Sony a200k VS Nikon D40?

Question

I'm stuck between these two cameras now. I plan on using whichever one I buy for artistic purposes. What I'm not too sure about is the megapixel #

Sony a200k has 10 and Nikon has 6.1.

I've been hearing Nikon's D40 is a good choice....can someone explain?

Answer 1

Of course Ken Rockwell knows all - you have to accept that as fact - yeah.

Some will try to do anything to drive you into a Nikon.  Basically, before I bought the D40, I would find out all of its features, advantages, and benefits.  I would also question others about its serious shortcomings.  

If you are looking for comfort and ease of holding, I would suggest that you look at a myriad of Olympus models.  

If you plan to look at medium format for artistic photography, I would not consider a digital at all.  Actually, I would not consider a digital in any format.  Look at 645 and 67 format film cameras from Pentax or Mamiya.  The larger the area that you have to work with the better, and there is no digital camera that will provided the amount of information that you will get from those formats in medium format film.

Answer 2

You are correct in amusing that there is more to the camera than megapixels. There are other things that affect image quality, one that affects it more so than anything else, is the lens. read this: http://kenrockwell.com/tech/mpmyth

Going with the Nikon is a better choice, not just because the D40 is a better camera than the a200k, but because Nikon is better than Sony. When you say "I plan on using [it] for artistic purposes", I assume that there is a possible future in photography as a profession, or maybe just as a serious hobby. Either way, if you buy a Nikon camera, than all your lenses will be Nikon, and when it comes time to buy a better camera, with more features, you will be able to buy the Nikon D300 or D3 (for which Sony has no camera even close to as good), and it will be easy because all your lenses are Nikon.

I would go with the Nikon D40. It is quite possibly the best entry-level DLSR around. It is available, with a decent kit lens, on amazon for $450. You could take the money you save from getting the D40, and use it to invest in a nice lens.

Nikon D40 vs. Nikon D80:

It should be noted the the D40 (and the D60) have two major flaws. Or perhaps a more accurate thing to say would be, the Nikon D80 has 2 major things that the D40 and D60 do not have;

The Nikon D80 has a secondary lcd on top, on which it displays you shutter speed, aperture, and iso settings, as well as many other settings. It is very useful, but not necessary. You would only buy it if you absolutely need this feature, for example; if you are a professional and this feature speeds up your work flow by allot.

It also has an AF (auto-focus) motor build into the camera body. The D40 does not. This means that if you use a lens (with the D40) that doesn't have an AF motor inside the actual lens, it will not auto-focus, although it will still work. Nikon does, however, make thousands of lenses that have these motors built into the lens, so it should not be a problem. They are designated by the terms AF-S and, I believe, AF-I.

Anyway, I do not feel you would need the D80. If you go to the D40 flickr gallery (link in sources), you can see many, many, very professional looking shots taken with that camera.

Anyway,

Good luck, feel free to email me at [e-mail].

Also, check this out: http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d40/d40...

Answer 3

You are right to question the whole pixel count hype.

Here are a couple of links that will help you decide which is best for YOU

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/mpmyth.h...

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d40.htm

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d40/d40...

Answer 4

Just to let you know, neither of the two are designed for fine art photography. A medium or large format film camera would be a better choice. Between the two, I'd suggest the Nikon D40. The whole argument between more megapixels being better is getting very old. With six megapixels, you can easily print 8"x10", 11"x14", and even 12"x18". With then, you can print posters.

Other than that, I'd choose the Nikon just because it feels much better than the Sony. The A200 does not have a rear thumb grip, making it extremely difficult to hold. And while the D40 has no grip either, it does have an indenture and a better textured back; making it much more comfortable and easier to hold. There are a number of other reasons that make the D40 a better choice, such as image quality and lens compatibility.

Some might bring up the argument that Sony has in-body stabilization. While this is true, it works poorly. As a side-note, you cannot even see the stabilization taking effect.

As I said before, my choice goes for the D40. You might be different, though.