I've been thinking about getting a really good camera lately as I been really intrigued by the photos that are seen on here plus I've always been interested in this kind of thing. I'm wondering how much is too much for someone that's a beginner, plus I plan to take photos just as a side hobby, nothing super serious or anything. I was looking at the Nikon D40 and I thought $500 is too much for me for just the camera but I saw on Ebay kits like these:

Nikon D40 Digital SLR Camera +4 Lenses +16GB Kit NEW - eBay (item 350099518383 end time Oct-17-08 11:12:39 PDT)

Nikon D40 Digital SLR Camera +3 Lens +4GB 20pc Pkg NEW - eBay (item 110290593794 end time Oct-17-08 13:13:50 PDT)

Which seemed pretty cool because it gives all the nice toys to play with Which I'm willing to learn and even though it's still a lot of money you get a lot of bang for the buck, but since of course they don't offer warranties on ebay I don't know if it'd be worth it to just pony up and pay the big prices.

I just really want to be able to take AWESOME pictures of anything, and I have photoshop as well that I've been trying to learn lots from it, and figured I can benefit greatly from a damn good camera since all I have is the crappy iPhones camera which sucks arse.

But yeah, like I said I'm just really looking for opinions, if I had the money to blow would you camera guys say it's worth it to go for one of those kits on Ebay?

 

Also, besides looking for some tips here, say I get the D40, besides the owners manual where's the best place to see some users tips on how to get the best out of the camera?

 

You should just buy it from circuitcity or find someone whos selling one. Also you could get all of those parts seperate.

 

Yeah I know, but the lens are expensive as FUCK, like all that separate, getting them in stores, off people, etc....would cost me an additional couple hundred bucks. Probably close too or over $1000, so I thought this might be a good deal, the only thing I was worried about is warranty and if anyone could also put word on any common defects. I know for damn sure I'd be taking GOOD care of a camera like this so I know (knock on wood) that I would not do anything to damage it.

And of course the opinion on whether or not this is a good camera for a beginner

 

yeah i deff wouldnt buy one of those kits. those SD cards are fake and those lenses that come with them are no good. They are just trying to move junk product by making a big bundle of things that sound good but in reality are not really worth anything.

 

He's right. Also if you buy the stuff seperate it would be name brand stuff. Quality stuff..

 

look that these before you do anything, yes i know "refurbished" but thats how i bought my D40 and i never had a problem with mine

Amazon.com: Used and New: Nikon D40 6.1MP Digital SLR Camera Kit with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor Lens

 

Ah ok, thanks guys definitely an answer I was looking for, I was not sure if these were name brand lens or not either I forgot to mention that, yeah I don't want to get some knock off then lol. As for the camera itself, opinions on users of the D40?

 

i had a D40 and it was very capable and suited me well. I just have moved on to bigger and more expensive things lol

these sets were all with my D40:
Cars - a set on Flickr

North Carolina - a set on Flickr

JDMdreams - a set on Flickr

Flickr: Please wait...

 

Wow, all of those are absolutely awesome, were some/none/all edited with photoshop at all or are they just straight from the camera?

Just skimming and one of my favs already is this one:

DSC_3754 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!


Edit - Well scratch that, I can see some of them were def just camera shots, which still look awesome, but some of the other pics are so good and so clean looking that I can't tell whether or not they were straight from camera or not lol.