to be honest it got a bit dusty dont think any got in the lens, everytime there would be a dust cloud i would stick the camera under my top

I have never had any dust issues after 3 rallys. You can throw a 60mm rubber o ring round the lens where the lens meets the camera body so that dust doesnt fall in when you change the lens later on. Also if you buy L lenses most of them are dust and weather sealed (100-400, 70-200 f2.8 *f4 isnt, 17-40 etc).

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betty banger

So I purchased my camera on the weekend But I ended up with a Nikon d40x! Heh.

Reasons I went the Nikon:
- Much better kit lenses and the zoom lens has VR.
- Just felt more balanced and more comfortable than the 400d.
- $200 cash back
- Nice and bright view finder and ISO 3200 option.
- Nice and easy to use graphical display of camera settings.

Some things I was worried about were:
- No DOF preview, but it just means I will have to practice more (good learning for a beginner)!
- No in-built AF motor, which means I am limited to the lenses I can use if I always want AF (you can use non AF-S or AF-I lenses but it will only manual focus). This worried me at first but I found that the AF-S lenses still have a good range of zoom lenses to buy and there is a Sigma 30mm f/1.4 HSM prime I can use now to learn the basics and then upgrade the body later to a d80 or similar once my skills grow.
- No dust cleaning system. Oh well, just will have to be more careful!
- Faster fps shooting on the Canon, but the Nikon is fast enough for me, especially compared to my sony P&S.
- SD cards are a little slower than CF, but cheaper...

I will post a couple of shots later that I took on the weekend when I was messing around with it. Overall I'm a pretty happy customer!

Congrats, should be able to take some good shots with it! remember its the Photographer that takes the photos not the camera Nikon and Canon are both good Brands.

i bought mine of www.qualitycamera.com.au and very happy with them.

got the body by itself and the 17-85 IS lens which is just awsome. IS works very well in low light and i reckon it's worth the extra money. Also bought a 50mm f1.8 lens which is cheap but so much fun...definately get it. The only thing I havent got it the telephoto lens...70-300 IS DO is on the way once i can save up $2k

Very true, but the right tools can certainly make ones life easier

Yeah I'm stoked with it, my photos are already 4578345927345 times better than P&S now that I have more artistic control.

I also agree that some form of image stabilisation is a must when it comes to lenses, especially zoom! It means you can use tad lower shutter speeds for those low light/long focal length shots when you don't have a tripod.

yeah My 100-400 I.S. was awesome in Low Light conditions when I went to Africa shot some as slow as 1/200 at 400mm with decent results!

As promised here are some random shots I took on the weekend. No real artistic feel about the shots but hey I was just getting the hang of it Could of done with a bit more DOF in the dog shots...

Good start mate...I have to post up my skiing shots, ohhh when will i get some time!!

I went for the Nikon D40x also & luv it luv it luv it!

For me I prefer the feel of the Nikon over the Canon but in the end its personal choice. They each have their ups & downs but I am very happy with my purchase!

Happy snapping!

Heidi