Settled on D40x, now what?

Warning - long message follows.

Background: my "current" camera is a Sony Mavica FD-91. It has done
well but it's long overdue for replacement. Thus, I don't have any
lenses lying around. I use the camera mostly for vacation photos
(inside and out), family events, household happenings, etc.

I've done enough research on the cameras to decide that the D40X will
do the job for me (only thing I wish it would do is bracketing and
RAW+JPEG-Fine but I can live without those).

I've also decided to get the 18-200 VR lens that has been discussed
here and elsewhere. Take that as a given.

So here are my questions:
1. Should I get the 40X body only or the 18-55 kit. I'm leaning toward
the kit since it would give me a smaller lighter lens choice for those
days when I know I won't need a lot of zoom for not much more money. Or
should I get the body and a different wide/low-zoom lens. Or just the
body (some have told me that the kit or other wide lens would be
redundant with the 18-200 VR).

2. Other than an SD card or two, what else would be good to get at the
same time? For example:
a) Strap? Which one?
b) Extra battery?
c) Filters?
d) Flash? Is the built in one OK or do I need a stronger one? Which?
e) Bag which will hold camera, both lenses, extra battery, flash and
not much else. I have a case for the Mavica (I can't find it or a
really similar bag online to show, but it's about 7" x 12" x 8" high
and rectangular. It fits the Mavica and a large supply (50) of floppy
disks but might be a bit big for the new camera. My main beef with the
old bag is that it sticks out too much from my body when carried with
the shoulder strap, so something flatter would be nice.

3. Can someone recommend a good book on digital photography that spends
more pages covering exposure, lighting, ISO, etc, and fewer pages
coviering Photoshop and its cohorts. I would like to learn how to get
better results right out of the camera, rather than futzing with each
photo to make it look good.

Phew, that's it for now,

Thanks in advance, Mark

"Mark Katz" <markkatzremove.TakeThisOut@mac.com> wrote in message
news:190920071754012189%markkatzremove@mac.com...

>
> 3. Can someone recommend a good book on digital photography that spends
> more pages covering exposure, lighting, ISO, etc, and fewer pages
> coviering Photoshop and its cohorts. I would like to learn how to get
> better results right out of the camera, rather than futzing with each
> photo to make it look good.
>
> Phew, that's it for now,
>
> Thanks in advance, Mark


OK, if you don't want to "futz", don't shoot raw. All the other things,
exposure, ISO, etc, are probably covered well enough in any old film
photography book in your local library. Or, Google searches for the topics
you mentioned.

Changing the ISO to a higher number is like magically letting in more light
without changing f-stop or shutter speed. The problem is the higher the ISO
the more noise aka, "grain". Longer shutter times generally will result in
greater depth of field, which means more things in your photo are in focus,
but you better use a tripod because the shutter is open too long for
hand-holding without camera motion blur ruining the shot. Smaller f-stop
numbers (larger aperture) means more light comes in, which means smaller
depth of field, which means the subject in focus will stand out from the
background which will be out of focus. Be careful with small f-stop numbers
on a "fast lens" (smaller the f-stop number the "faster" the lens) or a
subjects nose might be in focus but not the eyes. High shutter speeds are
great for most sports to stop the action, but your depth of field may be
shallow. High shutter speeds don't always work well for sports, like
motorsports, where you don't want the wheels stopped on a car so it appears
to be parked. However, high shutter speeds are great for when the car is
crashing: I usually shoot in shutter speed mode so I can quick boost it way
up the moment someone goes out of control.