So i come home from work today and my girlfriend gave me an early birthday gift....a nikon D40 WOOOT

so now it's your jobs to help me use it lol what are the good nicon forums and newb write ups on using one?

 

Take nude pics of her

 

LOL.....yeah, then we'll see how cool she really is when you ask to take the pictures. LOL

Happy Birthday

 

Nice dude!

 

no ****! lol

 

I need a girlfriend.

lol

 

that's a want.

 

WTF man, where do you guys find these sugar momma's? I've been with my fiance' for over 5 ******* years and I don't think she'd ever fork out that kind of $$ on a birthday present.. lmao

 

dont feel bad dude...normally the ones that put out in the gift giving arena, dont put out otherwise...and that works the other way around.. so u r lucky holmes!!

 

Oh, I know all about that part...

But I wouldn't mind a D40 too. ROTF!

 

Happy Birthday!

That girl right there is a keeper.

 

happy bday... lol...but due, f'real she WANTS you to take nude pics of her

 

www.nikoncafe.com

Grats on getting a new camera!

 

no she puts out in all way shapes and forms

 

Congrats man!

Definatly check out NikonCafe.com. Switch, King, myself, post there, Mixedbreed(GoneDigital) if you remember him.

This is a writeup by Ken Rockwell, it is very well done and will explain a LOT of things about this camera, i reccommend taking his advice on adjusting to -.07 on the exposre with this camera. Ken is somewhat controvercial but his D40 users guide is as good as a users guide as you will fine.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d40...uide/index.htm


Not sure how much you know about Aperature, Shutter Speed, and ISO,. but once you figure those out your shooting will see great leaps of improvement!

Ill send you an invite to the mustangboards photographer social group.

 

i know nothing about photography but hopefully will learn

 

when considering aperature, iso, and shutter speed it seems confusing at first but it is not that bad.

ISO - How fast the sensor collects light. The lower the number the faster.

Shutter speed - obviously the speed that the shutter pops off. The d40 can pul a 1/4000th shutter speed

Aperature - The size of the opening in the lens. The lower the number, the bigger the opening.

All the are interrelated when it comes to getting the exposure right. So you can get the same exposure with different settings.


My rec is to practice shooting on the P mode first. Stay away from the presets, they will just cause problems. On P mode you can asjust the exposure up and down, the auto modes you dont control anything.

 

what are accessories i should buy like cases, batteries, lenses, ect.

 

whatever, man.....my girlfriend could beat up your girlfriend.


Congrats on ur camera tho.

 

i agree haha they arent cheap

 

I will try to keep this on a lower end budget...

It uses an EL-9 battery. You can buy them at walmart or wolf camera for 40 bucks each, OR, you can go on amazon and buy them for dirt cheap.

http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-D40-Repl...0284723&sr=1-3

I bought 2 of them for 4 bucks, and had to pay for postage. the price on these always vary but they are a hellofa deal.

LENS PEN... these things are a must for cleaning. I have one and i love it.

http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-7072-Len...0284793&sr=1-1

Also, a Rocket blower is really handy. Some day in the next few months yer gonna get a spec of dust on your sensor, Canned air will freeze and destroy the sensor if you are not EXTREMLY careful, touch the sensor with anything and yer probably gonna destroy it. I got one of these and it does wonders for blowing out small specs and dust. It is LEAGUES beyond the cheapo bulb in the generic cleaning kits.
http://www.amazon.com/Giottos-Rocket...0285758&sr=1-2

you might want to invest in some 52mm UV Filters... DSLR cameras dont need to worry about UV, however it will provide an added level of protection for your lens.

FLASH -
SB-600, i have one of these and i love it! Once you use one of these and bounce the flash off the ceiling you will know why the on-board flash sucks.
http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-SB-600-S...0284879&sr=1-1

A cheaper flash that has excellent reviews is the SB-400 but i have never used it. It is lower profile, still gives you bounce ability, and it kicks the **** out of the onboard flash.
http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-SB-400-S...0285275&sr=1-1

The lenses arent cheap. Im looking at a lens now that cost more than my camera did. lol. A good next-step lens if you diddnt get one in a kit form would be the Nikon 55-200mm VR lens. I have had both the VR (vibration reduction) and NON-VR versions and they both work equally well, but the VR feature is worth the cost of the upgrade.
http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-55-200mm...0285296&sr=1-1


You need a good camera bag. As you get more accessories you will need more room, i reccommend anything by Lowepro, they make excellent bags and are relativly inexpensive.

A tripod is always nice. At the very MINIMUM get one of these, they are so cheap you can not afford NOT to have one. It is strong enough to hold the D40 with a lens. It can fit in any bag, and trust me you will find a use for it.
http://www.amazon.com/SunPak-620-786...0285125&sr=1-1

This is the remote, i love this thing. it has a little case that attaches to the neckstrap. it is very very useful.
http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-Wireless...0285213&sr=1-1


Like all hobbies this stuff gets real expencive real quick. I would start with an extra battery, a mini tripod, a cheapo fullsized $30 tripod, and a bag first and foremost, and the 55-200mm VR lens (non VR lenses can be had for a little cheaper but the VR is so worth it). Then i would spend several months learning on just what you have. once you are finalyl sick of the shitty onboard flash and really feel it is holding you back THEN get a flash.

Also, the onboard flash, remember, it works better outside on a sunny day than indoors. No im not on crack either. Indoors the flash will light up and wash out the subject, it will not fill in the background for crap, and the pic is gonna look bad. I only use the onboard flash as a fill-in flash for outside when it is sunny out and the shadows are real dark. Try playing with slower shutter speeds and wider aperature to compensate for low light. The d40 is a ninja in low light. Lean the Rear-Curtain and front-curtain flash sync modes.

if you go out and get too much stuff (flash, couple lenses, strobes, slave controller, etc) all at the same time it will be a lot harder to learn and appreciate what each piece of equipment will do for you.

Keep in mind, this is all part of a photography system, indivitual parts like a lens, or body, or flash, or whatever can all be upgraded from time to time and all work together as a whole.

Also, if you dont mind shopping online, you can get awesome deals on Amazon.com. Adorama.com, Cameta Camera, and B&H photo are all very good safe places to purchase from.

For printing, i use Adorama.com and have had fantastic results, they kick the **** out of walmart, better than costco in my view too which is another place that does lots of prints. I have so far printed up 12x18 photos from Adorama and they look fantastic. Pretty cheap too. Way Way cheaper than ink cartridges.

 

Oh one more thing, now that you have a DSLR you will easily be able to pick out a professional photographer.

If they look at your camera and wave, or smile, or something like that they are an amature and learning as well.

If they look at you like you just stole thier babys bottle and then punched it in the face, they are in fact a pro.

lol.

 

NOT TRUE! Well, good thing I'm not normal.

Congrats John! Remember that when her bday comes around!

 

Ain't that the truth...
Anyway here is a site that helped me a lot with the learning curve between a DSLR and your basic snapshot camera: The DSLR Guide

 

Eh, most of my websites are for Canon...but here is nice forum that caters to both persuasions: www.digitalgrin.com Can get a lot of help there, and ideas for technique, etc.

-Nick