Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7439 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: Nikon
• Model: D40
• Released on: 2006-12-01
• Dimensions: 6.50" h x 4.72" w x 12.01" l, 1.05 pounds
• Display size: 2.5

Features

• 6.1 megapixels
• 18-55mm lens size
• 2.5 inch LCD screen size
• 2.5 frames per second
• SD memory format

Amazon.com

Manufacturer's Description

With a superb 18-55mm AF-S DX Nikkor zoom lens, the Nikon D40 is the most affordable digital SLR on the market.
Incredibly simple to use, incredible results and an incredibly low price – that’s the irresistible new D40. With a superb 18-55mm AF-S DX Nikkor zoom lens, it’s the most affordable digital SLR on the market and it’s probably the easiest to use too. With perfect pictures at the touch of a button and a huge 2.5-in screen to enjoy them on, the D40 is simply Nikon at its best.

Quality design, quality build – quality results! Nikon means quality, and that’s exactly what you get with the D40. Using the same professional quality technology as the acclaimed Nikon D80, including 3D Colour Matrix Metering II, high-precision image-processing algorithms and image-optimising features, you know your pictures will be a cut above the rest.  6.0 megapixel The generous six megapixel resolution gives you pin-sharp images even with huge A3 prints!  2.5 frames per second shooting Take up to 100 action shots at approx. 2.5 frames per second using Contiuous Shooting Mode.  Large, bright 2.5-inch LCD screen Using the D40’s superb features is easy, thanks to the huge 2.5-inch screen, which displays full shooting information and handy access to all your image settings – you can even personalise the display.  Extraordinary camera, affordable price With Nikon you’re buying into a premium product – and with the D40 it’s at an amazingly affordable price for a high quality D40 body, plus an incredibly versatile 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 zoom lens for shooting tight portraits, expansive landscapes and everything in between.  Long-lasting battery The newly developed Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL9 lets you take up to 470 shots in single-frame shooting mode.

Compact, take-anywhere design The D40 is small but perfectly formed – as easily hand-held and portable as a compact digital camera, but offering the technological advantages and lens flexibility that only a digital SLR can. Weighing in at less than 500g (ex-battery), it’s light enough to carry anywhere, yet solid enough to stand up to tough conditions and constant use – because with a camera this good, you’ll want to take it everywhere! Other features include: In-camera image editing You’ll love the results from image-camera editing controls such as automatic red-eye correction and D-lighting to banish underexposure. Plus, a handy Help button provides a simple description for each selected function on the main menu – no manual required. Eight Digital Vari-Program Modes Optimum settings for a wide range of shooting situations, including Portraits, Child, Landscape, Sports, Close-up and Night Portrait. Four Flash Modes available Auto flash, Red-eye reduction, Slow sync and Rear curtain sync. i-TTL (Through The Lens) technology Nikon’s exclusive i-TTL flash control works accurately even with reflective objects in the background. Before each shot, the camera evaluates the scene to calculate ideal lighting and with exvery picture comes a new calculation and ideal exposure. Retouch menu Lets you edit and enhance your pictures easily in the camera with seveal colour filter effects, or use black-and-white or sepia tone. Simply apply to your images with even more interesting options in the menu. Broad ISO sensitivity range ISO sensitivity can be set from 200 all the way to 1600, enabling beautiful images in many challenging low-light situations without using a flash. USB connection Connect easily to your computer using the USB cable. The supplied PictureProject software can then be used to load photographs to your computer where they can be organised, retouched and printed. Fast, 0.18 second start-up

Box Contents

Customer Reviews

Excellent pictures - great value for the price
As most other reviews have said, this camera is great value and produces excellent quality pictures.

Before buying, I was still a bit uncertain about the megapixels argument. Camera makers' advertisements seemed to be saying 10 is significantly better than six. But photographers seemed to be saying, "Take no notice, it makes no difference for the amateur."

So I looked at it this way. A 6 Mp camera produces shots around 3000 pixels long by 2000 wide (3000 multiplied by 2000 equals six million). A 10 Mp camera produces shots of around 3800 x 2590.

This means the D40 can produce prints at 300 dots per inch that are 10 inches long, whereas the 10 Mp camera can produce prints at the same resolution that are around 12.95 inches long. The difference of less than three inches isn't that significant for me since I hardly ever print above 10 inches anyway. So I went ahead and ordered one.

After I got the camera, to test out the practicalities of the argument, I took a portrait picture and cropped the original - the result happened to be reduced to 2000 x 1500, or three megapixels. I then had it enlarged to 10 inches by eight. The result was stunningly pin-sharp. And that's from just three megapixels. I know readers aren't going to be completely convinced without being able to see the print themselves. But, as it happened, I also had another 10x8 print made at the same time. This one was taken by a professional wedding photographer with a £1,400 Canon 5D plus probably an equally expensive lens. The file I sent to the developer was 13 megapixels, compared with the three megapixels from the cropped D40 image. So, same processor, almost certainly using the same processing machine at the same time. And the result? The professional 13 Mp picture was, if anything, slightly less sharp than the D40 picture!

Please note that I am not saying the D40 is better than the Canon 5D or that I'm a better photographer than a professional. The 5D is reputedly a great camera and obviously preferable to the D40 - if you want to spend five times as much. Other factors must have been involved. Maybe the professional chose a soft focus on purpose. Maybe the lighting was less suitable. However, what I am saying is that (1) the D40 can produce excellent results with its six megapixels and its kit lens and (2) there are all sorts of other factors (eg. lighting, flash accuracy, how sharp the lens is, how accurately focussed, how slow the exposure was, how steady the camera was held) that are more important in getting a sharp picture than (in this case) quadrupling the megapixels.

Before I bought the camera, I didn't realise how much bigger the sensor is on a digital SLR than a compact digital. It's around 16 times bigger in area! A typical compact has a sensor approximately 6mm by 4mm, whereas the Nikon DX format sensor on the D40 (and D40X) is approximately 24mm by 16mm. That's 24 sq mm on a compact, compared with 384 sq mm on a DSLR. This is one of the reasons the quality is so much better on a DSLR than on a compact.

After three months of using the camera, other things I like about the D40 are:

1. You can set it to adjust the ISO rating automatically. This means you can take pictures in poor light without flash and the camera will automatically raise the sensitivity of the sensor up to 1600 ISO from its standard 200. This adds hugely to the flexibility of the camera.

Some compacts have auto ISO settings but they don't go much above 200 or 400 because the picture quality from the small sensor starts to deteriorate significantly above around 400 ISO. On the D40, 1600 ISO shows hardly any difference in quality from 200 ISO. Other DSLRs can be set at high ISO ratings but not all can be set to choose a high rating automatically as you take the picture if low light needs it.

This is a fantastic feature. It revolutionises the way you take pictures. It means you can often take better pictures inside without flash than with flash. (Though if you set the dial to Auto, the flash will always fire when light is low. You need to choose a non-auto setting to stop the flash firing.)

Confusingly, there are two entries in the menus for auto ISO. This one is under the Custom Setting Menu, item 10, ISO auto. And amazingly for such a revolutionary feature, the factory default is "Off". Turn it on straightaway if you're going to use manual settings.

2. It has a high flash sync speed of 1/500. This means you can use fill-in flash at faster shutter speeds than on, for example, the D40X (only 1/200) for sports shots or portraits on a bright sunny day. (You need a fast shutter speed if you want to freeze action, or if you've set a wide aperture for a portrait in bright light).

3. I'm impressed by the kit lens. Maybe I've been lucky with the example I got but my experience isn't in line with those who say the kit lens is inadequate or the weakest part of the system. If anything, I've found it's one of the strongest parts. But, as I say, maybe I was just lucky with this example.

4. The camera feels nice to handle. My daughters say it sounds nice too! Its shutter makes a nice professional sounding noise as you press the button (as long as you turn off the artificial beeping noises.)

In summary, I'd certainly recommend the camera. And for the price, it's great value for money.

Excellent DSLR - Well worth the money.
After many hours searching for the "best" DSLR in the market, i came across the Nikon D40. Firstly, however i must say that if you are planning on buying a DSLR, buy it for your own personal needs, and try not to be influenced by anyone elses.

Ok so onto the review. The most important thing ill start with first is the image quality. The Nikon D40 produces EXCELLENT images in good light, and if you can compensate for bad lighting conditions with the Manual setting or flash then you can get equally great results. My first few shots were really sharp, and you can really notice the difference in quality, especially if you have just moved from a compact camera to a DSLR. Whenever you say "6 megapixels" to anyone, they usually say "oh.." quite sympathetically, but with the Nikon sensor and 3D matrix metering system there really isnt any difference from say, the Nikon D40X that is also on the market at a more expensive price, despite having 10 MPX.

For £328.00 in my opinion it was a bargain, because as an amateur i needed to start at the beginning, but with the Nikon D40 it allows you to progress from a novice, to an expert in months with all the detailed features the camera possesses. If your a "novice" then the camera has numerous inbuilt modes to suit the occassion, no tweaking needed. However, like me, if you like to be "experimental" with your photography the camera certainly allows you to be, with spectacular results in modes such as Shutter & Aperture Priority, Program mode and Manual.

Aesthetically, the camera looks great. Its slightly wider than the Canon EOS 400D, which is a good thing, and for me (someone with medium sized hands) it sat perfectly in my hands with no problem. The layout of the buttons is ergonomically sound; ie: they are placed so that the consumer has little to do in order to get the result they desire. The LCD screen, as mentioned is a MASSIVE 2.5 inches, compared to my friends' Nikon D100,D200, D50 AND Canon EOS 350D, you can really tell the difference, and its really bright too, which is a good thing.

The Nikon D40 can only mount AF-S or equivalents (sigma HSM's etc) due to its lack of a body motor drive. This is not a problem, as Nikon and Sigma (Tamron and Tokina too i think) are constantly developing new lenses for the future of digital photography, so dont worry about that.

The package comes with the body, 18-55mm DX lens, a neck strap, charger, manual, photo editing software / firmware, battery, lens caps, USB cable etc (Just off the top of my head.

For the needs of an amateur / intermediate photographer such as myself, this gem of a DSLR allows me to be so creative with my photography, with GREAT results if you know what your doing. I chose this because it was the best value for money, and will suit my needs as a novice photographer for a few years, until i decide to splash out on a more expensive body.

Hope i helped...

thoroughly recommended
Not an in-depth review, more a comment on the relatively small 6 megapixels of the D40.

I recently upgraded from a compact canon powershot a620, which actually had 7 megapixels. The reason was that I had stopped enjoying the act of taking pictures (though I was relatively pleased with the resulting photos). The combination of instant zoom (by turning your hand - no waiting for a motor to move the lens), zero shutter lag, and the satisfying noise of a real shutter, mean that using any SLR is infinitely more enjoyable than a compact, and makes it a hard toy to put down. In regards to the number of megapixels, I rarely blow up my prints to a size where more than 6 are needed. But the other reason why it is not a concern is that an SLR's instant zoom and "real life" viewfinder mean that you compose your pictures properly in the first place, meaning that I don't need to crop large sections like I did with the compact. Please bear this in mind if it had put you off buying the D40.

Everything else has already been said. If this is your first DSLR, then you will love it and I have no hesitation recommending it. It is an absolute joy to use, and you will love taking the pictures as much as looking at the results. The same may apply to any other DSLR, but with the amount I love this model, I don't see any reason for a beginner to buy a more expensive one (and that includes the 10 megapixel D40x).

To conclude:
1)You NEED an SLR. Compacts are so nasty in comparison.
2)Don't let the 6MPs put you off. You won't need any more than that.