Nikon D40 Digital SLR

With a price of £271.11, why should we buy a D40 an entry level DSLR over a high end Point and Click

 The Whole point of using a DSLR (Digital, Single, Lens, Reflex) Camera, is that the control over the final image is give over to the person holding the camera, After having a play with the camera for a day or so, I have come to the conclusion that the D40 is one of the best ways to learn the ropes in the world of the DSLR. One of the main reasons of thinking of getting a D40 is that you are interested in Photography, Nikon have clearly thought of this and have seen that learning should be fun. The D40 is the most forgiving of cameras on the market today as well as having most of the pro-level toys to play around with. The D40 gives you:
  • Creative Control
  • Superior Sensors
  • Less Noise
  • Accessories Galore
  • No Shutter Lag - one of the most loved features, when people first use a real camera
  • Instant Start-up
  • Higher Build Quality
  • Excellent learning Platform


The Camera

The D40 was introduced November 16th, 2006 and started shipping on November 30th, 2006. The biggest news however is probably fact that Nikon resisted the temptation to keep chasing megapixels. The fact is that megapixels are not everything. (Do you really need 30 megapixels to take a holiday snap of your dog in the lake) Despite point and shoot cameras now coming with up to 10 megapixels (Casio released one last month) their quality level is not necessarily has good as a DSLR with only 8 or so. Instead appear to have concentrated on what makes a good camera, a decent viewfinder, short shutter lag, very short viewfinder blackout, accurate sensors and easy to use cameras. They've trimmed some of the 'less important features' (you can't change the exposure steps for example) but have squeezed a range of new features such as custom Auto ISO which we welcomed with the D80. The D40 also has very little Shutter and mirror vibration, all helping to improve the low light capability of the camera.

It's Weightless!

The first thing I noticed, and so did my non-photographer girl friend, is that it's so light. We thought it would be much heavier, but no! It must be made of air. It's like not having a camera with you at all. The light weight makes it a dream to carry around all day. Having a camera with you instead of left in the car or at home is the difference between getting a great shot or missing it. The second obvious WOW! is the big, bright, sharp and contrasty LCD screen. It looks the same regardless of the angle from which you view it. It's the same vivid, accurate screen as on my D80, and many of the newer top end Nikons.

The 18-55mm Lens

Nikon only sells the D40 with this great little lens. Which is not a problem as its my favourite midrange zoom other than the Nikkor 18-200mm VR. I like the fact that you can only get the D40 with a Kit lens, it somehow closes the gap between the point and click range and the DSLR market. You don't really want to start thinking about lens choice and camera choice at this level. The Upgrade would be the slightly larger Nikkor 18-70mm which seems to be a common place to find on a D200 when sold over the counter. The Nikkor 18-55mm II kit lens has better optical performance in some ways than some of my other lenses, and on top of that, it weighs not much more than a lens cap. Its light weight, super-close focus and unusually good zoom ring make it a joy to carry and use. I can zoom precisely with one finger, compared to the Nikkor 18-70mm which requires two fingers. It is a perfect companion to the featherweight D40. Any other lens on the D40 seems to take out the fun of this camera Shoot at up to 2.5 frames per second The D40 can fire continuously at a speed of up to 2.5 frames per second, capturing high-quality action sequences of children in sporting activities such as soccer, baseball and much more. Yes its not the 5 frames plus that you might get from a Nikon D200 or Cannon 5D, but the D40 is About a £1000 cheaper. For me that makes the 2.5 seem like a lot. With a Point and Click you wont get anywhere near the D40 Auto Focus only for AF-S or AF-I lenses Perhaps the biggest negative on the D40 is that it doesn't have an internal focus drive motor and hence no mechanical focus drive pin, instead it only has CPU contacts which means it can only Auto Focus with AF-S and AF-I lenses (those with built-in focus motors). Indeed our 'standard' lens the Nikkor 50 mm F1.8D (and the F1.4D) are manual focus only on the D40. The images below show the difference between the mount on the D40 and D80, the D80 has a mechanical focus drive pin at about the 7 o'clock position.

Bulky / Heavy

No, not in the slightest, in fact it would say its lighter than my compact Sony.

Portability

Its sold with a small fantastic zoom lense. Its a Entry level camera, inbuilt flash. The old image of a photographer with a long zoom lens and huge flash it what they are thinking of here. Not the D40 in your bag or handbag.

I just want a snapshot

Instant start up, full Auto mode, its a point and click too, if you want! It just works better and faster. How can that be a bad thing! You wont miss the photo you want!, to get your photo, just plug in with the fast USB 2 cable, and print... its easy...

Unwanted Attention

This is not a big camera, infact many of the Higher End Compacts are bigger.

Expensive Hobby

yes.. yes it is. If your buying a Cannon Mark III at £6000 for the camera body. But every hobby becomes a profession at the pinnacle, but the D40 is less than a Battery Pack with batterys for the D200. As with everything its only expensive if you spend the money. The D40 is the perfect hobby camera.

The Numbers

  • 6 megapixel DX format CCD (1.5x FOV crop, as D50)
  • Nikon Image processing engine (as D80 / D200)
  • 3D Colour Matrix Metering II, 420 pixel sensor (as D80 / D50)
  • New Multi-CAM530 three area AF sensor
  • ISO sensitivity range 200 - 1600 plus HI 1 (3200 equiv.)
  • Custom Auto ISO (selectable maximum ISO, minimum shutter speed)
  • 2.5 fps continuous shooting (as D50), unlimited in JPEG
  • No status LCD, new LCD monitor based status / settings screens
  • Help suggestions on LCD monitor (e.g. scene too dark, try using flash)
  • Large 2.5" 230,000 pixel LCD monitor
  • Bigger viewfinder view (x0.8 magnification, 95% coverage)
  • Short shutter lag and viewfinder blackout
  • Support for SDHC (SD cards over 2 GB in capacity)
  • In-camera retouching
  • D-Lighting (shadow / highlight enhancement)
  • Red-eye reduction
  • Trimming
  • Monochrome
  • Filter effects
  • Small picture
  • Image overlay
  • USB 2.0 with PTP and Mass Storage device support
  • Very compact, light body (smaller, lighter than D50)
  • Improved menu user interface (as D80 / D200)
  • New EN-EL9 Lithium-Ion battery (7.2V, 1000 mAh)
  • New 'Version II' AF-S DX 18-55 mm kit lens
Main menu