Should I, or Shouldn't I?

[scupking]

I love taking pictures and have taken close to 6,000 in little over a year that I have had my canon S2 IS. I have probably taken close to 15,000 pictures since I got into digital photography in 2003 with a canon A60. A few of my friends have a Nikon D70, my cousin and uncle have a digital Rebel XT and another uncle has the EOS 20D. I have been tossing around the idea of getting a Nikon D40 and a VR 18-200 DX lens. I mostly take pictures at airshows. Should I make the jump up to the D40 or stick with my good old trusty S2 IS. I don’t want a big and bulky camera and have heard great things about the D40.

This is just a small sample of a few photos.


http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d154/scupking/Picture053-1.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d154/scupking/Picture551.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d154/scupking/Picture483.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d154/scupking/Picture382.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d154/scupking/Picture270.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d154/scupking/Picture125.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d154/scupking/Picture035-1.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d154/scupking/4e7e2596.jpg

and one of a tiger
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d154/scupking/Picture124.jpg

[fionndruinne]

Well, hey, why not? The D40 would give you better quality photos and more usable high-range ISO performance (enabling wider apertures/faster shutters), along of course with faster response time and a big buffer for many continuous shots. You might be tempted to get the 55-200mm VR instead of the 18-200mm, as it's about $500 cheaper (whew!), and use it along with the 18-55mm kit lens. Then, if you decide that high-grade optics are in order, you'll have almost the cash for (say) Sigma's f/2.8 50-150mm zoom, or can set your sights on one of the newly-announced high-quality (and expensive) Nikkor AF-S telephoto lenses.

[Rooz]

if youre happy with your current shots, and you should be cos they're great, why do you feel the need to upgrade ?

my biggest concern for you would be loss of focal length with a dslr and if you want the focal length then you need to spend more money and it will be a heavier kit where you need to interchange lens'.

[AlexMonro]

I agree with Rooz, if you go with the 18-200VR you might miss the reach at the long end. I see most of the (wonderful! :) ) shots you show were taken at full zoom on the S2, 432mm equiv I believe, so you might be happier getting a 300mm for the D40, maybe the 70-300VR.

Still, remember that a D40 and a couple of lenses will be a lot bigger and heavier than the S2, and although you'll probably be able to get better image quality, it'd take a lot of close examination to tell the improvement over your current efforts! :)