Sony DSC-H50 or Sikon D40

ok my dad is a die-hard Nikon fan he is a professional photographer and has a D300 i think and a 35mm Nikon he told me a good starter camera would be a D40 and i looked it up, it is a nice camera and all but since then i looked up Sony's line and i kinda like the H50 it has a great 9.1 megapixel quality over the 6.2 (mp) on the d40 and i seem to like a lot of the features on the Sony. also wondering if the sony would be a better camera in the long run as well.. you can buy lenses for it and other accessories but i know nikon would be. the price difference in them is about $100 with the Nikon being more.

sorry if this is sort of lenghty just want everyones 2¢ thanks in advance

also i looked at the D40x and the D60 but the cost is a little to high for my taste.

Lets see what and how I can help you...

The Sony isn't as flexible as the Nikon is. In the future, you won't have that array of lenses to choose from like you would with Nikon. Plus, your dad shoots Nikon professionally, so I'm almost sure he can and will have lenses to pass down to you.

The main difference I see if that the D40 is a true Digital Single Lens Reflex whereas the Sony H50 is a "hybrid" SLR. They aren't really the same thing. You won't be able to physically take off the Sony lens and stick something else on.

The greater quality in megapixel is nothing. 6 megapixels v. 9 megapixels is really not a big deal.

At that level, it has nothing to do with quality of the image. It just determines how big you can print, which at 6 megapixels, you can print pretty large pictures. I believe you can easily get a 12x18" print.

In the end, I feel you would be better off getting the Nikon as it will give you more flexibility in the future; furthermore, your dad has his array of equipment that can perhaps land into your hands at one point.

Good luck, and feel free to ask any more questions!

Best,
-AC

I just went through the process of deciding what to purchase as a first time DSLR as well. I 'really' would have loved a D300, but could not do it the first time around.

That being said, this site helped ( http://kenrockwell.com/index.htm ) me the most and I bought a D40, 18-55mm, 55-200mm VR, SB-400, 4gb, ... Taking great pictures....!!!

The only negative I have is the fact that the images are saved as filenames... DSC_0001.jpg, DSC_00002.jpg, ... the same as my last Canon S500. Now I'm searching for a way to bring them over to the mac and change the file names at the same time.