So, I am graduating in May from college and my "graduation gift" from my parents is going to be a DSLR. I've been looking around lately and wanted any input others could offer...

..I am partial to Nikon (although I have looked at others)
I have been interested in the D80 (although, it is out of the price range).. I have also been looking into the D40, and the D40x that is coming out later this month. How are people thinking the D40x ranks up to the D40? For the price increase, is it worth it?

and as far as what I like shooting best, it would be macro and in b&w.

any suggestions on the Nikon options out there?... or anything else?

thanks in advance!!

From what I've read, the pixel count has jumped from 6 to 10mpx, and the frame rate has jumped up to 3 frames/second.

Until production units start appearing, I would wait. No doubt it will drive down the price of the D40. You'll have to decide if pixels is everything (and in a lot cases... they aren't)

See: http://www.dpreview.com/articles/nikond40x/

Consider proper macro lenses though and don't rely on the kit lens supplied.

Good luck in what you choose... and you'll enjoy it.

my thoughts ? if i was shopping for a DSLR - i would buy a canon. their EOS system is pretty amazing. (i have been a nikon film camera user since 1985)

I am a beginner and am using DSLR EOS canon 400D. It's very user friendly .

if u dont mind a older camera get the nikon d100 its only got a 6pix. i have the camera and it takes vary vary good photos . But the d40x has the 10pix. so thats good if u are going to blow the photos up and the d100 can not go b/w so u would have to do it over the comp.

I have a Nikon D80 with the Nikkor 18-200 VR lens which is brilliant. I can quite happily wander around shooting all day with just the one lens. The 18-200VR lens is very special and you'll find at 1600 ISO you can shoot down to 1/25th at 200mm at 5.6. It's pretty damn fine.

The D80 does have a well documented flaw in its exposure program and you'll find yourself constantly juggling the exposure compensation anywhere between -0.3 and -1.3 especially in shots that have a wide range of exposures. As long as you know the problem is there you can counter it quite easily. The LCD screen on the D80 is excellent as well.

If you still can't decide which brand to go with, check out the Nikon Creative Lighting System, they might sway you. Nikon CLS a novel remote control flash system which practically gives you a studio in your camera bag, providing you can afford a variety of flash guns.

Seriously though just keep researching on the net, www.kenrockwell.com also has a wide variety of reviews and tips.

Good luck.
Dan

I think you have already acquire your DSLR camera.... However I suggest you my camera the Pentax K10.

this maybe really late. its my opinion use what makes you happy.
the both have something to offer it really comes down to you.
I use both nikon and canon where my canon doesnt work my nikon makes up for it and vice versa. think of it this way
canon very fast focus great for sports and moving objects
nikon very sharp/ amazing color depth
you'll be happy either way
dont over look pentax or olympus they are also amazing

get a d40x or a d40 or a d80 nikon they are very good slrs

its very worth ten pix is what the d40x has d40 only has 6pix

D80 is good. I think most DSLRs are going to be the same when comparing a Canon in the same price range as a Nikon. See what feels right in your hands. Pixels are important if you're looking at printing big size posters etc. Otherwise, it doesn't really matter.

I think the big thing to consider is what the camera is capable of and what features it has that you will use.

To be honest, the megapixels should not be the first thing to consider unless you are shooting pro, for publication, or posters. A good 6 megapixel camera and above will print a poster sized print, but how many of those will you ever print? On top of that, camera companies know that consumers like the latest-and-greatest and that bigger means better. They could easily (and I be they have) put a 10 MP sensor in a camera that is crap as far as other features go.

I currently shoot two different digitals, a Canon A620 7.x MP P&S and a Nikon D50 6.x MP SLR (yes..call me confused). The Canon is hands down, the best P&S Digital I have owned and I would pit it against any other P&S Digital in it's class. The D50, I would pit against the D40 and maybe even the D40x for features and flexibility, even though it is 4MP less than the D40x. The D40, for my purposes, is a stripped down camera that *could* be a great camera if they hadn't killed the backward compatibility with lenses. If I were buying today, knowing that I already have money in lenses and flash, I would consider a new (old stock) D50 or a D80 over the D40/40x. If I were starting out, and had no gear that I wanted to bring over from film to digital, I would consider the D40 over the D40x, lets face it, if you are starting out, you don't need 10MP vs 6MP for the added cost of 300$.

I am willing to bet that Nikon will make a camera in between the current D40x and D80 (maybe a D60?) that will bring the bottom end price of DSLRs back up. The bottom end (both Canon and Nikon) are currently just a step above some of their P&S digital lines and sometimes even lack features that the high end P&S cameras have.

Just do yourself a favor, if you haven't bought already, and don't jump into the newest camera at the shop. There is usually some update, firmware patch, upgraded model, or second edition of those cameras within 3 months due to either their performance or a bug, or lack of features. Go to places like dpreview.com and read the reviews and then the forums for those cameras and see what owners of them have to say. You will get a much better idea from that than you will from the "ALL NEW 10.2 MP KIT WITH 2 LENS KIT!!!!" advertisements.

Good luck!

You know, if you don't mind, look for used stuff. Like D50, D70, or previous Canon Rebels. Instead of a D40.

If new is what you want and you're thinking D40 and D40x, then my opinion is forget the D40x. Instead, your progression of thinking could be D40, Rebel XTi, and D80 (in order of increasing price and amount of camera you'll get).

The D40x simply didn't stack up for me as it was basically the same price as the XTi for what I felt was less camera.

While megapixels is truly a lot of crap hype, for me it was important because I actually do like to do big prints. So the D40's 6 megapixels would not have given me enough flexibility. It was down to the XTi or D80 for me, and I chose the XTi based on price.

By the way, D80's are sold as Nikon factory refurbished without kit lenses. Maybe that's an idea to pursue since the 'rents are paying. Check out Adorama.com to see if they have any.

I had the D40X with the kit 18-55mm and the 55-200mm. Found it to be amazing actually.

Don't know about the D40 as I didn't own it before and can't provide comparison notes, but there's about a couple of hundred dollars in difference. Would say it's worth the extra bit for the megapixels.

However the D40 and the D40x were not compatible with the other Nikon glasses I own. They have to be manually focused. So if you are partial to Nikons and already own their glasses I'd recommend the D80 instead as it support ttl metering and auto focus with a lot of the earlier lenses ...