New to DSLR's.. Nikon D40X?

I'm currently using a compact point and shoot camera, but i like the idea of the quick picture taking speed, Higher picture quality and general Nicer feel of the DSLR's.

I have been looking at some of the lower basic level DSLR cameras and have come across This Nikon D40x

Would this camera be well suited to me as a beginner with SLR's? are there any other or better camera's you could recommend me?

firstly, there will be those who say they prefer canon products, and those who prefer nikon products. you have to make that decision which youd rather be working with. go to a local camera shop and get a feel for both first hand.

i prefer canon products, and own a Canon Rebel XTi, which seems to be the comparable model of the D40x. they look priced about the same, offer many of the same specs, etc so its really what you are looking for. something you may want to consider for down the road is availability of aftermarket lenses. i know i can get canon lenses at any camera shop just about, best buy, circuit city, etc. i dont own a nikon camera, but i see aftermarket lenses in most of those places as well. anyone with a D40x?

One thing im a little concerned with is that it does not seem that the Nikon D40x has antishake or an auto lens cleaner feature like some camera's do. Is this true and will this cause me any problems? Does your canon equivalent have these features?

tobywuk said:

One thing im a little concerned with is that it does not seem that the Nikon D40x has antishake or an auto lens cleaner feature like some camera's do. Is this true and will this cause me any problems? Does your canon equivalent have these features?

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No, and it's not a big deal. The self lens cleaner just "vibrates" the sensor at a high rate of speed to clean it. Buy a $10 rocket blower from B&H and you have a much powerful dust removal tool.

Also, IS(image stabilization) in camera isn't necessarily a big deal. IS is less effective on shorter focal range lenses, so having a short kit lens that's 18-55mm won't make as big a difference as say, one of those huge 400mm lenses.

It's personal preference really. If you must have in camera IS, you should take a look at Pentax.

I don't have any problems with most of Nikon's cameras, but I'm not a fan of the D40's. They don't have an in camera AF motor like the rest of Nikon's line and will only have the ability to AF with lenses that have an AF motor. This won't be a problem if these are the only lenses you're using, but it may limit you if you want to choose a certain lens that doesn't have the AF motor.

Also, anyone that says AF isn't important is off in my opinion. Unless you're shooting narrower aperture photos of objects that never move, the AF may not be important, but a lot of photographers don't shoot those kind of photos.