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Photography

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• Nikon D40 SLR Digital Camera Kit

• Price Range

  $394.95 - $599.99
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  • RATING
• Overall Rating
  5 Star Review

  Reviewed by: desmunson

  Updated:04-05-07

  Duration of ownership:

  Strengths: easy to use, outstanding quality for the price

  Weaknesses: Absolutely NONE.. you get what you pay for.

  Overall Evaluation: When you pay $500 for something, you should do a little research on what it is your are buying. Anyone who is surprised by the lack of an internal motor or lack of compatibility of legacy lenses should have done their homework. This is a great camera to break into the DSLR arena. Yes, you can get a better lens, but not in this price range. That includes the Canon, Olympus and the Pentax. Ability to take clean pictures at 1600 is something you won't find in the competition. Nikon replaced the D50 for a reason. This camera is cheaper and better than the one it replaced. It is highly recommended. Read the expert reviews to make sure you know what you are getting.

• Overall Rating
  5 Star Review

  Reviewed by: alarce

  Updated:04-01-07

  Duration of ownership:3 Days

  Strengths: Lightweight, great pictures out of the box in Auto, capable 18-55 lens, long battery, low price

  Weaknesses: Auto focus a bit slow

  Overall Evaluation: Got the camera three weeks ago with the SB400 flash unit and have yet to be disappointed. Don't let the 6 meg pixel scare you away. The reality is the pixel size is more then enough for 8x10 and larger prints. In the AUTO mode the D40 handles the most challenging lighting scenarios with seldom a miscalculation. The 18-55 lens provides ample wide to mid zoom capability. My former camera was a film SLR which I used in manual mode, with exception of some night shots, I'm always in program or auto. The D40 has plenty of in camera editing features including the ability to re balance shots using the 3 color histogram. This is just a great all around SLR at a great price.

• Overall Rating
  4 Star Review

  Reviewed by: nagapraveen

  Updated:02-25-07

  Duration of ownership:30 Days

  Strengths: compact, easy to use menus

  Weaknesses: If you need more megapixel ...it migt be difficult, no night landscape mode

  Overall Evaluation: Very smaller & lighter camera, decent price, It has 2.5 frames per second...very good battery life, Auto mode available which can take the flash off..It produces decent sharp photos..

• Overall Rating
  5 Star Review

  Reviewed by: compcons

  Updated:02-22-07

  Duration of ownership:

  Strengths: Easy to transition from Point-and-Shoot to a DSLR, image quality

  Weaknesses: Typical for a DSLR, heavy, not compact, etc.

  Overall Evaluation: To begin with, I received this camera as a gift. This is my first SLR of any type, and am quite impressed with all the things I can do with it. I am pleasantly surprised how easy is to use, given I've had 2 months and haven't read the directions yet. I'm sure once I do, however, that I will be able to take advantage of all the camera's features.Image quality is excellent hands down even for 6 megapixel and the standard kit lens. In my opinion, for my purposes of casual photography, that's enough -- I don't want to deal with huge file sizes. And if I need to, I'm sure I can shoot in RAW. I am also very satisfied with the flash for my use, it takes EXCELLENT pictures in the dark my old Canon 3.2 megapixel would never be able to take clearly.USB transfer is fast using USB 2.0 (really necessary for larges images from this camera), and using an Ultra SanDisk card, does not appear to be any lag.Really everything I've done up to this point has been in Auto mode, and it's really amazing how well the auto-focus and the rest works. I really need to graduate to the advanced features quickly!Battery life: It seems to last forever, at least 200 shots. I haven't run one down yet (though I recharge often and purchased a spare battery -- a bit high at $45 or so).The camera's GUI seems easy to understand, and oh my, even lets me do simple image editing on the camera itself (cropping, balance, etc.). Don't know how easy it is to control, but a nice feature, nonetheless.LCD screen is HUGE, bright, and clear. Just be careful to keep it protected (that goes for the whole camera). Also surprising is that Nikon doesn't include any SD card, but not a big deal, since any included card would probably hold just a few pix at full resolution.Overall, I look forward to soon taking advantage of every feature this camera offers to improve image quality even more.

• Overall Rating
  5 Star Review

  Reviewed by: c2d2

  Updated:02-10-07

  Duration of ownership:

  Strengths: Small size for a DSLR, solid build quality, familiar nikon controls, good flash range, nice viewfinder, great battery life

  Weaknesses: No autofocus drive motor in body to drive non-AF-S lenses (not really a problem if you don't have old lenses)No bracketing (not that big a deal either with RAW files)

  Overall Evaluation: This D40 kit is just purrfect. I've had an N65 for a long time, and this is much smaller than that body, and of course much much smaller than a N80. When I saw this first, I thought it might be too small or awkward, but when I picked it up with the lens, it feels just right -- not too small/light nor too big/heavy. Just right. The pics I've taken so far are great (of course, my opinion). The lens is great as well, pretty fast and quiet (built-in AF motor). The zoom range is okay -- the 18-55mm translates to 27-82.5mm because of the 1.5 crop factor. I'd be ecstatic if I could get a 18-200mm (27-300mm!), but of course that is pretty expensive (a dream for another day). I'm getting ready for a trip to Europe, and I'm really excited to take my D40 with me. All in all, a great kit for a really reasonable price.

• Overall Rating
  5 Star Review

  Reviewed by: virtuaoski

  Updated:02-10-07

  Duration of ownership:

  Strengths: Lightweight, compact, responsive, easy-to-use, great display, takes excellent pictures.

  Weaknesses: None

  Overall Evaluation: This camera gives great pictures and is a joy to use. As with all Nikon SLRs, the autofocus and shutter are extremely responsive, and the kit lens gives excellent photos over a 3x zoom range. Controls are intuitive, and the camera boasts a large and bright LCD screen. It is very lightweight and compact, and is convenient to bring around. Many buyers are using this with a "mini" top-loading case worn on the belt. This makes it very handy for those who want to have a high-quality camera available during social events. Overall, the Nikon D40 is an excellent entry-level DSLR.

• Overall Rating
  5 Star Review

  Reviewed by: brookeandjames_1137023173

  Updated:02-09-07

  Duration of ownership:

  Strengths: The lens zoom range is perfectThe camera generally does what I want, and the setting can be adjusted pretty quickly if it isn't.

  Weaknesses: The lens is too long. I'd prefer less zoom and a shorter lens.

  Overall Evaluation: When searching for cameras, I dismissed this product as Nikon's entry level camera, which in the past has meant "plastic toy". I was actually hunting for a used D100 and wishing I had the cash for a D80 or D200. Then reading various reviews (dpreview, kenrockwell.com), I was sold that this camera was a great value for the money. After two weeks using it, I can say from experience it is a great value for the money. I got the camera and was shooting that night without reading the manual at all. I initially used the 'icon' modes at the top of the dial, but couldn't figure out how to set up the delayed flash options. Which is fine because shooting without a flash worked so well. We were in a nice restaurant with low lighting and the photos without flash were superb--sharp, nice color balance, and the lighting felt just like a restaurant. Later after reading Ken Rockwell's (kenrockwell.com) excellent reviews and remarks on this camera, I have it set up so that it works just the way I want it without needing to use the icon modes. One note, I *dont* like the punched up color recommended by Ken Rockwell---a pic of my 6 year-old on a cloudy rainy morning had too much color in her lips and jacket. It looked like I had retouched the photo to punch up the lip redness. She's 6, I don't want her looking like a tart. My only complaint is that the lens is too long. I just like short lenses. I love the zoom range, I just wish it was about half the length. Ah, that's the tyranny of optics, I guess. I will probably save up my money and just by a wide angle. (I'd love to just have the 18mm part of the 18-55 lens).

• Overall Rating
  4 Star Review

  Reviewed by: moffett_s

  Updated:01-19-07

  Duration of ownership:1 Months

  Strengths: Fast, light, intuitive and great output.

  Weaknesses: lens support - you're limited to the AF-S and HSM (Sigma) lenses for auto focus. Body construction is lacking compared to D80 and above; similar to Canon XTi (plasticy).

  Overall Evaluation: The limited lens support is real, but not the end of the world. There is a good selection of AF-S (and Sigma HSM) lenses so unless your looking at buying a bag full of lenses (which you really shouldn't) you'll be just fine with what's available. My thought is that the people looking to the D40 won't have any legacy lenses and probably won't need anything more than the kit lens. The kit lens is nice and light and really puts out some good pictures. It's also very fast and quiet at focusing. The flash is great on this and many DSLRs. And if you don't feel the flash is enough you can pick up the SB-400 for ~$130 and be able to bounce off ceilings for improved performance. I struggled between purchasing the D40 or the D50. Price was roughly the same. You can get the D50 body for just under $400 and if you subtract off ~$140 (what you could sell the D40 kit lens for) from the $559 kit cost you're looking at just over $400. With that in mind I feel like the image quality and many of the functions of the 2 cameras are very similar. The main reason I wanted the D50 was for the lens support, but after looking at the interface, auto ISO, and the beautiful 2.5" screen of the D40 I just couldn't resist. The screen is great! ISO performance is really outstanding as well. The ISO 3200 setting is a waste, but 1600 and below are certainly useable. I'm giving this product a 'Very Good' rating only because I'm very happy with it so far, but I've only had it a month. Remember, the camera doesn't make a good photographer; there will be a learning curve to really produce some wonderful shots, but this camera is fun, easy and you can't beat the price.

• Overall Rating
  5 Star Review

  Reviewed by: ranes

  Updated:01-18-07

  Duration of ownership:4 Months

  Strengths: -Amazing image quality, better jpg quality even than D50 -Fast shot-to-shot, no shutter lag -Small size and light weight -Very good kit lens -Great and intuitive interface

  Weaknesses: -Not many AF-S primes-Kit does not include a lens hood

  Overall Evaluation: I took the jump and went DSLR (chose it over the Canon Rebel XTi). Let me tell you, this is an amazing little camera at an amazing price just as all the reviews have said. Its size and light weight is perfect for those tired of the poor image quality of point and shoots (especially with high ISO) and are looking to move up without wanting to go to something too big. Even serious photographers have said that they love the camera as a walk-around opting to leave their bigger professional SLRs at home when not shooting for work. I love the wide angle (27mm equivalent) coverage of the kit lens compared to my previous super-zoom P&S which started at 35mm. The camera is very responsive, easy to use, and just plain fun. Some may worry about its ability to auto-focus only with AF-S and the more expensive and old AF-I mounts, but that's not really such a big deal. AF-S is the future and Nikon will undoubtedly release more AF-S lenses in the future (like the recently announced VR 55-200mm). Even then there are already many lenses from Nikon and Sigma that auto-focus with this camera. Get this camera - you will love it!.Update: After 3 months of waiting, I finally received the VR 18-200mm. Although it's heavier, about 2.5x more than the extremely light kit lens, the range and the VR are amazing! The auto-focus is also slightly faster than the kit lens. Overall, this has been a very nice combination for me.

• Overall Rating
  5 Star Review

  Reviewed by: mjsmith75

  Updated:01-15-07

  Duration of ownership:5 Days

  Strengths: Quick focus, excellent image quality, very good feel in hands, bright display and very easy to use menus...I love this camera!

  Weaknesses: Lack of autofocus motor in camera, will limit what lenses can be bought.

  Overall Evaluation: This is my first digital SLR camera. I upgraded from a Canon G2 (which was great 4 years ago) and the difference is profound. I am so impressed with the speed of this camera and the quality... I haven't been able to take a bad picture yet. As for the reviews, they all stated this camera was great and for the money, it is. If I have $500-$600 more I would have upgraded to the D80 but that is almost double what I paid for this camera... For the money and for a first time SLR purchase, this is the best.

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Nikon D40 SLR Digital Camera Kit

$394.95(31 sellers) • Avg User Rating •Specs