Photography (Nikon)
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- Fast startup with instant shutter response; shoot at up to 2.5 frames per second
- 6.1-megapixel CCD captures enough detail for photo-quality 14 x 19-inch prints
- 2.5-inch LCD with three display options; built-in flash and hot shoe
- Powered by one rechargeable Li-ion battery EN-EL9 (included); stores images on SD memory cards (memory card not included)
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Gutsier Navara? Now you're torqueing New Zealand Herald
A small convoy of the upgraded Nissan D40 Navara ST-X utes snakes along narrow scree trails near the banks of the Rakaia River and the interesting thing about this scene is that nobody's getting stuck.
Every few hundred metres, the trail suddenly pitches down, then sharply up again. The steep approach and departure angles and the need for smooth effortless torque to clamber up and out of the loose footings are hazards lying in wait for unsuspecting drivers.
Some of the Navaras are still in high range; others have low gearing engaged that drops drive to the wheels by more than 2.5 times, so they can crawl along, if necessary, at no more than a walking pace.
But the chosen gearing doesn't seem to matter much to this group whose trucks are equipped with the latest version of Nissan's 2.5 litre variable-vane turbo diesel, now upgraded to deliver 450Nm of torque at 2000rpm and 140kW of power at 4000rpm.
The torque is the hero number here. Previously producing 403Nm, the Nissan engine last year lost its crown as New Zealand's torquiest Japanese ute when Mitsubishi's latest Triton was upgraded to 407Nm and 133kW. Nissan was unhappy about being toppled and suggested at the time that it would not be long before it put Mitsi back in its place.
Torque is important because it's a measurement of the twisting force being applied to an object. For example, your mechanic may have to apply considerable torque to his spanner to loosen a rusted bolt. If he's been working out, he'll have the arm power (translate that to read horsepower or the metric kilowatts (kW) to provide a massive dose of torque to the spanner and loosen the bolt.
Off-road, lots of torque is good because it helps allow vehicles to easily scramble up loose banks like those on our track a stone's throw from the Rakaia. Using a gentle gear ratio that barely disturbs the scree, the Navaras simply dismiss the day's obstacles, whether they're in high- or low-range, elegantly driving up and over and on to the next nasty spot.
Good torque helps a vehicle perform in all sorts of other ways, too, including pulling a boat from a steep-ish ramp. So the engine's upgrade adds a layer of capability to the ute, whether it's being used as a farmer's friend or a suburban family runabout, although on paper both the payload and the 3000kg braked towing ratings remain unchanged.
Urban and suburban buyers continue to be key utility customers, so other parts of the Navara D40 ST-X's upgrade were to make it yet more car-like. These include soft surfaces for the door panels and dash, a new centre console, a different instrument panel design, different seat and door fabric, six airbags, Bluetooth, a trip computer, dual zone climate air, and an auxiliary input.
Outside, the facelift comprises a softer, more rounded front end including a new grille, bumper and bonnet. If you're still not sure it's the new one, look for the "450" badge.
Photography (Nikon)
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- Includes pouch
- For use with Nikon D40, D40x, D60, D80 & D90 Digital SLR Cameras
- Slim wireless remote instantly triggers shutter without disturbing camera
- Ideal for subjects that are difficult to approach or for minimizing vibrations
Read more about Nikon ML-L3 Wireless Remote Control for Nikon D40, D40x, D60, D80 & D90 Digital SLR Cameras
Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED IF AF-S DX VR [Vibration Reduction] Zoom Nikkor Lens
Photography (Nikon)
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Price: Too low to display
- 2 extra-low-dispersion (ED) glass elements for minimized chromatic aberration and superior optics
- Silent Wave Motor produces quick and quiet high-speed autofocusing; weighs 9 ounces
- 55-200mm zoon Nikkor lens with f/4-5.6 maximum aperture for Nikon digital SLR cameras
- Measures 2.7 inches in diameter and 3.1 inches long; 5-year warranty
Read more about Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED IF AF-S DX VR [Vibration Reduction] Zoom Nikkor Lens
Nikon D40 digital SLR review
Full review at www.cameralabs.com : A nine minute video tour around the Nikon D40 DSLR by Gordon Laing, Editor of www.cameralabs.com. For our full ...
What is the difference between the Nikon D40 and the D40x?
The Nikon D40 is $200 less expensive. I have tested the D40x out, and absolutely loved the picture quality. What exactly is the difference between the two?
The D40x is a camera designed at the mostly unadvised consumer market. Although most people will not notice, it's flash sync speed (important for capturing images in harshly contrasting light) is significantly lower (1/500 of a second versus 1/250 of a second). Also, the higher MP (and therefore more crammed) sensor takes a toll on the camera's light processing quality: while the "range of ISO" is supposedly larger, the smallest ISO value is 100, meaning that the camera has less base sensitivity to light. In layman's terms, this means that you either have to choose between the same noise performance or the same light performance as the D40, but not both. The FPS difference is negligible. As the owner of the non-x version, I'd say that the extra 200 dollars should go to a nice point and shoot back up or perhaps some camera accessories (lenses, flashes, etc.). If you want a good camera with more MP and better over-all performance than the D40, you will probably have to move up to the more expensive D80.
Also, there have been some very good D40 deals going around recently - multiple batteries and an additional 55-200mm along with the kit for less than the D40x would cost if it came without the basic lens.
You can compare the two at:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare_post.asp?method=sidebyside&cameras=nikon_d40%2Cnikon_d40x&show=all
Both are very good cameras. You can't go wrong with either one. The advantage to the D40 is the cheaper price and smaller image foot print. If you don't print anything larger than 12"x18", then the D40 will be fine.
Good luck!
Why does Nikon D40 portrait shots have two thick borders in the photos and the landscape shots do not?
I use a Nikon D40. I take a lot of ID photos, I want to load the photos directly to the template but the photos have two wide black borders to both sides when I turn the camera sideways (portrait). When the camera is turned to landscape the photo is ok (no black border, only the subject).
Is there any setting or adjustment to remove both black borders from my portrait shots?
As others stated, your image really doesn't have the black bands. If you see this while previewing your pictures on your camera's LCD screen, you can opt to turn the preview auto rotate feature off. See page 66 in your manual, Rotate Tall. I keep mine set to off as I want to see the largest image possible when previewing so I can suss out the quality of the image. This feature is useful if you are showing a bunch of pictures to friends on your camera, otherwise, keep it off.
If you're seeing the black bands on an image viewer on your computer, then either you have a feeble image viewer or you don't have it set up properly.
Depending on the program you're using to view the photo, you may get a boarder added by the program... sometimes it's just for portrait mode photos, sometimes for both portrait and landscape. But rest assured, that's not in the photo itself.
You wrote "load to the template"... sounds like you're using some kind of software and loading photos into it, but you didn't explain the software you're using. Basically, if you have a landscape template in some application (a video program would be a good example, since video is always landscape, outside of special purpose portrait monitors), it's going to fill in the unused areas within that frame. If you load a photo that's a different aspect ratio, or portrait into a landscape-sized template, you get the boarders added. You might be able to zoom in and remover them, but that's done by cropping your portrait-mode photo as a landscape photo.
Whether you can actually do anything depends on your purpose here. If you making a video from stills, no, you can't eliminate the borders. Same with a computer slide show -- the photos have to fit your screen somehow, that means either padding the empty bits of zooming to fill them. If it's a slide-show, maybe show two or three portrait photos in the same frame.. I've done this for wedding video photo montages before.
If you're printing, just make sure your prints and templates match. You can rotate the portrait photos to match a landscape printing template, or vice-versa, to fill the area. Usually, there may be some cropping necessary to get a standard-sized borderless print, so you probably some other manipulations to do here as well.
What setting should i set my Nikon D40 to take pictures of the moon at night?
What settings on presets should i set my nikon D40 on to take pictures of the moon at night. they D40 manual is no help by the way.
You're right, the manual won't help with this - it's all down to technique / knowing how the camera 'thinks'... and in this case some previous experience! 'Auto' exposure is one way of guaranteeing your result will be wrongly exposed in this situation as the contrast in the scene is too high, so...
To record the moon with detail you actually need day / sunlight exposure levels - this will be around f11/f16 at 1/125 of a second on 100 ISO. This setting will almost certainly mean your sky will be pitch black though... which means to get the perfect sky + moon combination your best bet is a double exposure - you can paste your picture of the sky over the picture of the moon and erase the moon area, so it will blend in but with the detail retained.
Use a tripod so both images are perfectly overlaid - you may also need a lens warmer at this time of year which will prevent condensation on the lens spoiling your images. The sky exposure will probably be best just after sunset (if you want to get a rich blue sky instead of black).
That will do the trick for you. Good luck!
I think the way it keeps pushing up the ISO rating is causing grain. It is also over exposing the moon detail. Try on manual
& experiment, I think too long an exposure & the word turns.
Yes that manual gives me a brain pain, I must get more fluent with all the options. Good luck, nice camera.
With a regular SLR camera, I would put the camera on a tripod, set the camera to BULB and use a remote trigger to hold the shutter open for a good two seconds.
How long of an exposure depends on a lot of factors, like how much motion is acceptable to you in the shot and how much OTHER stuff you want in the shot besides the moon.
Tonight is a night after a full moon (waning gibbous), so if you have clear skies, you should be able to get some nice shots.
Honestly, I ended up getting much better photographs with my point and shoot Nikon Coolpix than I got with her Nikon Digital SLR.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstein/935289030/
Be sure to click "All sizes" and then "Original" to see the maximum magnification of the moon. Actually, this is the full 10 MP image, so your 6 MP image would be more like one third as big as this one is on your screen.
If you can use a lens with an equivlent focal length of 300 mm or more, it helps. Even at relatively high shutter speeds, you will need a tripod to get a decent image of the moon.
See:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstein/1296331083/
This was taken at 1/200th of a second at f/16 at ISO 200 through a 200 mm lens (300 mm equiv.). This is the same as the "sunny sixteen" rule. Set the lens at f/16 and set the shutter speed at the inverse of the ISO. This works for film or digital cameras. Use your manual setting and try these settings. You can also go up and down one EV by using f/11 and f/22. There will be people here who recommend each of these, but I still prefer my sunny 16 version. You can also use the SPOT meter on the moon itself as a starting point. You are not trying to get a good exposure of the dark sky, so limit your reading to the actual subject - the moon. Hey, it's digital, so take 30 shots and you will figure out what works for you so that next time, you can get a good result with one shot.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstein/1254710884/
Camera was a Canon, with a Canon lens.
I was getting fair images on manual, with mirror lock, shutter delay of 2secs., white balance at 4000K.
My shutter was 1sec. and I was moving the f-stops around between 7 and 11. Wish my tripod was sturdier, some crisp, some blurred. I will keep experimenting.
Is it posible to automatically adjust the exposure on a D40 Nikon while in continuouse shooting mode ?
I am trying to do my first HDR photo with my new Nikon D40. Is it posible to change the exposure automatically while in continuouse mode rather than having to change the exposure manually (avoiding camera shake), if so can you explain please.
Thanks.
I think you're over-complicating it. Use exposure bracketing and a tripod and you can automatically bracket over and under exposure from 0 EV however many times you need to. I'm not sure what you mean by continuous mode. Continuous is either your AF servo mode (AF mode C, you should use A for this exercise), which has nothing to do with bracketing or exposure for that matter, or continuous shooting mode which doesn't either. I recommend you turn [off] continuous shooting mode and switch to singe frame shooting (if that's the mode you're shooting in). To bracket exposures, you need to enable exposure bracketing by pressing the +/- button, holding it, and rotating the main dial until you see the bracketing symbol appear in the top LCD screen (the owner's manual of your camera will explain this, in depth). In exposure bracketing mode, the camera will bracket an underexposure for the first actuation of the shutter release, normal exposure for the second, and overexposure for the third in however many stops you have your camera set to [whether one third, one half, or one full stop EV]. I also recommend that you bracket full stops, instead of half or third stops. To change this, you will need to go into the shooting menu of your D40 (again, the owner's manual will tell you how to do this). And you'll avoid camera shake and ghosting by using a tripod, a must for bracketing and HDR. The slightest movement of the camera will result in ghosting effects in the final merged image. So, get yourself a tripod.
Can I tell the difference between the US versus Japanese Nikon D40/60/80 by the model numbers?
I want to get into a DSLR camera and I have heard bad things about the "bait-and-switch" tactics used by some retailers sending you a cheaper Japanese model Nikon camera versus a better-made US model when ordering a D40 or D60/80. Can you tell the difference in the US and Japanese models by looking at the model number?
OK I guess I heard wrong, the discrepancy would be Thai-made vs. Japanese made.
The rule of thumb seems to be that if a deal looks too good to be true it probably is. Dont go buy a brand camera that normally costs 1600 but just happens to be on sale for 800. Any of these deals of going to be bad. Stick to reputable dealers either locally or online like: bhphotovideo.com ritzcamera.com adorama.com amazon.com
If you want cheap or used check keh.com craigslist.com or ebay.com keh is trustworthy but obviously you run some risk with the other two.
You can tell the difference between gray market vs. US (all the cameras are Japanese) by the price and the offers of "free" stuff ... like cheap tripods, lens cleaning kits and other items a seasoned photographer doesn't want or need or already has and to make matters worse they remove the Nikon battery and charger and replace it with a generic and if you complain, they will gladly over charge you for what is included with a US camera.
These ads are usually found within the eBay site and are targeting people with NO former background in photography. That is people who have caught the digital fever, but have never owned a 35 mm SLR, nor have the ever attended one class in photography. Basically naive people looking for the best deal they can get with only a vague idea of what they really need. This is why toy cameras that are named Olympic can be sold for far too much money to people who have heard of the excellent camera company Olympus and either confuse the two or assume they are the same.
If the price of the "deal" is less than the one found on Amazon or B&H Photo, then the chances are you are looking at a gray market camera. In general if the location of the Internet store is in Brooklyn, it is probably a gray market camera
One of our contributers here has a list of some nefarious stores he has found ... perhaps he will list them again for us.
Whether you are looking at a new or used Nikon camera, you an call the Nikon help line and they can help you. 800.NIKON-UX. Give them the serial number and they will be able to tell.
As far as where the camera or lens is manufactured, it does not matter ... Nikon and Canon have strict quality control systems in place, so no matter where the lens or camera is assembled, it is going to be an excellent lens or camera. The whole confusion over where a camera is made is a direct result of the underhanded marketing techniques used by the gray market promotors. The "bait and switch" part of their pitch is to say for the sale price you are buying a Chinese camera, but for $x they can upgrade you to the Japanese version ... one huge lie!
What Nikon D40 Lens to use for travel?
I am planning on purchasing the Nikon D40. It's my first SLR carmera and I plan to use it on trips around the world (you might only go once so might as well take good pictures). I only want to take pics of landscape and architecture and hopefully only have to buy one lens instead of having to keep switching lenses. What would you recommend?
I spent some time this summer touring China with my D70 and the only lens I brought was my Nikon 18-200mm VR. The 18mm gave a fairly good wide-angle (though you might want a wider one in some scenic situations) and the 200mm did a great job of bringing in details from temples and other sights.
The best feature was the VR (Vibration Reduction) which virtually eliminated the need for a tripod.
http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/18200.htm
Here are some images shot with a D40 and the same lens.
http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=18-200mm+vr&cm=nikon%2Fd40&s=int
I hope this helps.
What lens should i use with my nikon d40 for a large group shot?
On easter sunday we are having a large family group shot taken and i'm the photographer in the family so i am taking the shot. I have a nikon d40 with a 200mm and 18-55mm lens that it comes with. Which lens should i get for a large(50+) group family shot?
I would take a look into a factory wide angle lens or wide angle zoom or a Tamron lens. A Tamron lens could offer you something the Nikon does not, I own a couple for my 35mm & DSLRs.
You can compare specs. all at www.bhphotovideo.com along with prices, reviwes, etc.
Is the Nikon D40 a good choice for action sport pictures?
I have been reading a lot of reviews on the D40 and one of them said that it is not a good choice for action sport shots. I was just wondering if others thought this to be true as well? If you believe it is a good choice, what accessories do you think would be useful for me to have? If you believe it is a bad choice, what camera and accessories would you recommend? Thanks for any help.
I don't know were you read that ... can you give us a link?
Here is a good review of the D40
http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d40.htm
You will want to look for AF-I and AF-S lenses that are long enough to shoot sports
You will see it is one of the recommended cameras (in the entry level DSLR").
http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/recommended-cameras.htm
The Nikon D80 may be a good choice, but it is nearly twice the cost.
http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d80.htm
I use D200's with 400mm f/2.8 and 600mm f/4.0 lenses, but if you look at the cost of that equipment, it will make your toes curl
How to take pictures of fireworks with a nikon d40?
I have a nikon D40 camera and with the 4th of july coming up i was hoping to get some great pics of fireworks. But, i found that night landscapes tend to turn out blurry. Help!
Your settings depend on what effect you are going for. If you want a crisp image of the full burst, you'll have to use a shutter speed of about 1/30 with the lens wide open. Vary the ISO until you get a useable exposure, but start at ISO 400 and then go to ISO 800.
If you want to capture the full burst with some trails and all, use 2 seconds and experiment with the lens opening. At ISO 400, you will probably be able to use a middle-of-the-road setting like f/8.
Just start shooting early and often so you can view your shots on the LCD. Don't panic, bear in mind what you want to achieve, and adjust accordingly. You'll have plenty of other shots ahead in a 20-30 minutes display and they save the best for last anyway.
See also: http://photos.si.edu/firew/firew.html
What are the differences between the Nikon D40 and the Nikon D40X?
I am going to buy a Nikon camera, but I'm torn between purchasing the Nikon D40 or the Nikon D40X. I know that the D40X is $200 dollars more than the D40. Is it worth it? What are the other differences? If possible, please show your source.
For the extra money, the D40x gives you:
10 MP sensor (vs 6 MP)
100 ISO lowest sensitivity (vs 200 ISO)
1/500 second flash synchronization (vs 1/200 second)
In my opinion, for a new photographer, the D40x is not worth the extra money. That extra $200 is far better spend towards a second lens.
Source: Nikon's website ...
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Disclosure: I am the owner of www.lenslenders.com lens rentals in Canada.
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