We have another Nikon D40 review to bring you, today’s is from Phil Askey of DPReview. The Nikon D40 is Nikon’s smallest and most affordable digital SLR yet. Its launch smack at the beginning of this year’s shopping season must have been carefully calculated. Along with the camera and lens announcements, Nikon also announced a new Speedlight, the SB-400, that is obviously aimed as a partner to the D40, neither of which have dedication to Nikon’s creative lighting system. Phil reports-

"The D40 is perhaps one of Nikon’s most important digital SLRs. It’s certainly their smallest and lightest, their most affordable and ships with a fairly decent kit lens too. But noteworthy is the fact that it’s their first digital SLR not to provide Auto Focus to their large range of lenses which do not have built-in AF motors. This was a move which in the grand scheme of things was not unexpected and although disappointing to some is unlikely to be of too much consequence for the average D40 buyer (those with more specific lens requirements are expected to go for the D80).

One thing which stood out for us when we reviewed the D80 was its responsive performance, the feeling of instant connection between the photographer and the camera. So imagine I was very happy to find that the emphasis on responsiveness has been carried through to the more affordable D40. Indeed apart from a very slightly slower viewfinder blackout and probably slower auto-focus (although not measured) the D40 doesn’t really feel any slower in use and for some functions is actually faster thanks to smaller files."

Technical Details

  • 6.1-megapixel CCD captures enough detail for photo-quality 14 x 19-inch prints
  • Kit includes 3x 18-55mm f3.5-5.6G ED II AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor lens
  • 2.5-inch LCD with three display options; built-in flash and hot shoe
  • Fast startup with instant shutter response; shoot at up to 2.5 frames per second
  • Powered by one rechargeable Li-ion battery EN-EL9 (included); stores images on SD memory cards (memory card not included)