and Sigma only offers a very few. If you want a zoom going to 300mm any time soon, be prepared to shell out about $600 for Nikon's new 70-300VR lens if you require autofocus. It promises to be a very nice lens, but you can get a basic Canon or Sony 75-300 for a bit over $200. Thus, if your considering the D40 because you have a bag full of Nikon AF lenses, then you might instead look at the soon to be disappearing D50. Compared to other Nikon DSLRs, the D40 is much smaller, very similar to the Canon Digital Rebel XTi. While this results in a smaller, lighter camera, it also means it will have some of the same drawbacks that many Nikon owners have teased Rebel owners. The camera will have a smaller grip; a smaller, less powerful battery; will lose the top info LCD and use the rear 2.5" screen instead; and, the feature Nikon users typically point to when they refer to "ergonomics" is the viewfinder. While the D80 has a .94x viewfinder, the D40 matches the smaller .80x of the XTi. The autofocusing points will also drop to 3, with 5 being the previous low on a Nikon DSLR. The D40 will do very well, especially since Canon & Sony aren't currently offering a lower cost, 6 megapixel camera. The directly comparable camera would be Pentax's K110D, which retails for about $550 with lens and after rebate. It uses the same 6 megapixel sensor supplies by Sony as the D40. A bit heavier, is uses 4 AA batteries instead of the LithiumIon. I prefer the latter, but there are many fans of the inexpensive AA NiMH rechargables. The viewfinder is also larger, and has a very nice 11 point AF system. Pentax also offers the more popular K100D, which is the same as the K110D, but with SR ("Shake Reduction") built into the camera body. This retails, after rebate, for about $50 more than the D40."

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Review : Nikon D80 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera Kit with 18-55mm ED II AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor Lens

Price : $869.88 with Free Super Saver Shipping

"So far, so good, but if you use a UV filter you will find that shots taken in low light or those involving prolonged shutter exposure will cause light to reflect off of the lenses. If it was possible for me to attach an example to this review I would attach about 100 pics I shot within the past 2 weeks. Other than that this camera is easy and fun to learn. The only drawback to camera operation is that sometimes the autofocus does not know what to lock onto if there is too much sky or solid color in the picture, which will prevent the camera from taking the picture unless you switch it to manual operation."

"i bought this camera for my girlfriend and she loves it. she is a bit of amateur photographer with a great eye and this camera is very user friendly that takes beautiful pictures. it is user friendly enough for the beginner yet has enough features to allow you to grow with it to professional. she loves it. "

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Review : Canon EOS 30D 8.2MP Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM

Price : $1,299.00 with free super saver shipping

"This camera offers a few well considered improvements over the 20D it replaces. The sensor and processor are the same so the image quality will not differ one iota, BUT an enlarged LCD monitor, spot metering, vastly improved shutter life and ISO displayed on the viewfinder are worthy improvements easily justifying the upgrade from the 20D. If one is considering an upgrade from the 10D my advice would be to definitely go for it. The 20D and 30D both have the "instant on" feature and this represents a vast improvement over the 10D. The 10D was felt by many to have focusing issues and though I did not have any significant problem with my 10D in that regard the 30D represents a substantial improvement in this area. Canon still is not offering (in this price range) a camera with eye control or 45 focusing points, BUT the nine focusing points that ARE offered are well placed and the camera focuses quickly and surely resulting in tack sharp photos. The pictures this camera takes are simply beyond belief. Beautifully saturated, tack sharp, NO, and I mean NO noise at 400 or below and barely discernible noise all the way up to 1600 ISO. For all practical purposes 1600 ISO is an entirely usable speed resulting in fantastic pictures. What Canon has accomplished in reducing noise and increasing pixel density proves that they are, for now, the technology leader. Canon for now is doing a better job at controlling noise than Nikon though Nikon with the D200 comes pretty darn close except at 800 ISO and above. The new flash system, ETTL II, available first on the 20D is a vast improvement over previous systems. The in camera processing results in exceptional and pleasing pictures. This camera has a fixed continuous shooting rate which was not present on the 20D. The megapixels stay constant at 8.2 million pixels. Many may be disappointed that the MP count was not increased and feel that perhaps a nominal increase to 10MP would have better justified an upgrade. Canon obviously feels that noise and other features are more important at this point than raw MP's and I would agree. The holy grail of digital photography is now dynamic range. And while this camera offers no improvement in dynamic range I think we can expect to see such improvements in future offerings from Canon and the other manufacturers. One of the greatest things about digital photography is the ability to build a digital dark room for next to nothing. With the included Photoshop Elements you are well on your way to producing pictures that you could only have imagined in the pre-digital days. I am able to recoup pictures that I never would have considered salvageable before this camera. And while Elements is a great program and more than adequate for most needs I would recommend considering Photoshop CS2 for those who intend to plumb the depths of this hobby. Another thing I like about Canon is the lens system which IMO is second to none. Also, Canon continues to innovate at a furious pace driving the price of these digital cameras relentlessly downward. This camera is being introduced at a lower price than either the 10D or the 20D. The 5D is plummeting in price and is approaching my "strike point" for purchase. I expect that we will see a sub $2000 10 MP camera with a full frame sensor in the next 18 months. Such are the economics of digital photography. It would seem that Moore's law is driving the prices down inexorably"

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