I’m having repeated conversations with several people who ask me what camera they should buy, and I keep telling them it’s not the camera…. it has always been about the lens!! In my collection I have the Nikon’s D300, D3 and my little baby D40x which is designed to be a budget travel DSLR.

In every possible way my new D3 is far superior to the D40x, however look at the following setup.

• Nikon D3, 18-70mm F3.5-4.5
• Nikon D40x, 24-70mm F2.8

Given the two options, I would MUCH prefer the D40x with the 24-70mm. No matter how good the D3 is (and I love that camera), I deliberately invested in high quality lenses first.

This morning I have been having a laugh with my D40x and the awesome 50mm F1.8. The compact body with the fast lens has meant I can be very creative with my shots. I can shoot in any lighting condition AND because the lens is not a AF-S it means I have to manually focus; I love that!!! I am more involved in the shooting process rather than let the computer focus for me. And because of small combined size and weight I can chuck it around in my bag without taking much valuable travelling storage space!

So, for if you want to get into SLR photography then listen to me… set yourself a budget, get yourself a lens that is F2.8 or faster (the 50mm F1.8 is only £80) and use whatever is left in your budget to buy the SLR body.