» Nikon D40X 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only)

Nikon D40X 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only) Reviews

Customer Rating:
Summary: Underachiever- buy D50 or D70 instead.
Comment: Let me start by saying I am a full-time professional photographer. I shoot purely with Nikon, right now I work with a D300, D200, and I use a D70 for around-the-house photos. D70 gives pretty good quality, and to must people(non professionals), superb quality. It isn't quite the quality of the D300, but is much less bulky which is why it is my go-to camera for home.
The D40 is really quite terrible in my opinion. If you hope to do anything besides shoot auto, you are out of luck, things like ISO, F-stop, and speed are all inside the camera's menu, rather than being on the upper user screen like the other D50 and up. They are trying to sell you on the higher megapixels. Go to: http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/mpmyth.htm to read about the megapixel myth that camera companies are trying to sell you on. I started out shooting professionally with a D50, and I was able to blow it up photos up to 11x14 for photos of people, and I actually have a two foot by 4 foot landscape canvas from that camera that did not pixelate.
The camera takes okay pictures, but you'll get better ones and more options from the D50 or D70. The ONLY thing that the D40 offers, and should not be the deciding factor, is that it gives you a pretty large lcd screen.
I shot around with a D40 that my sister-in-law owns the other day, and it was so frustrating to shoot with. It takes a long time to focus, it's very slow. It also has a delay to taking the picture, like a cheap point-and-shoot camera, vs. the D50 or 70 that shoot quite fast and perform well as far as focus goes.
Also, another reason to avoid the D40 is that the auto-focus is in the lens rather than in the camera, so it makes the lenses really expensive (and quite crappy I might add). I don't think the D40 should even be in the "D" line, because it really isn't set up like a normal SLR. It is more like a fancy point-and-shoot. I hate it and I hope that you avoid paying more for less of a camera just because it is a newer model. You can get D50's and D70's used for pretty cheap now, sometimes in the $300's.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: A great little camera
Comment: I absolutely LOVE this camera! At first I was looking to buy the D200, but after receiving the D40x as a gift I wouldn't have it any other way. It's the smallest DSLR on the market which is perfect because I have little hands and it's makes for easy handling. Also, the CCD image sensor is just amazing and makes everything so sharp with the help of the AF 3-area matrix metering system. Quite honestly, I prefer the older 3D color matrix metering II on the D40x and D200 then the newer one on the D300 because the newer system tends to blow out highlights and data is lost where as the older white balance meter tends to show details in the highlights and darken the shadows. Also, the LCD monitor is really big so you can view pictures easier which is awesome and the battery lasts a long time without having to charge all the time (if you don't use the built in flash alot like I do). All in all this is an amazing little camera and it's versatile enough to be used by both novices and semi-professionals.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent choice for most people
Comment: I have owned this camera for a year now. It is an excellent camera. I read through several of the reviews here and wanted to add some comment to some things brought out. Although I am not a professional photographer I do work with digital cameras and have for several years. The D40x is a great choice for people who want the advantages of an SLR camera without some of the pitfalls of such - cumbersome, covered with buttons and requiring multiple settings, etc. just to take a picture. The camera is an advanced technology with its quiet shutter, noiseless focus and great menu system that toggles you through basic settings quickly - ISO, picture quality, white balance (if needed) You do not need to search around for separate dedicated buttons to set these settings. Users know where to go - the toggle. IF YOU leave it on the first menu set known as shooting menu, switching any of these settings is about 3 button presses to your choice of action.
Those who noted the lens issues and no sports pic shooting, eh, the camera shoots quickly and it is instantly active upon switching power. If you have a lot of Nikon lenses then perhaps the D80 is best and obviously you are more than an average camera user. Do not be concerned about lens availability though. Something else not mentioned is that many of the DX lenses also have VR or vibration reduction. Finally the lack of a depth of field PREVIEW is interesting. I did a search on the internet to actually find out what the importance of such a thing was and found two very detailed descriptions. Basically, according to the first website, "few professionals consider the DOF tool in their arsenal...it is rarely used and often criticized for seemingly making the picture appear darker. It can however allow for a preview of creative shots that make your subject pop and all else seem unimportant" Hmm. Professionals rarely use it? Why then is it so critical on a camera? Further reading and I realized that this feature's purpose is to set the aperture to what you see in the view finder prior to taking the picture. This seems odd though considering the advantage of seeing shots in a viewfinder and also having aperture priority mode AND automatic modes to compensate for such tedious work. Professionals may scoff at my description but the point is that unless you are a professional wanting a highly specific tweak on your depth, this camera will do it. The other website I found had a movie showing the advantage of a depth of field preview. The DOF description was the same except the example was a woman standing in the woods. The woman was focused and the background blurred. All while showing how to press the DOF button while looking through the viewfinder, focusing and shooting. With the D40x you can accomplish the same effect faster by turning the knob to portrait and snapping the picture! You can still work at it if you want with the aperture priority setting. Everything is visible from the viewfinder. I just wanted to bring these important points out because this really is a good camera and when things are mentioned that most people do not know what it is other than "this camera is really missing something" then they check it off their list. The automatic settings on the camera produce fantastic results and are what most people would use anyway. Just don't think the camera can't do it- it can!

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Customer Rating:
Summary: wonderfull camera
Comment: Best choise in a semi professional camera. You name it she can do it. Recommend also the upgrade Nikon D60.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Must have for new parents.
Comment: I bought it to take pictures of our new baby and it does not disappoint. I am so glad I did. Great photos indoor or outdoors. If you are a new parent, you MUST buy a DSLR. Do NOT stick with a point-and-shoot. You need that as well for portability, but most of the photos you take will be at home, and even an average DSLR blows any point-and-shoot out of the water in picture quality. And this is one of the best entry level DSLRs.

You can improve picture quality significantly with an external flash, or so I have heard. Have not splurged for one myself yet. The built-in flash seems adequate. But it is on my wish list.

The focus is not quite as sharp as some high end cameras and ones that the pros use, but is still amazing. Colors are very well captured. I wish Nikon included CaptureNX with the Camera rather than selling it separately. Also Raw+Jpeg mode is weak since Jpegs in that mode are just adequate to attach to emails. Not very good at all. The new D60 seems like a good replacement for this camera, although not a whole lot different.

Overall I am very pleased with the Camera and would definitely recommend buying.

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