I had a beautiful brand new Nikon D40x that i loved.... long story short it got stolen out of the backseat of my truck....

Im looking to get another camera... the D40x i liked... small, compact, cheap and takes great photos.... but its discontinued... is going Refurb'd a horrible idea? Any reputable sources besides BH or Adorama?

D60 is great camera.... and i can get the 2 lens kit for like $950 from BH and their service is incredible...

What do you guys think?

I'd obviously like to spend as little money as possible

I had a beautiful brand new Nikon D40x that i loved.... long story short it got stolen out of the backseat of my truck....

Im looking to get another camera... the D40x i liked... small, compact, cheap and takes great photos.... but its discontinued... is going Refurb'd a horrible idea? Any reputable sources besides BH or Adorama?

D60 is great camera.... and i can get the 2 lens kit for like $950 from BH and their service is incredible...

What do you guys think?

I'd obviously like to spend as little money as possible

I love my 40D.

sorry to hear about the loss. i had my D50 (big woop) with my friends xsi stolen within my backpack. but we did end up retrieving it from an "insider" who knew the culprit. poor thief needed money for crack, really.

as for suggestions, i have no idea. i do like the xsi, but i'm going to stay with nikon (been with since film), and say D90.

FYI, ask your insurance company about insuring items $500+. state farm will insure, for example a camera, for under $20/year. no deductible.

That sucks man, I have no real advice for you on the question though. I have a D40x as well and love it but I am the uber amateur. I love taking pics and such but my geek gene is limited to the internal combustion engine so I don't know a lot about refubs and other models.

anyone else?

Yeah, buy a body of your choice, and one good lens. If you are looking at Nikons, get a body, and your first lens should be the 18-200 VR II. Only lens you'll really need for now until you start looking for sharper lenses like the 16-85 and 1.4 fifties.

Kit lenses are great, but you'll end up wanting to upgrade. Why not take that extra step out of play and do it from the start? Good luck.

a referb is not a bad idea by any means, i picked up my D200 as mentioned on other post as a referb had it almost a year and not a single problem with it. i love every aspect of it. i picked mine up through www.cometacamera.com in NY check them out might have misspelled the web site google it

A refurb is ok but usually doesnt have any warranty other than a standard 30 day type deal, check it out to be sure. Also be sure your not getting a "Grey Market" camera beause they have no warranty at all.

Most of the Pro's that shoot for a living buy mostly from keh or B&H, they are both really great places with awesome customer service.
http://kehcamera.com/onlinestore/home.aspx



:cheers

I bought a 450D and wouldn't think twice about buying it again if I were in the market to buy another mid line camera.

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0801/08012403canoneos450d.asp

my cam came with a factory 1 year warranty and those gray market assholes are a joke. they will sell you a cam cheep as hell. then sell the charger and batt. separate and charge you 300 bucks for it. when you tell them you dont want the charger and batt. and send it without ( because you did you your home work and realized you can get it for 13 bucks on ebay, they suddenly dont have it in stock

I have the sony a-100 dslr and its awesome great quality

http://www.fotoconnection.com/p59189-nikon-d40x-102-megapixel-dslr-camera-body.html
Try this site to pick up another Nikon

Just make sure no matter what brand you buy, you buy it from a legit store, if every major store sells it for 800 and you find an online store that sells it for 500, don't even waste your time.

For some reason camera stores are the worst stores out there, they're like going to NVA and trying to buy a legit used car at one of the many used dealership in the area.

research any website you buy from!

Try getting your hands on a Canon, other then new users I really haven't heard all that much great stuff about the lower level Nikons the higher models on the other end get a lot of great reviews.

Main plus with the 450D is it DOES come with an IS lens, it's a basic 18-55 but it's a good well rounded lens.

XT and XTI do not come with IS lens, same goes for the D40

not a must, but it's a plus.

One thing to consider is what are you going to use the camera for?

If its a general purpose quality snapshot type reason then find you a good kit deal like jeffie7 is recommending with the 18-55 because that will cover 90% of anything you will ever need like portraits, candids and regular snapshots.

Most kits will come with something like a 18-55 and 70-300 but they are
cheap slow lens for general purpose consumer or very basic hobby photogs.

If you wanting to shoot sports then the equipment will be on a whole new level of its own.

I would stick with the major brands of the DSLR's being either Nikon or Canon.

The whole Nikon is better than Canon or Canon is better than Nikon is a mute point... they are both great cameras that produce quality images, in the end they are just a tool needed to get the job done right.

There are way to many things to consider when buying unless you have a specific purpose and use for it.



:cheers

Even my older D50 works well... but lately, I usually just carry the Ricoh GX100 for digital shots. (24mm wide is a REAL PLUS for a "P&S" category camera that shoots SLR level photos... and more portable than the rest of my equipment.)

I DO have a MINT NIKON F100 in the box w/warranty document, etc... only a few rolls were run through it. (With the dozen or so cameras I have around... only a few get regular use anymore...)

I'd move the F100 for $400 shipped (Blue Label or equivalent & insured) if someone wants a great 35mm SLR Nikon Body in perfect shape.


G/L with your digital choice.

-crisp