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 Replies: 9 / Views: 1,845 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1353 Posts |
Does the Nikon d40 take good close-ups.Trying to get better coin pix.
D40 on sale at sears.Can get it for $400 LESS BING DISCOUNT OF $64.
Or is this just a waste of money?
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Moderator
 United States
23522 Posts |
That's a good price for a good camera. Keep in mind, though - it's as much about the lens as the camera. dSLR's don't have "macro" settings. The kit lens with the D40 will have limits for coin photography, although probably at least as good as what you're using right now, and you'll be interested in acquiring a dedicated macro lens down the road. That'll be a $500+ item.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10045 Posts |
Would that be a d40--or a d40X? Big difference, because one is 6.1mpx and the X is 10mpx. $400 is good for the d40X. Owning a Nikon d70S myself, I agree with SuperDave--many "kit lenses" have limits for coin pics. Most of the multi-purpose Nikon DX zooms have a focus distance around 1 foot. Here's a Nikon lens catalog--check out the minimum focus and repro ratio of macro lenses to others (pdf file). My dedicated macro lens (Nikkor 60mm), is very good--but it was an additional $450. I think the 105mm would be better for coin shots (less shadow problems), but that's more like $600.  DSLRs are a great choice if you need several lenses for specialized purposes. However, many point-and-shoot cameras will do a decent job on coin shots--for a fraction of the cost. Take a camera with decent macro capability, and apply the methods SuperDave has demonstrated, and I'm sure you'll get good results.  |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
1353 Posts |
it is NOT the d40x.
It is a d40 with a nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6g ed11
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Pillar of the Community
United States
851 Posts |
You will not necessarily have to buy an expensive macro lens for your camera. I use a Sony Alpha 700 12.1 MP with a standard 18-70 lens. This lens accompanied with an Opteka Close Up 4-Piece lens kit(+1,+2,+4,and +10 Macro) takes amazing macro photos. The lens adaptor kit costs less than $30.00 on Amazon. The only downfall to this is you will have to lose time messing with and unmessing with the lenses on and off your camera. Hope this saves you some money!  |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10045 Posts |
If the D40 w/kit lens is the price new, that's a good deal. Before I had a macro lens, I tried adaptor kits. They result was OK, but only in the center of the photo; distortion increases towards the edges. As a dSLR, the D40 is a very compact and easy to use model. Unless you're sold on getting a dSLR, check out this review on a point/shoot Nikon--not bad for handheld. There are many p/s cameras which produce similar or better results. Edited by DVCollector
09/06/2009 12:18 am
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Valued Member
United States
204 Posts |
i bought a camera last year before getting into coin collecting
i got a nikon d90 and I love it ,still have to learn all the coin shots myself
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1173 Posts |
Not sure what you've decided...so I'll weigh in. Even though I have a couple of dSLR's of the Nikon persuasion, I'd say that getting good coin pics is more about the lens and lighting than about the camera. If you want quick, easy and great coin photos, I would steer clear of dSLR's and look at the better point-and-shoots, then spend my time and money getting the lighting correct. If, on the other hand, you are really interested in photography, then getting the dSLR makes more sense. Others are right, though...you'll soon find yourself wanting additional lenses,etc. that will continue to eat into your coin-collecting resources. LOL
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10045 Posts |
As an update, I posted a pic here that I took with a point-and-shoot. I used a Canon SD790IS in macro mode, hand-held. Not too shabby for a $150 camera. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1353 Posts |
Thanks to all. I went for the d40.Now to get familiar with it. Deciding factor was not only for coins but to take pictures of the eight grandkids.!
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Replies: 9 / Views: 1,845 |
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Posted 09/05/2009 2:34 pm
