Want to upgrade from my D40...what should i get?

[Shutree]

I am an amateur looking to sharpen my technical skills and still need a lot of practice but if i wanted to upgrade from my nikon D40...what would you recommend? I do mainly children and family photography. The Nikon D40 is great but I just wonder what other sophisticated things am I missing out on with the other cameras like higher ISO etc...I got an offer for a used D200 for $525...what do you think about the D200? What else would you recommend? Thanks!

[afterimage]

A D40 really is all you need. A D200 does the same thing, just faster, it is a superb camera you're just better learning on the simpler D40. Try getting some diffferent glass like 35mm f/1.8 which is made for the D40 (i'll be getting one on monday)

[Jeff Perry]

AfterImage, the D40 does in fact have its limitations, and an upgrade to something like a D200 would be a big step.I would recommend you look into the D90 as an alternative. It has superb High ISO noise handling, and probably all the bells and whistles you could ask for (including video). A used D90 in excellent condition will probably cost $750 -800, but it is a superb camera, and well worth the price.

In the end, you need to upgrade within your budget, and the D200 is a fine camera. Performance wise, it is is "older" technology, and the condition of the camera should be considered carefully.

Jeff

[km6xz]

I agree that the D90 is probably better than a D200 for most casual shooters and with more flexibility but I also agree that the D40 is not a major limitation. sure the low light performance is not as good but that only allows opportunities to practice good technique.
If you have the money burning a hole in your pocket, get a D90 and a fast lens(maybe the cheap but very effective 50mm f/1.8 ) If you got the D90 with its most popular kit lens, the 18-105VR, those two lenses would be all you needed for a long time.
If you are concerned about the cost, stick with the D40 and practice, it is very capable of fine images.

[verdesardog]

I've been taking photos for 40 some years and I find my D40 is just fine. It may not have all the bells and whistles that some of the "pro" cameras have but it has everything you need for awsome photos. The one drawback it has is the lack of internal focus motor so you ar limited somewhat in the lens department. However there are some extremely nice AFS lenses available.

Before I went digital I had used Canon pro bodies, I don't fine the D40 limiting my creativity at all. If you have money burning a hole in your pocket invest in lenses...

[Dirk]

A D3000 perhaps , the successor of the D60 , but with more flexibilty or a used D70 / D80 the latter are prefered by me because they do not offer video built in ..

the bad thing about the D40 that you need AF-S lenses to focus automatically ..but so you do with a D3000 witrh A D50/D70 / D80 you have onboard Af motoru int he body so you are more flexible with lense choices

on problem of the d200 above a d80 is that the d80 has better noise handeling ,, the d200 is more a proefessional model so there are no dummy scene modes or auto modes , that is something to consider because if you are not a pro yet perhaps a d200 will be to big of a step.

[afterimage]

The point i was making. Is that a different body will not help you improve your skills the D40 has all the manual controls needed.

Turn the D40 off from AUTO to M, A, S or P and just play with it. Take a shot, look at it on the LCD, if it's too light or too dark just change Exposure Compensation and try again. Easy

The drawback with a D40 is it ONLY autofocuses with the latest AF-S lenses, and also the the older, professional, AF-I lenses.

A very helpful user gide for D40 :

Nikon D40 User's Guide