New to SLR camera's

[Raydee]

Hello all I am new here and I have some questions.
First off I have never owned a SLR camera, my current camera is a Kodak Z650 point and shoot. I do a lot of remote control flying and racing and my current camera just isn't doing the job. The shutter speed is so slow that most of the good pics I have taken are out of the frame half of the time. I am not looking to spend a ton on a new camera but I want to get a new one that is a upgrade from the Kodak i have now. I plan to buy the Nikon D40 because it is on sale at my local Best buy and I have a gift certificate to use there.
I am curious to know if one of the biggest advantages of the Digital SLR is the shutter speed? Will I be able to snap the pictures like the 35mm cams and have the object in the frame without the shutter lag? That is my main concern. Also is there any worries I should have about this camera?

Thanks for the input.

[Greg McCary]

Yes, almost zero shutter lag. The D40 is a great camera too. But please shop online some first. Most local stores are a little higher. Try Beach Camera, Adorama and B&H photo Video. It could save you some cash.

[Frog]

The shutter lag will be next to 0. You may need a fast lens, also. f/2.8 probably and something with a good zoom, if you want to catch flying models. This will cost you more than the camera.

[Raydee]

Thanks for the reply's. I looked online and I could save some money for sure. I had a Best buy gift card to spend and I have been watching this camera go on sale and off sale there for about 2 months now. Yesterday it was onsale at Best Buy for $569 with the 55mmX200mm lens and a choice of carrying case or 4gb memory card so I bit the bullet and bought it. I did read a lot of reviews on the camera and knew that it was going to be a entry level SLR. Honestly I have to say that even though its a cheap SLR I am blown away already buy the features and how nice it takes pictures. I brought it home, charged the battery and spend about a hour reading the manual. After setting the camera up I decided to take some pics on auto focus and I couldn't even get a picture to come out bad. I took some great pics of the fish in my fish tank that ususally takes me ten tries to get one good shot with my other camera. I took some pics of my dog running around and again they came out great. With the near zero shutter lag even in auto mode I was snapping pictures like crazy just because I could. This is a HUGE upgrade from the Kodak that I will be selling very shortly and now I can see how this hobby can become very addicting once you have some nice equipment. I know I have a lot to learn and lukily I have a friend that is a professional photographer to help me learn all the in's and outs. He does a lot of action and racing photo's. I know its only been a day but so far I am very pleased with the camera.

[Frog]

I can almost see the big grin on your face....congratulations on your new hobby!

[Raydee]

For sure!
Can you tell me what the optical zoom is on this camera with the 55mmX200mm lens? I know it says 3.5X zoom with the standard lens.

[fx101]

For sure!
Can you tell me what the optical zoom is on this camera with the 55mmX200mm lens? I know it says 3.5X zoom with the standard lens.

It should be a 3.6x zoom ratio. Divide the max by the minimum (200/55=3.63).