new Nikon owner...newbie Question

[mickey]

I am now the proud owner of a D40x which the folks have bought for me and it is my first DSLR. I've been itching to get my hands on a DSLR and can now retire my trusty Canon G5.

It is the twin lens kit version which should be fine for now but I'm wondering should I get a spare battery? I'll need a memory card too so any problems with 4GB ones?

I'm lookin on ebay so what do you all think of:

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Phottix-Built-In-Battery-Grip-for-Nikon-D40-D40x-EN-EL9_W0QQitemZ200143666510
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Vertica-Battery-Grip-for-Nikon-D40-D40X-2x-EN-EL9-B3G_W0QQitemZ130145753455
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/2-Battery-EN-EL9-ENEL9-for-Nikon-DSLR-D40-D40X-DSLR-D60_W0QQitemZ260151053937

Do you think the grip is the way to go? or just buy spare batts? and are the above grips any good? what path shall the grasshopper take?

thanks in advance!

[losfp]

To be honest, I wouldn't bother with the third party grips as they rarely provide a way to replicate the buttons in vertical if the camera was never designed with a grip in mind. I know the D70 third party grips only provided SOME shutter firing capability, without any of the command dials and some didn't even allow you to half-press to focus. I assume the D40 would be in a similar situation.

The other thing is that I have found you can never have too many batteries or memory cards

[ATJ]

Welcome Mickey!

A second battery is a good idea. They way you can keep a freshly charged one in your kit and all you need to do is change it. Also, you can continue to use the camera while the second one is charging.

As for memory cards, it all depends on what you can afford. If cost is no object, get the largest card that is cheaper than half the price of the next one up. For example, if you look at Sandisk Extreme III Compact Flash Card. The prices at centre.net.au are as follows:
1GB: $40.90
2GB: $64.68
4GB: $107.00
8GB: $207.66

It is more economical to buy 1 x 8GB card than 2 x 4GB cards.

Be wary of buying memory cards on eBay. There are lots of fakes around.

I don't know anything about battery grips.

[sirhc55]

With due respect to ATJ - I would suggest going the 2x 4Gb rather than 1x 8Gb. Cards can corrupt and I would prefer to have my images going to 2 cards rather than 1 - only my opinion. . .  BTW - welcome to the forum

[chrisk]

i agree with chris. i prefer 2x4gb cards, nto really saving that much by buying the 8gb card.

to the best of my knowledge i dont think nikon make a d40x grip ?? so thats probably why the 3rd party option. i friend of mine uses the 3rd party grip for his d200 bought from HK and it seems to work just fine so far.

[rah]

I need a new card too.

Is it worth buying the more expensive faster cards?
I can see that a fast card helps in taking the image off the camera to PC but wouldn't the Camera buffer makes the write speed less relevent.

[gstark]

I need a new card too.

Is it worth buying the more expensive faster cards?
I can see that a fast card helps in taking the image off the camera to PC but wouldn't the Camera buffer makes the write speed less relevent.

Exactly.

Which camera are we talking about? The camera's write speed is the critical factor here, and unless you're shooting large and long bursts, then the card's speed isn;t a major concern.

I know the D70 third party grips only provided SOME shutter firing capability

But that's more because the D70 was never designed to accept any grips at all. Not from third parties, and not from Nikon.

The newer models have all been designed to work with battery grips, and it's a relatively simple task for the third party manufacturers to reverse engineer the factory grips and provide similar functionality.

Mickey,

Welcome.

The first of those grips that you're looking at - the Photix one - is manufactured for HK Supplies and it has an inbuilt battery ... so you don't need to buy a separate battery with this unit.

HK Supplies are thought of very highly in this forum, and as you increase your post count, you will become eligible to purchase, through this forum, from them at some very attractive prices.

Please review the FAQ for more information on this.

As to memory, I'm in the came that suggests getting 2 x 4GB cards, and I'll also suggest buying carefully and locally.

[Killakoala]

Mickey, use this site to aid in your search for compact flash cards. Although http://www.centre.net.au are competitively priced too.

http://www.staticice.com.au

I too would recommend 2 x 4Gb cards.

[adam]

Somehow everyone has gotten into recommending two 4gb cards. I think Mickey was asking about spare battery and a memory card (instead of spare memory card).
I think 4gb should be sufficient (only guessing as I don't know how many photographs you take).
Or if you go with the recommendation of the people here that more cards of lower capacity is better than one large capacity card - in case the card corrupts/fails and so you don't lose all your photographs, then 2 x 2gb, if you still want 4gb. But I think that one 4gb card will be easier. Then again, I think that if you have 2 cards, at least if one fails you can still keep photographing with the other, but if you don't use that other card, it'll always be sitting in the camera bag as backup, or until the first card is filled.

I think that carrying a spare battery would be good, just incase you run out - the grip not only functions to hold an extra battery but also makes the camera nicer to hold (but I have not tried it in the case of the D40X)
Don't retire your G5 just yet, it's still a great camera and handy for times you don't want to bring out your D40X (which already is a compact camera itself!).

Rechargable batteries have a life, as well as flash memory cards and camera shutter - but I think these shouldn't be an issue. Can anyone here comment about leaving a fully charged battery for a long period of time? Does it discharge itself? If so, you could rotate with the spare battery once the first has gone flat.
And the number of rewrite cycles you get on the flash memory card should be able to last you a while. Can anyone clarify? When you format a card and start writing to it again, it is sequentially uses up the 'remaining' memory rather than keep writing over the same area again and again? I don't know if you see my point in this question, but it may help in the decision of 2gb or 4gb, or maybe I have no point at all and am confused myself.

[losfp]

I know the D70 third party grips only provided SOME shutter firing capability

But that's more because the D70 was never designed to accept any grips at all. Not from third parties, and not from Nikon.

The newer models have all been designed to work with battery grips, and it's a relatively simple task for the third party manufacturers to reverse engineer the factory grips and provide similar functionality.

Gary, even the D40? I couldn't find any reference to official vertical grips available for the D40 on DPR or elsewhere.

[ATJ]

With due respect to ATJ - I would suggest going the 2x 4Gb rather than 1x 8Gb. Cards can corrupt and I would prefer to have my images going to 2 cards rather than 1 - only my opinion. . .

In that case, buy 2 x 8GB cards. My comment was based purely on price and value for money. You will get more value out of 2 x 8GB than 4 x 4GB cards (same total storage for a lower price).

[mickey]

cheers guys...my main Q was whether getting the grip was more convenient both in terms of handling the d40 and the "2 batts in 1" thing vs individual batt swapping. Depends on how heavy the usage I guess.

I was interested by that strange 'integrated battery' grip that Poon was selling which is why I was wondering if anyone had any experience with that type of grip.

As for memory cards, I was wondering if the d40x had any issues with >2GB memory cards like some do, but then I RTFM and it says SDHC compat. so I would assume it is OK.

Retiring the G5 because it is great for a noob to learn fully manual setups and the missus wants a 'supercompact' type cam and won't use anywhere near the potential of the G5. Anyone want a mint G5?

off topic some more, thinking of getting the Fuji f31fd or similar type compact.

[BullcreekBob]

I am now the proud owner of a D40x which the folks have bought for me and it is my first DSLR. I've been itching to get my hands on a DSLR and can now retire my trusty Canon G5.

G'day Mickey

Welcome the THE forum. Not enough Perth folks here so it's nice to see another one. Perhaps a post introducing yourself? and a few shots?

Cheers
Bob in Bull Creek

[mickey]

Yeah i've been browsing it for a while but waited for that virgin post

I'm no photog atm (lawyer by trade), just super ameteur having learnt off a few digicams in the past my current being the G5...no pics off the D40x yet still mucking around with it.

Some pics with the G5 over the years are:








I prefer not to touch up pics (like the ones above) so I don't usually even change levels or crop.

[gstark]

(lawyer by trade),

Kindly stand with that group to the left.

I prefer not to touch up pics (like the ones above) so I don't usually even change levels or crop.

That's called getting it right, in the camera. I'm lazy, so that's how I prefer to do my shooting too.

[adam]

Some nice shots you got there with your G5.
Looking forward to seeing the photographs from your D40X