I have over 20 years experience in IT and Audio technology, having spent most of my life working in ...
I have over 20 years experience in IT and Audio technology, having spent most of my life working in a computer based retail environment, and as a part time DJ, lighting programmer and sound engineer.
Member since:15.02.2003
Reviews:17
Members who trust:2
There are many reviews out there for this camera, and a quick Google will get you any number of them. Full technical specs can be found here:
I'm not going to cut and paste just to fill the review up, basically It's a 6.1 Mega pixel camera, and while that does not seem a lot compared to the 8 and 10Mp (and above) it's not all about pixels, as any camera pro will tell you, optics and build are just as important and I did a fair bit of research before I opted for this model (that and it fitted bang into my price range, with both the Canon and Sony alpha models well above it)
First impressions when I opened the box were good, its well packed with everything kept separate, I bought the Nikon D40 "kit" which is essentially the
camera body, a AFS DX Zoom Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED 2 lens, neck strap, a USB cable (for connection to your PC) battery charger and mains lead, battery, 2 CD's containing software, quick start guide, warranty certificates and instruction book.
And then the slow realisation that there was no memory card. So I can't use it until I buy one, a minor irritation but I would have thought for this sort of price even a little 512Mb card would have done! It means you can't use the camera straight out of the box when you get it. Another minor niggle was no case, not even a little soft one to keep the dust off, so to call the box a "kit" is pushing it slightly.
So, battery into the charger and let's get a look anyway. About 90 minutes charges the battery, lens was easy to put on following the instructions, and then I put the neck strap on.
Or least tried to, 15 minutes later it was done, it really is quite tricky to thread the strap through the left hand side clip, and I had to use a small screwdriver VERY carefully to push it up through, all the time being extra careful not to scratch the body of the camera. Once done its pretty secure and I will use it as I have never spent as much on a camera in my life and I am terrified of dropping it (next stop accidental insurance!)
There are a lot of functions on this camera, and luckily for me there is the full "auto" function, that makes it a simple "point and shoot" camera until I feel brave enough to start to experiment with the other settings, the autofocus and exposure bits seem to work fine, and a little sensor pops the flash up automatically if it's too dark (this can be turned off in the menus)
So, simply put its getting used on the "auto" mode for a few days, I will update this review as I go on, and find my feet with the camera, but so far so good it feels well built, For the money to me it's a prefect introduction into the digital SLR camera world, and I feel confident that it will help me learn a lot more about this new hobby of mine and give me much pleasure in the years to come. (so much so that I put "excellent" for reliability and durability in the boxes below) :-)
UPDATE: 11/04/08
So, I have been living with this camera for a while now, and just keep getting more and more impressed by its ability to "keep up" with the "big boys" I have taken numerous photographs with it, and even had a couple featured in the local press, and on the BBC website. - much to the annoyance of some local "professionals" :-)
I also have now purchased a 55-200 VR zoom lens, a small cleaning kit (airbrush and cloth) a Nikon infra red remote, a tripod and a decent bag to carry the kit around in.
The battery life is excellent, and the 2GB memory card more than enough for my needs so I only bought a spare memory card, as I don't have a need for a spare battery (yet)
So, to quickly sum up, I bought one of the "digital field guide" books and am still reading it, and I have no hesitation on recommending this camera to anybody wanting to take thier first steps into DSLR land.
To, the novice, having to use your eye to take the picture (no looking at a montor here) seems odd, but then you remember generations of photographers never had monitors! there is one, but it is used to "review" your picture once you have taken it.
They are cheap enough at the moment, and I have no intention of selling mine, this one is a keeper.
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Nikon's success in the D-SLR market has been outstanding and the new D40 is sure to be yet ... more
another sales sensation. Written by Simon Stafford this "Magic Lantern" manual gives owners all the information they need to understand and operate their camera...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Advantages: Great quality and value for money, feature-rich, the good old dependable Nikon name Disadvantages: None really, unless you need more megapixels and more features for pro use
thereddragon 10.04.2009 (10.04.2009)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Nikon D40
Advantages: Excellent image quality, good core functionality of an DSLR, cheap, portable and lightweight. Disadvantages: Megapixels may not be sufficient for some, no autobracketing and no autofocus with non-AFS lenses
geft 14.10.2009 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Nikon D40
Jan 23rd, 2007
(Apr 11th, 2008)
very helpful by (82%):
helpful by (18%):
