Nikon D40

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AlexH

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Alex Hamer
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Hi

I was wondering if anyone has used a Nikon D40 and if so is it a good camera. Also can you tell me it's highs and lows??



Thanks
 
Hi Alex,

I got my D40 earlier in the year and it served my needs perfectly as a beginner.

Other folk on here can give you much more detail on the pro's and cons as they have much more experience. All I can say is that for learning about photography it has been a great camera.

One of the downsides is that you are a bit limited by lenses if you intend keeping hold of it for a while. I've since upgraded but am keeping hold of the D40 in the hope that now my dad is nearing retirement, he'll want to get into photography too.
 
For someone like me being on a low budget - yet I wanted a decent SLR camera for being able to take the more "experimental" shots, the D40 suits me just perfect.
It's funny to think that the D40 is now cheaper than some of the more expensive compact and bridge cameras, so if you're a beginner but want to take "near pro-quality" pictures, you really can't go wrong with the D40.
I don't regret having bought my D40 back in June, anything more would be just overkill for me.
 
I have a D40 that's used as a walkabout (teamed up with the 18-200 VR). Excellent images straight off the sensor, and small and light enough for most backpacks etc. It also gets used as an unobtrusive walkabout during wedding receptions by my second shooter. (Most guests don't even notice it!)
My only niggle is the lack of shooting info in the viewfinder, so you have to take your eye away from the viewfinder to take a peek at the info screen on the back of the camera.
 
I have bought 3 D40 bodies in the past year. Love it to death. It is a fantastic camera, and for the price / features you will be hard pressed to find anything close to it.

I used to use it as a Point & Shoot with the kit lens (although it would take any of my other lenses .. though not necessarily auto-focusing), when I didn't want to lug a bigger body & lens with me. Got the others as gifts for family members whom I got into photography, and they obviously loved it.

Yes, it has a lot of limitations when compared to my other bodies .. but why focus on the negative? Look at what it delivers, and see if it is what you want & need; if so, go for it without hesitation.
 
Welcome Alex

the D40 was my first dslr purchase and it has been perfect for 'learning the ropes'. If I had known back then (18 months ago) that I was going to get into photography as much as I have then I maybe would have gone for something a little more mid range from the outset (like a d80 back then or a D90 these days). But at the time I wanted to get something affordable which still produced nice images.

The three 'lows' I am starting to feel restricted by are
1) the lack of auto focus, which makes using the 50mm 1.8 more fiddly
2) poor iso performance for low light snaps and landscapes
3) the 6mp output also means that I cant crop as aggresively as I could with a 10 or 12mp camera.

But I love everything else about it....you really cant go wrong.

My advice would be that if you think you are going to get into photography in a big way then go for something like a d80 (which is a bargain at the moment) or even a d90 (for improved iso performance and dynamic range) as you are unlikely to grow out of it as quickly as the d40.

But if you are wanting to keep your investment to a minimum for the time being and see how things go then the d40 will be great.

I'm upgrading to a D90 in the next few weeks for the reasons listed above but i'm still chuffed with the results i've got out of the D40.

I bought the 50mm 1.8 last week and had a play with it today for the first time and it's certainly still usable without the autofocus.....you just have to take a bit more time with the shot.....

St_Pauls1.jpg
 
you cant go wrong with the d40 as a first camera. if your still looking i have a full ''beginners kit'' up for sale and its practically brand new. take a look int classifieds.
 
How'd you get on Alex? Did you decide to go for the d40?
 
ted, very nice picture. was wondering is that shot black and white from camera or adjusted on computer?

alex, i had the d40 as a first dslr, and it was brill. but with prices come down, so much to choose from. try and get the best lens and body for the budget, but you can't go wrong with the d40 as a starter.

i was amazed how good images were from compact cameras.

the feel was good, menu were good, lens options are good but main thing is it doesn;t have auto focus in the body, which meant lens upgrades are expensive, unless you're like ted and can manual set it all
 
p1tse said:
ted, very nice picture. was wondering is that shot black and white from camera or adjusted on computer?
Click to expand...

Thanks p1tse. I always take the image in colour and convert using software. I used the chanel mixer in GIMP for that shot, tweaked in curves and then added a smidge to the red channel to warm it up a bit.

I'd also seen a lot of the flash harry snappers on here using subtle vignetting to nice effect on portraits so looked up a tutorial and had a crack. I quite like the way it draws further attention to the subject and lessens the distraction of ugly bits (like the bag).
 
I've had a D40 for almost 18 months and have no intention of upgrading. I've used it for motorsport, portraits and landscapes and have found no limitations. Ok so you can't use non AF-S lenses but thats no big deal for me. It only has 6mp so cropping is limited, just means you have to get the composition right in the first place. High ISO is also very good.

Coupled with good glass the average photographer can't go wrong.
 
High ISO is also very good
Click to expand...

I'm not willing to take mine much above ISO 400 :shrug:. I also get quite a bit of noise in the shadows at iso 200. I wouldn't call that 'very good' but I guess it depends what your benchmark is. Compared to a d700 its crapsky, compared to a d90 or d300 its also crapsky but compared to a d200 or d80 it's probably pretty similar.
 
I found the D40 a great camera to learn with and as mentioned above 6mp is good enough for A3 prints.

ISO performance, I'd agree that I wouldn't like going over 400.
 
Just out of interest ballgirl. Have you noticed much difference in image quality between the d90 you have now and the the d40 you started with?

If you could give an honest assessment was it worth upgrading?
 
Ted said:
Just out of interest ballgirl. Have you noticed much difference in image quality between the d90 you have now and the the d40 you started with?

If you could give an honest assessment was it worth upgrading?
Click to expand...

The D90 is 12mp compared to the D40's 6mp so the first thing I notice was how many pics I now get on an 8gb card (about 531 now).

The increased megapixels has meant that I've been able to crop into my pictures much more to be able to pick out the picture within the picture. Which is great as I improve my composition skills.

As I mentioned earlier as long as you aren't cropping you can still get good sized prints done on the D40. I had a photo enlarged to 50x70cm and the quality was great. This URL takes you to the original size that was printed.

For me, the D90 upgrade has been good but its just been little things like camera functionality. On the D40 if you want to change metering, iso, focus type etc you need to go into the menu system and alter it. On the D90 all these things can be changed using buttons and the thumb wheel.

The D90 having built in focus motor also means you can use much older/ cheaper Nikon lenses whereas the D40 needs AF-S.

If you have a look the quality on my Flickr items from November onwards have been with the D90, October and back will be the D40.
 
I got a D40x (10Mp) in 2007 as a way of getting back into (d)slr. I had a great time with this camera, and was very pleased with the things it could do and the good results. I also bought a 70-300mm VR zoom lens for use in aviation and motorsport, which much extended its range over the standard 18-55mm lens.

I now have a D700, but I am keeping the D40x, as it is a much lighter and a more portable camera. It is a relief to pick up the D40x for an evening flash shoot after spending a day with the combined weight of a D700 and a bulky 300mm f2.8 lens.

So it is a good camera and a good companion to the rest of my kit.

Cheers

Edward
 
I bought a D40 a few months ago and love it to bits! I take it out as often as possible because it's just the right size and weight for a beginner. i'm itching to get the 55-200mm VR AF-S lens for it, so if you can find a package where you can save yourself some money on a bigger lens, go for it! (depending on what you want to shoot of course!) I have tought myself loads about DSLRs since i got mine, and feel confident with it now. Still lots to learn ***! :)
Really impressed with the image quality for such a relatively inexpensive camera!
 
I got my D40 about 18 months ago, it's a fantastic DSLR, I now have 3 lenses, the Nikon 18-55, 55-200 and just got a Sigma 70-300 Macro (great lens). Love it's functions, etc, but here's my plus/minus on it:

Plus:
Light, easy to use, flexible in applications.
Long battery life.
Reasonably fast, quiet autofocus.
Minus:
Limited range of Auto Focus lenses.
No ISO 100, Wired remote, some advanced features a bit fiddly to get to.
Auto focus doesn't always focus right for me - maybe it's a personal thing or incorrect settings, but I set up a shot, go to press the trigger and the AF seems to arbitrarily focus on something else...

For starting, a great investment. All I need to do is upgrade the body now I have a few lenses...
 
i had a nikon d40 and it was brill.
how about the d60?
 
cant go wrong with the d40 in my eyes, its a great little camera, i was sad to see mine go.
 
A.Gibson said:
cant go wrong with the d40 in my eyes, its a great little camera, i was sad to see mine go.
Click to expand...

ditto
i had the d40, 18-55, 55-200, sb400 flash and was really pleased with it, but fancied a change and sold it for a bargin price of £280!
 
I've had mine for nearly 2 years and consider myself closer to intermediate than beginner after 15yrs of using various cameras. I keep thinking i should be 'upgrading' by I can't really see a great deal i'm missing out on, the D40 does everything I need very well. Stick an external flash on it and some better glass and you have a very, very capble camera that punches well above it's weight. The take anywhere size of the D40 is a godsend.
 
mikeyw said:
I've had mine for nearly 2 years and consider myself closer to intermediate than beginner after 15yrs of using various cameras. I keep thinking i should be 'upgrading' by I can't really see a great deal i'm missing out on, the D40 does everything I need very well. Stick an external flash on it and some better glass and you have a very, very capble camera that punches well above it's weight. The take anywhere size of the D40 is a godsend.
Click to expand...

i thought that, but decided to jump ship and get a body with a few extra features like the sony a300 and then build on lenses

i can't see what a higher spec body would give me at the moment (until i meet someone with a sony a700 or a900 and they show it off in front of me)
 
i had a nikon d40, 18-55, 55-200 and sb 400 flash gun, all nikon

main thing was i knew i wanted to experiment with different lenses, such as nifty fifty, wide angles, bigger zoom, but the cost going for the nikon was expensive due to needing AFS lenses.

i then wanted a 18-200 or similar ( i know from reading and people saying wide zoom range loose quality), but i was prepared for my general use. the sony was spot on, as didn't cost the earth. also the sony a300 gave me image stabilisation and live view.

that's where i am and plan to build on the lenses, and being able to use minolta stuff is good, as some bargins to be had (but ebay pushing prices up)
 
I bought one a couple of years ago and sold it when I upgraded to a D200.

I now really regret selling it and I plan on buying another as a holiday/walk around camera as my D200 and D300 are a bit big and heavy to carry all day compared to the D40 which is small and light.

Nothing else on the market comes close to it in terms performance per pound. Also don't be put off by only 6 million pixells, I recently printed an uncropped image from the D40 at A2 size and it looked great.

I was in my local Jessops before Christmas and they had one with the 18-55 kit lens for £199 and I nearly bought it!!
 
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