Quote from KankRat on December 11, 2023, 8:55 pm

Quote from Adjie Arp on December 11, 2023, 11:03 am

Hi i'm Adjie, weeks ago i bought Nikon D40 for around $100 (after reading recommendations from friends and also from KenRockwell's blog), i was happy to purchase it because it is in good condition with shutter count shy at 11k.....
I was wondering (and sure thing to try) how to improve my photographic skills, espesially if i use it for sports photography, with nothing but 18-105mm lens

Usually, i shot sports photography with 24-70mm f2.8 or 70-200mm f2.8 (but i didn't own this lens tho)

Is there any trick to manipulate photographic results? Other than using RAW?
Thanks for your answers

this would have been a better camera across the board for 14 dollars more.

D300 would walk all over the D40 in every single way.  I had. D200 and that would have been better. For its day the D300 was the ideal sports camera. 

it's not the D40 was bad , but it's old , entry-level and $100 seems like kind of a lot. 

What do you mean by "manipulate photographic results"?  Post processing? 

My biggest game changer was learning back button AF. 

 

 

 

Quote from Adjie Arp on December 20, 2023, 1:54 am

$100 is the best deal i've ever got for D40
Here, D40 with good condition still sold over $120, and with bad condition just around $80

Yep, first i was thingking for D300, but average price in here about $250 (for body only)

Quote from KankRat on December 26, 2023, 1:37 am

Quote from Adjie Arp on December 20, 2023, 1:54 am

$100 is the best deal i've ever got for D40
Here, D40 with good condition still sold over $120, and with bad condition just around $80

Yep, first i was thingking for D300, but average price in here about $250 (for body only)

Where is here?

Quote from Daniel Gonzalez on December 27, 2023, 7:56 am

Quote from Adjie Arp on December 11, 2023, 11:03 am

Hi i'm Adjie, weeks ago i bought Nikon D40 for around $100 (after reading recommendations from friends and also from KenRockwell's blog), i was happy to purchase it because it is in good condition with shutter count shy at 11k.....
I was wondering (and sure thing to try) how to improve my photographic skills, espesially if i use it for sports photography, with nothing but 18-105mm lens

Usually, i shot sports photography with 24-70mm f2.8 or 70-200mm f2.8 (but i didn't own this lens tho)

Is there any trick to manipulate photographic results? Other than using RAW?
Thanks for your answers

Hi mate, 

 

First of all congrats on getting your first camera. No matter which one, the first one is the Step into this world. So congratulations.

For me, my first camera, back in 2010 was the stone to learn concepts. And my guide book (or camera's manual xD) was fundamental. I had it with me everytime and I was trying to learn from there every single time. I had read that Pentax K110D manual's over and over a million times. And yes, it's a long process, and it's boring at some point. But,and if you are smarter than me and this is quite easy xD, you will understand the concepts soon. And you understand them by going out and practice. 

I will not forget that day at the track and I went there thinking I knew everything. So what happened was that I just applied everything I had learnt from the book and the pictures just looked the oposite of what I wanted them to look. So I was shooting thinking I will get motion blur, the cars looked stopped in the track. THEN something clicked on my head and since then on I understood how the camera worked (i told you, is not hard to beat my brain xD)

 

So you do sports? Nice! 

I would say practice makes the master, it takes years and vision to get further so for me, and I know in the early stage you just think about getting more and more gear, I would advice you in become a master with the gear you have. I'd say force yourself to get out there and practice with that equipment for, let's say, an entire year. Only with that. And that will, at some point, boost your creativity.

 

Why am I saying this? Am I trying to screw you? 

Look, in the sports photography (as in any other theme) every photo has been taken. BUT if you can be creative, it doesn't matter how many frames per second you have, how does your AF works and what do you shoot with. I have been in a position 2 years ago where (shooting Motorsports) I had no big lens. I had lost my telezoom and I was going to the track with the longest a 50-135mm lens for many races. 

Wheter this is not ideal, it makes you deal with the situation and become more creative. And this is the idea I'm trying to bring to the table a part from go out and shoot everything anytime, anywhere you can. 

 

And specially, enjoy the process 🙂 

Quote from Cory Maben on December 28, 2023, 9:19 pm

Quote from Adjie Arp on December 11, 2023, 11:03 am

Hi i'm Adjie, weeks ago i bought Nikon D40 for around $100 (after reading recommendations from friends and also from KenRockwell's blog), i was happy to purchase it because it is in good condition with shutter count shy at 11k.....
I was wondering (and sure thing to try) how to improve my photographic skills, espesially if i use it for sports photography, with nothing but 18-105mm lens

Usually, i shot sports photography with 24-70mm f2.8 or 70-200mm f2.8 (but i didn't own this lens tho)

Is there any trick to manipulate photographic results? Other than using RAW?
Thanks for your answers

Welcome aboard! A d40 is a fine first camera. In my opinion you should go into your first camera knowing it's probably not going to be your last. At some point you'll sell everything and start again. You'll want to use it to explore what you like and where you feel limited and the 18-105 is a great place to start. I assume it's the 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 ED VR? It will tell you whether or not you can live with a variable aperture and what kinds of focal lengths you enjoy. Just note areas you feel limited and where you feel like things are excelling when looking at/taking your photos.

I know nothing about sports photography, but I will say don't set your expectations for your own photos too high when starting out and look for good elements in your photos. Maybe you like the way the players are composed, or how the lighting looks, or why certain focal lengths work better than others for certain shots.

Then once you've got a good handle on what works well about your camera and lens for your photography, you can use that information to tell you what other gear you may want to pick up.

I will say learning on a DSLR is more difficult than learning on a mirrorless camera, but youtube is a great resource. If you look up videos about the exposure triangle, they will be universal concepts regardless of camera model/brand but your buttons will be in different places.

The most important thing is to have fun. If you're having fun, nothing else really matters.

Quote from James Warner on December 31, 2023, 3:54 am

Quote from Adjie Arp on December 11, 2023, 11:03 am

Hi i'm Adjie, weeks ago i bought Nikon D40 for around $100 (after reading recommendations from friends and also from KenRockwell's blog), i was happy to purchase it because it is in good condition with shutter count shy at 11k.....
I was wondering (and sure thing to try) how to improve my photographic skills, espesially if i use it for sports photography, with nothing but 18-105mm lens

Usually, i shot sports photography with 24-70mm f2.8 or 70-200mm f2.8 (but i didn't own this lens tho)

Is there any trick to manipulate photographic results? Other than using RAW?
Thanks for your answers

Hello, and welcome!

Good tips were already shared but I'll add some more.

I love old cameras (obviously) but the biggest frustration with them can show up exactly in the situation you want to shoot in, haha. Sports, wildlife, indoor stuff all requires higher ISO to get the shutter speed fast enough so things won't blur, but these old cameras can really have a tough time with high ISO performance producing a lot of unattractive digital noise.

That said, I think there's two good solutions to this:

1. As has been said already, just practice and get good shots regardless of your limitations. It'll be easy at first to compare yourself to a typical pro sports photograph and get bummed that yours isn't as crisp, of have as much bokeh, or is as clean - but what usually makes a great photograph has more to do with composition, capturing a moment, facial expressions, eye contact etc. All that you can get with whatever camera.
2. Noise reduction software is getting REALLY good and is worth looking at. I don't know what the best cheapest/free options are, but I'm sure there are some if you poke around. Don't attempt this until you care about it. If you're happy with the pics as-is, don't worry about it.

 

Quote from Adjie Arp on January 19, 2024, 6:12 am

Quote from KankRat on December 26, 2023, 1:37 am

Quote from Adjie Arp on December 20, 2023, 1:54 am

$100 is the best deal i've ever got for D40
Here, D40 with good condition still sold over $120, and with bad condition just around $80

Yep, first i was thingking for D300, but average price in here about $250 (for body only)

Where is here?

In Indonesia

Place where every import electronic devices is overprice 🙂