Solved! DSLR on a budget

[mehuporsas]

Hello! Guys I currently have a Nikon D60 that I have used for little over a year now shooting around 40k pictures. For a while I have really felt limited on the camras 3 AF points and very poor ISO performance. Even 800 looks really bad and as I live in Finland where the days are really short at this point of winter this is limiting to me. I would like to upgrade to something with more professional controls but I don't have much money at all. I found a cheap Canon 40D for 80 euros and I could get a cheap adapter to use my 50mm f1.8D with manual focus. I could also sell my SSD and some RAM to increase my budget to around 150. Is there anything I could get with this price? I'm really short on money atm. Thanks!

 

[Solandri]

Is your budget limited because you are a student or still living with your parents, or because you are just poor? (Don't answer that here; it's a question for you to answer for yourself.) Basically, do you expect to be poor forever, or do you expect to have more money to spend on toys in the future?

I own a Canon system (a 40D in fact). And right now, I think Canon has fallen badly behind. If someone were buying into a DSLR system today, I would recommend Nikon or even Sony mirrorless (their lenses are overpriced though). So you're moving backwards IMHO if you switch to a Canon 40D.

DSLR bodies are always being replaced by something better every few years. The lenses however are upgraded about every 20+ years. So if you're buying a DSLR, you're really should be looking at the lenses, not the body. If you're planning to use the 40D with your 50mm lens only, and in the future when you have more money you plan to switch back to Nikon, then I think it might be OK. But if you plan to add lenses to the 40D and are tempted to get Canon lenses, then I think you're making a mistake and would be better off sticking with Nikon (unless you are deliberately choosing to switch to Canon for the future).

Also, the 40D's low-light performance isn't great either. The only time I use 1600 ISO is when taking astro photos. For regular photos I won't go beyond 800 ISO, and I only use 800 if I have to or the photo is going to be reduced in size. 800 is noticeably worse than 400. I haven't used a Nikon D60 so I don't know if it's better, but I think you'll be disappointed if you're expecting a huge improvement.

https/www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos40d/18

 

[mehuporsas]

Is your budget limited because you are a student or still living with your parents, or because you are just poor? (Don't answer that here; it's a question for you to answer for yourself.) Basically, do you expect to be poor forever, or do you expect to have more money to spend on toys in the future?

I own a Canon system (a 40D in fact). And right now, I think Canon has fallen badly behind. If someone were buying into a DSLR system today, I would recommend Nikon or even Sony mirrorless (their lenses are overpriced though). So you're moving backwards IMHO if you switch to a Canon 40D.

DSLR bodies are always being replaced by something better every few years. The lenses however are upgraded about every 20+ years. So if you're buying a DSLR, you're really should be looking at the lenses, not the body. If you're planning to use the 40D with your 50mm lens only, and in the future when you have more money you plan to switch back to Nikon, then I think it might be OK. But if you plan to add lenses to the 40D and are tempted to get Canon lenses, then I think you're making a mistake and would be better off sticking with Nikon (unless you are deliberately choosing to switch to Canon for the future).

Also, the 40D's low-light performance isn't great either. The only time I use 1600 ISO is when taking astro photos. For regular photos I won't go beyond 800 ISO, and I only use 800 if I have to or the photo is going to be reduced in size. 800 is noticeably worse than 400. I haven't used a Nikon D60 so I don't know if it's better, but I think you'll be disappointed if you're expecting a huge improvement.

https/www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos40d/18

So you think it would be better for me to save a bit more and get the Nikon D300 for example as that has better iso performance and it will also autofocus with my 50mm 1.8D which the D60 does not as it has not AF motor. It goes for about 250 euros and I think I could maybe buy it if I sold some more stuff. Btw I am a student so I expect to have more money in the future. Thanks!

 

[13thmonkey]

Stick with one brand, I'm on canon, locked in through lenses and wish they'd up their game. Just grow into the next level up of Nikon.