[My wife] got the D40, it was an eBay buy. I wish that we had a better lens, it came with a lower end model. We are saving up and hoping to get a better one soon, they are all just so stinking expensive. It has been great, though, being able to catch those moments with [our kid] that you normally wouldn’t because of the slow shutter speed on the point and shoot digital. I know there are some ways to tweaking the camera so you can get a little better shot out of it, but I haven’t had the chance to play with it enough.

What new lens should my friend buy? Are there some not so expensive lenses out there for amateur photographers on a limited budget? I have just the answer.

Since we are speaking of a Nikon D40 (and the D60 would be the same answer), I would highly suggest a lens that Nikon just came out with a few months ago: AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 G. That is techy gibberish to many of you, so I will break that down and tell you how that applies, but first, I will give the simple explanation.

The “standard” lens for 35mm film cameras is a 50mm lens, and it is standard because it gives a perspective very close to what the human eye would. That standard is dependent on the size of the film or sensor, though. Most digital cameras out there (except for some of the pro-level ones) have a smaller sized sensor, and the stardard length of lens is no longer 50mm. On the smaller-sized-sensor digital SLRs out there today (regardless of brand), a 35mm lens is going to give that standard perspective. Basically that standard perspective is not too telephoto (long) nor is it too wide angle (short). It is in the middle and great for wide variety of everyday shots.

So, that Nikon lens mentioned above is made specifically for the smaller sized sensor cameras. You get that standard perspective, with a very wide open aperture (that is the f/1.8 part), at a very cheap price ($200). That is a steal.

Nikon and Canon also have out cheap 50mm prime (fixed focal length, non-zoom lenses) lenses with a nice, open aperture: AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 D and Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II. And when I say cheap, I am talking $100 kind of cheap. (note: See the comments below; Nikon D40, D40x, and D60 cannot auto focus with the 50mm f/1.8). It is a great addition if you just need more light than that cheapo kit lens will give you. The only downside is that 50mm on a smaller sensor is a little too long of a lens for many situations. Just set your kit lens to 50mm all day and shoot around and see what you think. Do the same at 35mm and see which you like better.

I talk a lot about aperture because it is really the most important part of the lens choosing process. The smaller that number, the bigger the aperture (hole), the more light the lens will let in. If the aperture is more open, that means either shutter speed can increase taking care of your blur problem or your ISO (film speed) can decrease thus keeping grain out of your photos. Lens prices are basically set by the aperture…just look for yourself.

The prices are great on these lenses, and you really get great quality for the money. More than likely, you will find yourself using this fixed length prime lens much more than your zoom lens. Once you get used to that wide open aperture, it is hard to go back.

I am looking at getting a nice digital camera. I am looking at the Nikon D40 and the Nikon D60. I really like the price of the D40, but I want something that is going to be good and that I will enjoy for a while. I am not necessarily sold on Nikon, it just what I know. So, any thoughts on my purchase would be greatly appreciated.

You are looking at the D40 and D60, but are not even brand particular. What should you buy? Here is my simple answer: if the question is which of those two, I would go for the D40, any day (or maybe a Pentax…they have great, cheap cameras). I have shot the D40 myself and love it for just shooting around. You will probably never use all the features of the D40, so paying more for more features in the newer D60 really would not make much sense, unless there was one feature in particular which was important to you which only the D60 had. And as for the megapixel size, it does not really matter that much. The D40’s six megapixels are more than enough for your needs…my camera is only 6MP!

There is my simple answer. Maybe that answers your question. If you want to know more, here is my slightly longer answer.

Here are some questions and comments to confuse things a bit. Do you need a SLR (SLRs are the big cameras with changeable lenses like the D40 or D60) or just a point and shoot? One of the big questions that decides that issue for many people is this: do you want to be able to do video? For me personally, I am all about photographs and do not really do the video thing, so that question is a no-brainer for me, but for many people I have talked to about this, that is a key feature for them.

Here is a quick aside for more info on video-capable cameras, since that is really important to so many family oriented picture taking folks. The SLR cameras are just now starting to have video capability (and full HD video at that). So if, in your quest to find the right camera, you are thinking of a more amateur photographer kind of camera and want to do video as well, take a look at the Nikon D90…and I think the Canon 50D has video too (you will have to double check me on that).

So, back to the SLR or compact camera issue. Assume you bought a D40, if you are just going to use the automatic photo taking features anyway (i.e. press the button and let the camera decide how to take the photo for you), you might be better off just buying a nice point and shoot, because an SLR in auto mode is only a larger, clunkier point and shoot…or even a cheap point and shoot, for that matter. Summed up, the basic reasons to buy an SLR and not a compact (point and shoot) camera are these:

• you want control of the photo taking process
• you want to be able to switch lenses
• you want a faster response when you take the photo

That last one is a big deal for lots of everyday picture takers, but there is a simple trick to make compact cameras respond much faster when you press the shutter button…but I will not get into that here.

If those are not big issues to you and you just want to take better pictures, which is the same boat as many, many other folks out there, the answer (unfortunately) is not a bigger, nicer camera. I am basically writing all this because I just do not want you buy a nice camera, then realize the photos are not any better, then later, because it is big and clunky (compared to a little compact camera) you finally decide to buy a small camera that can take video and do your best with that and leave that cool camera sitting in a closet at home. I know lots of folks who have walked that road, and it is frustrating.

So, since I could gab on for quite a long time on this topic and all its tangents, I think I should stop now. I think I have answered the basic question, but that might make you rethink things and ask a slightly different question. Feel free to ask more, after thinking through all that, about which SLR or which compact camera to buy. It is really hard to dig through all the brand-centric, marketing hype out there, and I am more than willing to help in any way I can. [That goes for the rest of you readers out there, too...just write a comment below...I will see it.]