Nikon D40

At the bottom of Nikon's dSLR food chain, the company aims the D40 at first buyers of tricycles to dSLR to training wheels. As such, it contains a number of existing parts of his brothers and sisters, the same (or similar) 6-megapixel sensor as its predecessor, the D50, the same rendering engine that the D200 and the same 420-pixel sensor 3D Color Matrix Metering II metering system found in the D80. Assuming that the DSLR-hordes of newbies have no desire lenses Nikon sells only a kit version, f/3.5-to-f/5.6G the pool as a new, 18mm to 55mm ED II AF-S DX lens (28 , 8 mm equivalent in 88mm).

This hypothesis also provides information about Nikon's decision to remove the locking pin of the lens mount, limiting the possibility of interconnecting with the camera lens, except the new AF-S and AF-I models. In other words, it is not your father's Nikon, and is the camera to buy if you have a stash of old Nikon lenses father. (You can use the compatibility data here).

Following recent trends in entry-level DSLR, Nikon dropped the second status LCD on top of the camera for a more practical about the role of 2.5-inch LCD screen on the back . A push of the button displays a view of all current settings, half press lets you navigate and change settings using the four-way-plus-OK navigation switch and command line. If you're used to shooting with a camera, it feels very familiar if you used more rational combinations of buttons and dials, you can feel a little uncomfortable. For example, in aperture priority mode lets you change the aperture only via the command dial, the shutter speed to change, you need the above process. Nikon provides a Fn key which you can assign more access button called the image size and quality, ISO sensitivity, white balance, or how to drive, but I hate when manufacturers require anywhere from several major major.

In many respects, the D40 offers the characteristics of a typical budget digital SLRs. The 6-megapixel resolution is on the bottom of a camera introduced this year, but my test photos stood up to 13x19 prints and could probably be pushed a little bigger. However, there were times that I think a higher resolution sensor would have been able to detail a little better to solve - details like the fur of a cat, for example. The camera supports sensitivity of ISO 200 to ISO 1600, plus 1 level III, which is similar to ISO 3200. Slowish The purpose of f/3.5-to-f/5.6 reduces his chances in the opening of the exhibition, however. Other shooting options include three autofocus types (single point, dynamic area and closest subject) and methods (continuous, single shot, and predictive), shutter 3 to 1 / 4, 000 seconds and bulb, flash and exposure compensation in 1/3- stop increments, and three metering modes (spot, center weighted and matrix). If you plan on RAW, make sure that the budget of $ 150 for Nikon Capture NX software, the supplied Picture Project software is insufficient.

Delay autofocus and shutter speed appears as the biggest weaknesses D40. He wakes up fast - 0.3 seconds and you're ready to go. However, the shutter lag in good light almost embarrassing (for) DSLR 0.7 seconds, and more than double in the dark to 1.6 seconds. Often missed shots because of it. The autofocus system works well for small changes - the subject of taking a step, or focus on something nearby - but the transition time from one subject to a near object, or vice versa, requires a significant long seconds block or two.

However, RAW and JPEG shot-to-shot time is an excellent 0.6 seconds (less than the shutter lag because the camera is not necessary to focus half time), as the flash time, which adds just 0.3 seconds. In continuous shooting mode, the D40 outshines the rest of his class, with 2.5 fps, the Canon EOS Rebel XTi is a mite faster, but the D40 can take more frames.

If you are looking for a good cheap dSLR, the faster and higher-resolution Canon EOS Rebel XT is probably a better option, and if you're an experienced shooter, you might want to pay more for the Nikon D80. But if you are a budding photographer in the family or want to enhance their first digital SLR, the Nikon D40 is a great option.