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Nikon D40 + MF?
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 30, 2009 4:42 pm    Post subject: Nikon D40 + MF? Reply with quote
A friend is upgrading his D40 to D?00 Nikon body and wants to sell his D40 body cheap (I hope). Since I have a number of pre-AI glass (3.5/20, 1.2/55, 1.8/85 and LesterDine in F-mount), would I gain any advantage by buying the D40 body as native mount for my F-mount lens?. I am currently still using my dying shutter Canon 20D.


PostPosted: Thu Apr 30, 2009 4:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
We have seen some great images coming from that camera.
My understanding is that it will not meter MF lenses.
You will need to use it fully manual only and expose via Histogram.
Maybe someone else more Nik-literate can elaborate.
If the price is right you should not hesitate.


PostPosted: Thu Apr 30, 2009 5:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
F16SUNSHINE wrote:
We have seen some great images coming from that camera.
My understanding is that it will not meter MF lenses.
You will need to use it fully manual only and expose via Histogram.
Maybe someone else more Nik-literate can elaborate.
If the price is right you should not hesitate.


That is exactly correct. The D40, D40x and D60 (and , it seems, the new D5000) can mount pre-AI Nikon lenses as well as AI and AIS lenses (and AF, AF-D, AF-I and AF-S).

In other words all Nikon SLR lenses except occasional very rare ones like 21mm f/4 which require full-time mirror lockup and use of an external viewfinder.

These lenses will use auto-aperture, so the lens is wide-open for focussing and is closed down to the selected aperture for taking the shot.

There is no metering for pre-AI, AI or AIS lenses, and only mode M (manual) works. However, you can view colour histograms (three, one each for red, green and blue) to judge the exposure and re-take if needed. This is how I work all the time with my D40 and D90, by the way.


PostPosted: Thu Apr 30, 2009 5:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
ChrisLilley wrote:
This is how I work all the time ....


Me too .. with a D40x and D60.


PostPosted: Thu Apr 30, 2009 5:09 pm    Post subject: Re: Nikon D40 + MF? Reply with quote
bawang wrote:
A friend is upgrading his D40 to D?00 Nikon body and wants to sell his D40 body cheap (I hope). Since I have a number of pre-AI glass (3.5/20, 1.2/55, 1.8/85 and LesterDine in F-mount), would I gain any advantage by buying the D40 body as native mount for my F-mount lens?. I am currently still using my dying shutter Canon 20D.


Compared to your 8.2 MPx Canon 20D, the D40 is 6.2 MPx. However, as the last of the Nikon line to use that sensor, it has the least aggressive anti-aliasing filter and gives very good results for only 6MPx.

The viewfinder is a bit small, and is a pentamirror, not a pentaprism like the 20D. Adding a split-prism focusing screen is recommended (and easy).


PostPosted: Thu Apr 30, 2009 11:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Thanks Nikonians MF users. If it's going to be cheap, like REALLY cheap, I might just take it.


PostPosted: Fri May 01, 2009 8:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Check with your friend if it's a D40 (6mpix sensor) or D40X (10mpix sensor).

A friend of mine just bought a used D40x for the aftermarket price of a D40, seller was not well informed Very Happy


PostPosted: Fri May 01, 2009 11:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
The D40 has a 1/500s flash sync however, which the D40X doesn't have..

Ken Rockwell actually prefers the D40 to the D40X for a variety of reasons.. for what it's worth.


PostPosted: Sat May 02, 2009 6:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
orly_andico wrote:
The D40 has a 1/500s flash sync however, which the D40X doesn't have..


And a lower noise sensor (much larger photosites).


PostPosted: Sat May 02, 2009 6:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
interestingly, I saw an article on the old Third Party Lenses Megasite (now offline) where it was claimed... if you follow the 1/f rule, the maximum resolution you can ever get is 6 megapixels... because of mirror slap and shaking of hands.

So unless you're using a tripod all the time, using a really high shutter speed (say 1/2f at least), or have some form of vibration reduction, 6 megapixels is all you're ever going to get... if true, then for most purposes 6 megapixels is enough.


PostPosted: Sat May 02, 2009 11:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
orly_andico wrote:
interestingly, I saw an article on the old Third Party Lenses Megasite (now offline) where it was claimed... if you follow the 1/f rule, the maximum resolution you can ever get is 6 megapixels... because of mirror slap and shaking of hands.

So unless you're using a tripod all the time, using a really high shutter speed (say 1/2f at least), or have some form of vibration reduction, 6 megapixels is all you're ever going to get... if true, then for most purposes 6 megapixels is enough.


I agree that the actual resolution obtained is often less than the 8,10,12,14 MPx that the sensor can theoretically provide.

However, I do see clear differences between photos taken with my 6MPx D40 and my 12 MPx D90. So "maximum you can ever get" is clearly wrong (although the original statement seems to be talking solely about 1/f shutter speeds).

Mirror slap primarily affects the 1/5 sec to 1/40sec range (I have seen measurements that demonstrate this, although they are not online so I can't point to them).

And 1/2f is not especially fast (so, 1/100s for a 50mm lens). Indeed with a crop cam its more of a realistic minimum. 1/5f is more like a realistic estimate for crisp shots.


PostPosted: Thu May 07, 2009 7:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
orly_andico wrote:
The D40 has a 1/500s flash sync however, which the D40X doesn't have..


Not only that, 1/500 is with TTL flash witch you wont get with MF lenses, so you'll need to use a manual flash, and with an old manual flash you'll be able to sync all the way up to 1/4000. I wont get rid of my D40 so soon because of that alone.
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