| Joined: | Thu Apr 19th, 2012 |
| Location: | United Kingdom |
| Posts: | 4435 |
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The D40 comes from a period when digital cameras were considered inferior to film. This is not being disrespctable to the D40 as even pro bodies were also considered to be inferior.
Round about 2008 we saw a step change in digital image quality in pro bodies that to some extent filtered down to the amateur models.
But in recent years we have seen many amateur models surpassing the quality we remember from film...provided the lens was good quality as well.
So your options are quite wide and the choice may depend more on budget, lenses, subject matter and whether progression in photographic skill is a goal. Maybe an idea of budget would be a start? Do you want to buy new? DSLRs depreciate quickly and higher spec cameras can be obtained much cheaper than their new prices...if you NEED the spec.
I recently sold a D7000 to a friend who had a D40. He was blown away with the step improvement. Specifically, his ability to crop in on his bird images without loss of detail, and the ability to use higher ISOs with faster shutter speeds to freeze the action in lower light. There has since been the D7100 and D7200 to raise the bar. But he is happy with the D7000.
The D5300 is the equal of the D7000 in image quality but in a slightly smaller format, arguable less robust package. So that would be another alternative.
As Jan said, the D3300 is an excellent quality camera, though some of the more advanced controls are less accessible (on menus rather than external knobs) which some people have noted.
I think budget (leaving money for good glass) is a key factor as is ...how and where it will be used (weatherproofing improves as you go up the price scale). The image quality of all these models will be superb....its just a case of how much the lady wants to develop as a photographer.
Last edited on Thu Jan 7th, 2016 13:05 by Eric
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Eric