Please tell me I didn't waste my money

I just bought a Nikon D40 with an 18-55mm and 55-200mm lens on ebay. $399. It was incredibly impulsive. I really know squat about cameras, especially SLR's... I THINK the D40 is good but what do I know?? I thought my current camera would be good too but I hate it!

Please tell me I didn't make a stupid decision. I has no monies now lol.

I love the d40 I have it and its a great camera! I certainly dont think you wasted your money, its simple, easy to use and takes great pictures!

Well that's good! I think I'm just wary because the camera I have and hate at the moment is a Nikon. But I always hear such good things about them so I don't know, maybe their SLR's are much better than their point-and-shoots... or maybe I'm just THAT bad at taking pictures. I've had good luck with Canon's P&S cameras but I couldn't find any Canon SLR's in my price range.

Anyway. I'm just babbling now. Thank you for reassuring me lol.

lol im with you there! I was really really nervous about buying a Nikon SLR.. because my Nikon point and shoot was GARBAGE!! lol but it turns out, Nikon is just HORRIBLE at point and shoots lol

they are very pretty..lots of colors..but they suck lol

Yay good to hear! I've been wanting this camera for a couple years now so hopefully it doesn't let me down!

I don't think you'll be disappointed. The D40 is an awesome camera! I loved mine. It was really easy to learn how to use, and lots of fun to learn with also.

I'm officially envious I have a 35mm Nikon and a bag full of great lenses for it . . . I NEED a digital SLR to go with my lenses!

I love my old Nikon 35mm. The P&S my mom has isn't so great. The lens is, of course, but the camera itself is slow. You can't judge the SLR by the P&S

Now, we will be expecting REAMS of photos!

I agree with everyone else!

I like my D40 very much, and I have the same "kit" that you got.....18-55 + 50-200 lenses came with, AND, I just bought a 70-200 vr lens that I am DYING to try out, LOL........and this week should be a good week to do it! WOOT!

Congrats!

You won't be disappointed as long as you learn to use the camera outside the "auto" modes. The kit lenses are actually quite capable, however without the knowledge of photography and the "exposure triangle", you will have nothing more than a large P&S.

I always suggest Bryan Peterson's "understanding exposure" as a good jumping off point into the basics of photography. Once you learn how to shoot manual, and figure out how to apply it you will really start to realize the potential of an SLR.

:hail::hail::hail: Right now I have a $1000 point and shoot BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW HOW TO USE THE THING. lol! Don't be me Southpaw.

(and I'm going to read your recommendation InLimbo)

LOL yeah I figure I have to sort of understand what I'm doing in order to see results. At least for a while, I'll be satisfied as long as my pictures aren't blurry. lol. I typically don't shoot in auto anyway because I like playing with the aperture, but I've never messed around with shutter speed or anything so I need to learn more about that.

LOL! You sound like me! All I've learned how to do is to take a photo in black and white...basic black and white....and I often forget how I got to that option in the first place.

For anyone with a new camera that is more than just a P&S, play around with it! That's how I've learned to use my D50, I just constantly fiddle with settings to see what I get and make note of the ones I like.

This camera at least FOCUSES lol. And if it doesn't want to do it for me, that's what manual focus is for. (Except, manual focus doesn't work on my 55-200mm lens--which it did say in the auction, I just didn't think it would annoy me this much!) My P&S just wouldn't focus. Or it would take like 10 seconds to focus. And considering I'm usually photographing animals that happen to move once in a while, that wasn't working.

I still need to play around with the manual settings, but at the moment, even the shots I'm getting on Auto are miles and miles better than the results I was getting before. So it's fair to say this wasn't a waste of money!