Nikon D40 > Reviews > Nikon D40 SLR Camera

Author's product rating:   

Picture Quality	Excellent
Range & Quality of Features	Diverse
Ease of Use	Easy
Overall Look & Design	Excellent
Value for Money	Excellent

Advantages:	A superb camera
Disadvantages:	None

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Had done a lot of photography over the years, both 35mm and medium format, up to about 15 years ago when work commitments took over. About 4 years ago decided to start up again with a digital "point and shoot", then progressed to a 6mp Nikon "point and shoot".
Finally decided it was time to move up to a DSLR, did a lot of research and went for the D40 - Why ?
Firstly, the name: If it says Nikon on it, it is a quality camera - nuff said !
Why did I go for a camera with ONLY 6 mp ? Because there is more rubbish talked about the number of pixels in a camera than there is about anything else. You only need to go to 8/10/12 mp if you are making VERY large prints or have to do a lot of cropping, OR, if you just want to boast about the number of megapixels you have !

Having bought the camera, what do I think of it ? - it is superb !

The camera is compact and a very reasonable weight compared to most of its competitors. It offers a full range of shooting modes and various combinations of auto/manual. It took me a while to get competent enough to start using it to anywhere near its full capabilities. My previous camera was also 6mp and produced excellent photos, the photos produced by the D40 are amazingly better ! Whether this is due to better processing or having a "proper" lens I don't know, but the difference is stunning.
I was a bit concerned about battery life on a relatively large camera like this, but the Nikon battery just goes on for ever, despite having to power the electronics, the mirror, shutter, a large screen and the auto focus motor.
I use a 2gb card (none supplied with camera) which holds 560+ photos at "best" jpeg quality, if you reduce the quality you double or quadruple that quantity. The camera will take a 4gb card, but I have read that there are compatibility issues with some cards of this size.
If you get "lost" the instruction book is excellent with no "Japanese English" anywhere !

I can honestly say that there is nothing I dislike about this camera.

PS:
If you buy this camera instead of a 6/8/12 mp one, you can afford the Nikkor 55-200mm VR lens to go with it - as I did.