Nikon D40 Digital Camera with 18-55mm lens

This model of camera is far superior to any other Nikon camera I have had before. The picture quality is 2nd to none and the photographs look more like 3d images. Absolutely fantastic quality/value for money. I am amazed by this camera as I have had a Nikon Digital camera but this is by far, the best one made by Nikon. They've got it spot on this time.

Having been a keen photographer since the 1970's I initialy found the move to digital photography a big let down with the early generation of digital cameras giving very poor results compared to film cameras. Then I tried a Canon Powershot A620 compact camera which helped to convince me that digital photography was worth investigating. When a friend bought a Nikon DSLR I was impressed by the results, but not by the price tag. Then the D40 came along and there was a budget route to owning a quality DSLR. It has all the features that I require and a growing range of lenses that will work on it. I have been using Nikon 35mm SLRs since 1976, so the D40 feels a bit of a fly weight in comparison, especially the weight of the lenses, but the results are fine. The 18-55mm kit lens is a good starting point, then I got the 55-200 AF-S VR lens. This has built in vibration reduction, hence the VR, which allows shooting with lower shutter speeds with no camera shake apparent in the pictures. There are several lenses available for the D40 that have this feature. The only draw back of the VR feature, as I see it, is the heavier battery drain. On the subject of battery drain, I took my D40 on a three week holiday this summer, took over 500 pictures, some with flash, and did not need to recharge the battery. This was with regular reviewing of the pictures on the large LCD screen which is where most of the power is used. I had bought a spare battery on eBay, just in case, but didn't need it.
The D40 is quite compact as DSLRs and 35mm SLRs go, but I find that an advantage as it is not such a lump to carry about as the larger cameras. The old Nikon lenses were made of glass and thick brass and they felt like it. The D40's lenses have probably substituted aluminium for brass, hence the relatively light weight. Many of the D40's features are accessed via menus, which took a bit of getting used to, but now that I have used the camera for a while and arrived at my prefered settings I need to delve into the menus less and less.
So to summarise:
The likes- Price, quality of the pictures taken, the range of lenses and accessories available, long battery life, the use of cheaply and readily obtainable SD memory cards, big clear viewfinder image, big clear LCD screen for reviewing photos, more features than you could shake a stick at, although you don't have to use them (my 7 year old daughter takes very respectable photos with the D40 simply by leaving it on AUTO mode),auto focus that works very quickly, no delay between pressing the shutter release and the picture being taken ( unlike on earlier digi cameras), standard 52mm filter thread on many Nikon AF-S lenses(just like on my old 35mm SLRs).
Dislikes- can't think of any,except for the very tedious instruction book, at this price I am delighted with the D40, I bought one of the several guides to the D40 that are available, it is much easier to follow than the official Nikon offering.
Things you might like to get to go with your D40:
The afore mentioned guide to using the D40, a screen protector to guard against damaging the LCD screen, camera cleaning kit to keep camera and lenses spotless, spare battery if you are going to use it alot or be away from a mains supply, for the charger, for a long time, a case to carry and protect the D40 and its' accessories, Skylight filters to protect the front elements of your lenses.
Most of these items are available on eBay from shops and private sellers.

We decided this would be the camera for us after a recommendation from a work colleague. We needed to have a camera that would be as good at close ups as distance shots and we have not been disappointed. The camera is light to carry around & not so big as some others,so ideal for holidays use. I can honestly say that in my opinion there is nothing I dislike about the D40 at all.

First of all, I must name the criterias which were most important for me when choosing the camera: it's ability to shoot in low light conditions using high ISO settings with as little noise as possible and the detail levels of the photos. Having studied some tests of entry level DSLR cameras I narrowed my search to cameras of 2 manufacturers: Canon and Nikon as their products had some noticable advantage in shooting with high ISO settings over other manufacturers's models. The second criteria was fulfilled too. I read the reviews and tests of 4 last models of their class: Canon EOS 350D (8 megapixels) and 400D (10 megapixels), Nikon D40 (6 megapixels) and D40X (10 megapixels) as they fell into my affordable price frame and produced competitive results for their price. The main reason why I chose Nikon product was the performance of the kit lens. Canon EOS 350D and 400D being decent cameras have rather dissapointing kit lenses. So it was better for me to buy the body of any of the two models and then make a purchase of some good lens which would cost some extra 300 GBP or more. That meant the purchase would exceed my affordable price frame. So I decided to choose Nikon 40D as it was the cheapest of the 4 named above and had a decent performance even with the kit lens. Of course other Nikon model (D40X) would be the great choice too but for the start of DSLR photography I decided to choose the 6 megapixel model.
I have been using my D40 for some time and must say it has fulfilled my expectations. I have made some high ISO and long exposure photos which maintain high detail and reasonably low noise levels. The autofocus is very fast in most cases and continuous shooting works well too. The images are copied to computer very quickly too: if you choose to copy about 10-15 high resolution up to 4 MB images to computers hard disk the images are copied almost at the same moment when the paste button is pressed. Of course there are some cons about this camera. One thing which is quite annoying that the LCD screen turns off very quickly when inactive (less than 5 seconds) other thing I dislike is that there is no hard ISO button. But overall it is a decent camera and in my opinion the best choice for entry level DSLR in the 300 GBP price frame.

I was unsure as to whether to purchase such an item off of Ebay as the cost was quite high... but I couldn't resist the price that emilyandlily were offering it at. I don't require a 10 megapixel camera so this one, at 6MP, is more than adequate.

What I like about it - well it's so easy to use, practically point and shoot. It holds just about 600 high res JPEGS and the battery life is all of that (providing you don't leave it on all the time). The two lens' are a joy to use, in both 'auto' and manual modes, and not being one to 'read the book' I just went away and clicked, and clicked...

Where I used it was on safari in Kenya - and the results were magnificent!

The revue asked me what I don't like... well nothing I guess. Would I buy again? That's a definite yes, and from the same people as well. I suppose if I wanted a longer lens that, on the high street, would cost me more than this package.

If you are in doubt as to get one of these cameras and would like to see the result/s of my just clicking away, then let me know and I'll send you a pic or two for you to check out. The sellers are OK, very prompt but do not correspond directly (maybe I would say that that was the one thing I didn't like).

PS: If you want my opinion on any of the above please send your email address in your query as on Ebay you cannot reply to anyone's query...

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After owning a lovely Nikon Coolpix 5700 I decided to 'move up' to an SLR and have been really pleased with the D40. With its superb menus you don't need to carry the handbook around with you - you just ask the camera. The ttl flash is fantastic, giving you just the right amount of flash, which is something that'll amaze you if you're used to a compact. Great Nikon lens options available, and the 18-55mm lens that comes with it is a fine lens for the money. Nikon extras such as flashes, again, are great. I have had some dust on my sensor though, which I've managed to clean off. I have been changing lenses very regularly though, so dust might be expected. On the whole this is a fine camera for the money, and they're now going for less than £300 all in, and you can barely buy a good compact for that.

Well this was my first SLR and I have to say I was not disapointed!
The pictures I have taken in the month I have had the camera are simply fantastic. As soon as you pick it up you know it is a quality item and it doesn't disapoint - the manual is simple and straight forward - yet the posibilities seem endless.

Point and push 'Auto' function for the new starter is great and you are off and running very quickly - simple controls. Although I can recommend turning it to 'no flash' in good indoor lighting conditions to get a more natural feel.

Continuous picture taking is just superb for those movement shots and even on standard pictures - as you then have the choice of the best snap..)

jpg's save at a default of approx 1.5Mb - so you can get between 1100-1400 pics on the 2Gb card.

I would suggest purchasing a remote - they are on ebay and I can recommend the type that clips onto the neckstrap.

I am completly won over by this camera and would recommend it to anyone - I have had plenty of digital cameras before but nothing even comes close to this!

For long range shots I prefer the Panasonic FZ20.

I bought the D40, as I think that the picture quality is one of the best
that I have seen for the moderately priced DSLR range.
In my opinion it has far better quality than the Rebel, which has a lot
of hype written about it.

9/10

The D40 offers many of the features of the more advanced Nikons, but at a very affordable price. I especially like the ability to customise the menus so that one-off settings can be hidden, leaving just the options that are more frequently used.

To get great pictures from this camera is easy, but visit Ken Rockwell's website for a brilliant free guide to setting up the D40.

Firstly its the quality of the pictures straight from the Camera - no need to mess about with the photos on the computer. I think that the secret is 6meg pixels is better than 10meg pixels. The pics appear sharper and colours life like. 10meg pics may have more detail if you want to make posters but I have many A3 prints that look really good.
Easy to use, very light weight and the two kit lenses are really first class. If you are taking Head and shoulders then use the 55-200 lens and you will get superb clear shots of your subject and a nice blurred background.
Never mind the price feel the quality

Though my friends recommanded me D40X which has a better sensor that has a higher solution. But for me, a entry level photo player, i just need to get familiar with the DLSR body first. Image quality is not the most important thing now.

D40 body is solid and light, so is the lens as well. Autofocus works well but in bad situation it will lose its focus. Function is limited but practical. So I don't feel inconvenient now.

The only thing I want is another lens 55-200 VR. I need this lens to experience the difference.

In short, it does what it should do. If you really know what you want, it will give you a good answer back. Sorry for my English

I have been looking at camera's for a long time and my son informed me that this was a good one at a good price. Being 63, with not a lot to do it has opened up my eyes to look for good pictures with a variety of subject, and being an arkward old man and not totally knowledgeable about what makes a good photo, this camera is easy to get my head around and I have taken some great shots since buying it.

This is a really simple and easy to use camera. Being my first digital SLR, it took me less than a minute from opening the box to taking photos. Lens provided is great for landscapes.
Excellent quality of images, you can zoom in on a photo several times and print in A4 and still see no loss in quality.

The only issue is that sometimes pixel blurring occurs around the edge of photos, but only occassionly.

It can be difficult to get to grips with the manual modes without help, the manual is utterly useless, in the M mode (manual) you can control aperture by holding the +/- key and rotating the click-wheel. Low Aperture is brighter picture. Normally scrolling the click wheel adjusts the shutter speed, the smaller the number the more light is let in, although the more blurred the images becomes with even the slightest movement to the camera.

An excellent product although it helps to have some experience in SLRs, or know someone who you can easily ask.

Having read Ken Rockwell's very lucid and enthusiastic reviews of this camera, I decided to 'take the plunge' and have to say that it's simply the best - a wonderful piece of kit, and after experiencing everything that's it's possible to do with this camera, I'd never go back to a 'compact' digital. Still discovering new aspects of its potential and I expect to be for some time to come. Very highly recommended indeed !

I was ready to move on from my kodak Easyshare Z650,a good camera but with some limitations.The Nikon D40 got a very good report from "Digital Camera Buyer Magazine" as a good choice for people wishing to "venture into" DSLR photography. "can't go wrong with the D40" they reckon. Well I've been enjoying photography for over 50 years but a computer operator I aint, and that's what you seem to have to be these days. I've only had my D40 for a few days but I'm up & running with it, I'm taking photos, enjoying it and learning new bits of it as I go along. I'm no photographic genius, so can't give you a super technical, in depth analysis of its finer points compared with loads of other cameras. This is the view of a guy who started with a box brownie and is struggling to enjoy the great advances in equipment and still just be a photographer, not a computer buff. I find the D40 gives me great results in Auto mode, that gives me time to gain confidence with it, find that it is easy to play with, to experiment and practise with. I do like the physical layout of the controls, it is very easy to change modes for different subjects when I am photographing flowers, birds, butterflies etc. The amount of info on the monitor is still confusing, but that's life these days. The D40 feels good to handle and is a lot more fun than I thought a DSLR would be.

this is one of the best DSLR cameras i have used may not be enough settings if you are a professional but easy to use for the amature with great picture quality one to consider in your list of DSLR

It's amazing, it handles well, and I've adapted to it easily. It's great to use, the the images are extremely clear and crisp. The lens is good, though the remembering what all different things mean, but it's brilliant.

It is so light but can do anything I want (and much more I suspect!). It can be used as a simple point and shoot model or for taking serious shots such as church interiors which I enjoy working on - never had better results. My wife hates it because I cannot fit it into a pocket as I could with 3 previous compact cameras. It is true that it does not have that convenience but I knew all that as I had used Nikon film cameras for years until trying digital 3/4 years ago. The great thing is that all the old lenses and filters fit it too. What I need now is a small haversack to carry it and other gear safely - I do a lot of hill walking incidentally. The 18mm to 55 mm lens is pretty good too. It too is light but focuses well and as I found out last week while at Aber Falls in North Wales, allows you to get really close to the subject using the 18mm end and still getting the complete shot wiht someone inthe foreground. So what you have is a very happy owner and so pleased that I bought it rhough e-bay from a great seller - I can say that although I did not meet him - my son picked it up from him- it is exactly as he described it. Great!!

The nikon D40 slr was a present for my partner for her birthday she was really pleased with it and it arrived quickly as well. So overall a very good Ebay purchase from a good reliable seller.
Thankyou.

Great to have a digital SLR after successive compact cameras which die after a few years. Great quality shots and lots of possible adjustments to get the most of the moment. I got 2 lenses with my D40 and this has created a complete outfit flexible for all needs. 2 downsides are the size, after being use to poping a camera in my pocket I have to get used to carrying a dedicated case; and the viewing screen. Every compact I have had has allowed you to line up you shot in the viewing screen so I never used the view finder; with this generation of SLR you can only see the shot through the view finder until you have taken the shot. These are little things to get used to as opposed to true negatives.

The Nikon D40 is stunningly good value for money and takes superb, sharp and bright pictures. The quality is MUCH better than a digital compact even with more megapixels.

Don't be seduced by the number of megapixels, especially in compacts. The sensors on most compacts are tiny compared with the D40's and can't handle low light conditions anything like as well.

If you really need more megapixels e.g for cropping or very big enlargements go for the D40x or D60, but if you're just producing album sized prints or sharing pictures online you will never need them. All you'll do is take up more space on your hard drive!

I havn't got a single criticism of my Nikon D40. It's such amazing value that I think Nikon must be subsidising it as an entry model to introduce new users to the brand.

Brilliant camera for someone looking at a good quality digital camera without paying silly money. Got some great pics of my daughter's 12th birthday party pretty much as soon as we had got it out of the box. The macro has given me quality pics of diamond rings glinting in sunlight. Very light and easy to use.
Very impressed for a couple of hundred quid.