nikon camera lense?

Question

I have a nikon D40 camera and, well, christmas is coming up. I want to ask for a new lense, but I honestly don't even know where to start. I either want a lense that has a really good zoom (I take sports pictures for my high school), or a wide-angle view lense. The guy at Creve Cour Camera said that a D40 doesn't fit all lenses, so I have no clue what to look for. Also, I really doubt that my 'rents will spend any more than $700, so (obviously) I need a really cheap one. Any suggestions and/or places to look at?

Answer 1

ALL of these lenses can be used with ALL features available on the D40 and D40X:

12-24mm f/4 G ED-IF AF-S DX
17-35mm f/2.8 D ED-IF AF-S
17-55mm f/2.8 G ED-IF AF-S DX
18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED-IF II AF-S DX (The Kit Lens)
18-70mm f/3.5-4.5 G ED-IF AF-S DX
18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED-IF AF-S DX
18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED-IF AF-S VR DX
24-85mm f/3.5-4.5 G ED-IF AF-S
24-120mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED-IF AF-S VR
28-70mm f/2.8 D ED-IF AF-S
55-200mm f/4-5.6 G ED AF-S DX
55-200mm f/4.5-5.6 G ED AF-S VR DX
70-200mm f/2.8 G ED-IF AF-S VR
70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G ED-IF AF-S VR
200-400mm f/4 G ED-IF AF-S VR
105mm f/2.8 G ED-IF AF-S VR Macro
200mm f/2 G ED-IF AF-S VR
300mm f/2.8 G ED-IF AF-S VR
300mm f/4 D ED-IF AF-S
400mm F/2.8 D ED-IF AF-S II
500mm f/4 ED-IF AF-S II
600mm f/4D ED-IF AF-S II

That's 22 lenses, including 9 VR lenses, one of which is an excellent macro lens. There are also 3 AF-S teleconverters: 2x, 1.7x and 1.4x.

What do the letters mean?
G - A new subset of the D-type lenses, without an aperture ring. The aperture is set by a command dial on the camera body.
D - Lens provides distance to subject information to camera; useful for automatic flash setting
ED - Extra low dispersion glass; give superior sharpness and color rendition
IF - Internal focus - the lens does not rotate or extend as it focuses
AF-S - Auto-focus, silent wave focus engine contained inside the lens itself
DX - Lens formatted for digital sensors that should not be used on full frame cameras
VR - Vibration Reduction - a gyroscopic system to detect and correct camera shake to yield sharp images at slower shutter speeds

Plus, you really can use a lot of older Nikon lenses on the D40 and D40X. You only loose the autofocus feature on most of them. It is true that there is a "slight problem" with older Nikon lenses not autofocusing on the D40, but if you do not own a bag full of older lenses, it is not going to be a problem. It is barely a problem anyhow. If you check www.nikonusa.com for "AF-S" lenses, which are ALL 100% compatible with the D40, you will find 23 lenses, including 7 "VR" (vibration Reduction) lenses and one true macro lens with "VR". There are another 25-plus lenses in the current catalog that provide all functions except autofocus as well as many (possibly dozens) "out of print" lenses that will work just as well. In addition, although these lens will not autofocus, most of them will still give focus confirmation. From the D40 manual: "If the lens has a maximum aperture of f/5.6 of faster, the viewfinder focus indicator can be used to confirm whether the portion of the subject in the selected focus area is in focus. After positioning the subject in the active focus area, press the shutter release button halfway and rotate the lens focusing ring until the in-focus indicator is displayed."

You actually have a nice lens for the wide angle end in the 18-55 kit lens. You could look for a better quality wide angle, such as the 12-24, but you'd blow the whole budget on that range where you are already covered fairly well.

Since you are interested in a "good zoom," I recommend the Nikon 70-300 VR lens for general telephoto use. Frankly, there ARE better lenses, but you can add a thousand dollars to the price before you really improve on the quality of this lens.

I am SO sorry, but Yahoo! is just not letting me post the whole message that I have written for you. Beats me why not. I have links to samples and I guess they are not in the mood for links tonight. Let's try this...

Go to www. flickr. com
Find me there as "samfeinstein"
search my tags for 70300 as well as focallength

Answer 2

Assuming you want to purchase real Nikon made lenses (and there no better quality lenses then the Nikon brand available for your system) your first step should be to go to the Nikon website, look up your D40 camera there and then look at the accessory lenses available for that system. These are the lenses that will fit your camera and you are right, not all Nikon mount lenses are compatable! Then pick out the lens (or lenses) that would be the most useful to get the pictures you like to take best. I don't know what lens or lenses you are using now so it is hard to give advice, but in my studio I like something in the range of a 75mm - 300mm zoom lens for sports and you seem to be interested in doing sports. Be aware that a lens in that focal length range is not an easy thing to hold steady for sharp pictures so some kind of camera support is usually required and I personally have found that a unipod (1 legged tripod) is a must accessory for good sharp sports action pictures.

After you have picked out the lens or lenses you feel would best suit your needs, just do an internet search (like with Google or MSN) for the items you are looking for and you will easily find out who has what you want for sale and at what prices. You can usually get the lowest prices for the item you are looking for that way. Be sure to take shipping costs into consideration. The best price is always the best buy for identical items, but the seller who gets $300 for a lens with a list price if $500 and charges $25 for shipping is not as good a price as the one who sells the item for $310 but ships it for only $10.
You mighy also consider eBay when you are ready to buy a specific item. I have had great success there in finding some very good prices on equipment (but check other sources too, eBay items are often but not always the best prices).
Happy shopping and I hope Santa gets the one you want.

Answer 3

First all lenses made by Nikon since 1979 will fit your D40

Anybody who says otherwise should be ignored; Period.
Go to a different Camera shop.
what a lot of lenses will not do is autofocus and the pre af lenses [AI, AI-S, and series E,] will not meter

For all options you want the AF-I or AF-S lenses
the AF-S DX 55-200 F4-5.6 G ED with or without VR is a good complement to the DX18-55 {assuming that is the lens you have} If you have the 18-70 you might like the 70-300VR

Most people who offer advice will give you solutions that work for their interests. what works for them might not work for you. keep that in mind.
you should go on some groups on the internet which might improve on the information you get.

here is a url that will give you a list of D40 Groups on FLICKR

http://www.flickr.com/search/groups/?w=all&q=D40&m=names

Good shooting

Mike

Answer 4

If the guy at Creve Cour Camera knew what he was talking about he would have told you what Nikon lenses DO fit and which are in your price range. Call the store and ask to speak with the owner and explain what you need.

IMO the salesperson needs a lesson in how to respect every customer regardless of their age.

Answer 5

If that is $800, I would recommend the 18-200 VR II lens. It is great! Many of my friends have purchased it and say it is worth every penny. This lens is very versitille and can be used in wide angle and telephoto senarios.

The D40 only uses AF-I and AF-S lenses, which means other older lens types do not fit it. This should not be a worry to you.

There are many other great lenses. Check them out at www.nikonusa.com and at www.bhphotovideo.com.