Dont purchase nikon crap!!

[DaveJones]

Sorry, but i am bloody annoyed. Ive had a Nikon D40 now for eleven monthes and have had great fun with it..... during daylight hours.

Tonight, i was told where Badgers can be seen regularly. Went along cos the place is well lit, and the Badger would be relatively close, so no probs.

Accept that even with the right settings, good street lighting, and the subject not 20 yards away, the danm camera can not focus...even on the recommended settings!

I am bloody annoyed as to why a ten pound mobile has no problem in the same conditions, yet a £300 camara does not.

2 hours wasted for the right shot, when i could of used the mobile phone!!!

Nikon......:C

[RJM]

You don't say which lens you are using BUT if you can't get the camera shutter to work or the lens to focus the camera is basically screaming "operator error". In these moments it is best to reset your settings to default values and try full AUTO mode. Luckily this is quick/easy to do with the D40. If still no joy, there is probably not enough light after all.

Better luck next time!
Rick

[Duke Leto]

I will add that to take a camera in to an unknown situation especially an extreme one and expect to get it right 1st time is hoping for a bit much, did you try the setup in the twilight prior to the trip? Is the AF assist turned on? what lens were you using? Does the lens af in poor light? Did you switch to manual? Are there recommended settings for badgers at twilight? Sorry but your post doesn't offer any detail to aid discussion. May I suggest that you comment a little more constructively in order to seek assistance rather than blaming the tools, my D300 would probably have had trouble in poor light if I was using a slow kit lens, doesn't mean its a bad camera.
Looking at your Gallery I see you use the sigma 150-500, was this the lens you used? I'm sure someone else on BF would be able to comment on the low light capabilities of that lens.

[postcardcv]

Accept that even with the right settings, good street lighting, and the subject not 20 yards away, the danm camera can not focus...even on the recommended settings!


What setting were you using? I had to do some photography in very low light recently and the camera simply would not focus, it just kept hunting. After a brief panic I checked the settings and found where I'd gone wrong, I altered this all was fine afterwards.

[DaveJones]

Thanks guys for the input.

Phoned jessops today and told them the problem i had last night, and they have said that there is something wrong with the camera mounting.

That rang a bell, since ive noticed over the last week that ive been getting a lens not attached message across the screen when the lens has been attached. Silly me just put it down to a gliche, but now i know.

4-6 weeks to be repaired and no back up camera.....what luck:C

Im left wondering whether the D40 has not got a strong enough body to carry a heavy lens like the sigma 150-500, and that i proberly need to upgrade to a more sturdy Nikon?

[Fozzybear]

The Sigma lens mounts are a bit flappy anyway, they are well known for not being brilliant at connecting to the camera. I have a 150-500 and 'sometimes' it is a bit tetchy on my D300 so it's not just the D40 that has problems with the lens. One thing though, make sure you carry all the weight of the lens by supporting the lens - don't try to carry the weight by the camera alone as on a body like the D40 the lens ring won't be that strong and is not really designed to carry the weight of that big lens... that said I try not to do that with my D300 either!

Even with the D300 there are times when the AF just seems to go into a stroppy mood, I've had frustrations in bad light with it at times, it works well most of the time though and I just accept that it gets in a bit of a twist sometimes. I find that manually changing focus to closer to the correct setting helps it, I think at times if the focus is far out it can't quite work out where it needs to go to achieve correct focus and gets a bit confused. I get that with the Nikon 70-300VR as well, it's not limited to the 150-500.

[foto-harald]

The Sigma lens mounts are a bit flappy anyway, they are well known for not being brilliant at connecting to the camera. ...

I have 3 Sigma lenses (105/2.8, 24-70/2.8 and 50-500/4.0-6.3) and when they are mounted to my D300 there is nothing flappy. It's as if they are welded on the camera ;)

Harald

[Duke Leto]

hmmm my D300 and my Sigma 500/4.5 isn't the tightest fit I've ever had.....

[mark richards]

I have 3 Sigma lenses (105/2.8, 24-70/2.8 and 50-500/4.0-6.3) and when they are mounted to my D300 there is nothing flappy. It's as if they are welded on the camera ;)

HaraldI use the 150x500 lens on d300 and its not a good fit!!! and so is my 180 macro...you must have a lucky camera:-O

[Gentoo]

Glad I did not get a Sigma lens now and I almost did at one time.

[Isurus]

no problems with either of my sigma mounts 50-500 or 100-300 on the d300.

[condyk]

This gets the prize for the most daft statements in a single thread ... I'm wondering if I can fit in some dissin' of Canon, Pentax, whoever?

:-O