I'd keep the FE as the shutter is mechanically operated; i.e. you don't need batteries to operate. Great as a backup, as long as you have films.

 

How about this guy?
He used to be 6'2" but I hear he's about 4'10" now.



I may have to recind that two camera body dope-slap. I was thinking for doing
pit, pitlane and paddock stuff, keeping the 10-20mm on the D200, the 17-55mm on the D300 and the 70-200mm on the D2Xs. Oh, and the 10.5 fish-eye in the pocket.
We'll see......

Jim

 

 

How many shutter actuations is an SLR good for?

My 6006 may have as many as 20,000. My college classes had us buy film in bulk rolls, burned off 1-2 in a school year for 4 years. It doesn’t seem to have any issues. The reason I ask is that if I decide to buy a used DSLR, should I be concerned about how many times its been used?

 

It depends on the camera body. The D3 shutter is rated at a mean time between failure of 300,000 actuations. I have about 63,000 on the D2x I got a few years ago; I can't remember what the D2x is rated at but I think it's somewhat less than the D3. "Consumer" DSLRs like the D40 and D80 and such are, I think, rated at something like 50,000 actuations.

Shutters, as you might guess, a pretty expensive to replace. It's definitely something to consider if you're buying a used body.

 

BTW, the number of actuations is embedded in the EXIF data. There are programs to extract it but you can see it in Photoshop, too. Open up a file, go to File->File Info, pick "Advanced" on the list on the left side, click on the + next to http://ns.adobe.com/exif/1.0/aux/ to open up that up and you'll see aux:ImageNumber listed as a property. Or at least that works with NEF files. That's pretty much all I shoot but I seem to remember I didn't see that listed with JPEGs.

 

Thanks for the info! Some of the deals out there that I have seen are not that great after all. I would guess that my 6006 is at least 1/2 to 2/3 thru it's life span.

 

I'm also late to the party. OK, deep breath.

Bodies:

• Nikon D300
• Nikon D2X
• Nikon F-100
• Nikon FM-3A

Glass (cuz it's all about the glass):

• AF-S DX Zoom- NIKKOR 12-24mm f/4
• AF-S DX Zoom- NIKKOR 17-55mm f/2.8
• AF-S VR Zoom- NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8
• AF-S Zoom- NIKKOR 80-200mm f/2.8
• AF NIKKOR 28mm f/2.8D
• Nikkor 28mm f/2 AI-S
• AF NIKKOR 50mm f/1.4D
• AF-S Micro- NIKKOR 60mm f/2.8G ED
• AF NIKKOR 85mm f/1.8D
• AF DC-NIKKOR 105mm f/2D
• AF-S VR NIKKOR 300mm f/2.8G IF-ED
• Lensbaby

Accessories:

• Nikon flashes, including SB-600, SB-22, SB-26, SB-29 Macro Flash
• Velbon Tripods
• Giottos Monopods
• Kirk Heads

 

Does anyone have a Goriilapod? It looks like it would be great for low perspective on irregular terrain.

 

I've got one. Actually works pretty well. I haven't tried it with my film slr but works for my P&S,

 

I have a two nikons one film SLR and one D-SLR

Film
Nikon FA in so so so mint shape, not from the lack of use, its just tough.
Nikon 35-135 AIS Zoom
Nikon 55 f2.8 AIS Macro
Nikon MD-15 motor drive



Digital
Nikon D50
Nikon 18-55 kit lens
Nikon 50mm f1.4 lens

And I have the crumpler budgie smuggler to store it in.

Non nikon I use a Kodak Retina v705 diigcam since it has the dual lens system with one 23mm fixed lens, its fairly small and good for slipping in your pocket for adventures.

-Joe

 

I have one of the small ones for my P&S. It worked well until I accidentally broke it.

 

My latest gear:

Nikon F6
Nikon 28-70 f2.8

 

I've been away from SLRs since I switched to digital in the mid 90s.

I think I'm finally ready to move to a digital SLR. I'm looking at the D40x. I like the smaller size. I don't have any of my old camera gear, so there is no compatibility issue with lenses.

I understand the D40X needs a lens with the focus motor built in. Is this a big issue for some one who doesn't own any lenses? I'm pretty rusty and will definitely have to spend some time re-learning the basics. Is the D40X a good candidate?

Any comments are welcome!

 

I personally don't feel that the fact that one has to use afs lenses on the D40x is an issue. If you had a bunch of old screw drive Nikkor lenses then it would be.

I have a D40 as a back up knock around SLR & I'm very happy with it. IMO lots of bang for not many bucks.

 

I'm leaning more towards the D40 instead of the X. I think the savings in price would go towards a lens.

 

I bought mine from Cameta camera on fleaBay. I just wanted the body because I had a lens I wanted to use & felt that I didn't need the kit lens. Also that was the only way I could buy just the body. The camera body is a refurb, but still has a 1 year warranty.

Cameta has a very good reputation & I'd recommend them. From what I understand the D40 is being phased out so there may be some deals to be had on D40 kits.

 

Check this photography hobbyist website: www.kenrockwell.com whom you can find a lot of Nikon gear reviews including the D40 and the D40X.

Hope this helps.

 

I saw that site mentioned earlier in the thread as well. All the reviews I've been able to find have good things to say about the D40.

 

There are enough S lenses (built-in motor) now that I don't think the lack of a screw-drive motor in the camera is a big deal. Plus you can always manually focus with a non-S lens, if you already had any. Since you're just starting out with a Nikon system, though, you shouldn't have a problem with the selection of S lenses.

Thom Hogan has a good review of the D40 and D40x:
http://www.bythom.com/d40review.htm

 

Thanks for the link.

Do you have any experience with his eBooks? I'm considering the one he has for the D40.

 

I have his eBook for the D200. Very well done & worlds better than the poor excuse of a manual that Nikon provides.

 

Anyone familiar with these instructional videos?

http://www.elitevideo.com/index.asp?...ROD&ProdID=653

 

You minght want to pick up a copy of David D. Busch's Nikon D40/D40x Digital Field guide. I got my at Amazon. Well worth the $13 price & as a bonus it is small enought to stick in your camera bag & take with you.