Advantages and disadvantages of D40

i love cameras

New member
I wanted to know the advantages and disadvantages of Nikon D40. The reason i am asking this as i am keen to buy this.
 

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shakman

New member
Hi, I have just bought a used D40 myself and have not been able to explore the camera to its full extent. I am also a 'wanna be amateur'. However, I find the a few things good about this already. 1) It is compact and lightweight, 2) it takes most of Nikon's old lenses, 3) it has very good image quality, 4) it has a very high sync speed (500), 5) it performs decently at high ISO (at 800 at least), 6) its menu and functions are easy to navigate, 7) the price! I think one of its greatest disadvantages is the absence of the motor drive in the body (some of the old AF lenses will not auto focus). Also, it does not have a DOF preview button. In my Pentax, there is a button which suggests exposure parameters when using fully manual lenses (focus & aperture), the D40 does not have that. I do not have any auto focus lenses so I am not sure about its AF abilities. If I could afford, I would buy the D90 but I am very happy with my used D40 for now. Hope this is helpful.
 

Photoman7mc

New member
I have just got a D40 Body to use for Infrared shots & It is a fine camera in it's own right. I gave my D70 to my son in Law who loves it.
My main Nikon is a D90.
Note the D40 will confirm focus when using Older Lenses but will not autofocus if they are not Dx lenses.
 

mandie

New member
Iv have d40X for past 2+ plus years,my first DSLR to learn on,and i cant sing it's praises enough,to the point i wont give up,planned to upgrade and give to my daughter.Yes upgraded to D2XS,but just couldn't let go of D40X,so ended up buying daughter D70S and kept hold of mine.
Funny thing was i couldnt get to grips with D2XS,a jump to far for a beginner(far to many menus )And i got a D90,much more my pace.But still will not part with my D40x.
Cracking camera for price.Use as 2nd body with different lens so i dont have to change lens.Perfect to learn on,and have as back up.If your already using a DSLR then maybe menus might be limited.which is why i upgraded.
It is a standard joke of "how many cameras have you bought?"Happy with D90 which is only 3 weeks old, but iv had so many keepers and fantastic pics from D40X i will not part.
Spose it depends on your level,what you can afford?I know i made perfect choice at the time as beginning with D40X and will not part as a faithful old friend that can be trusted.
 

goz63

Senior Member
"Happy with D90 which is only 3 weeks old, but iv had so many keepers and fantastic pics from D40X i will not part.
That says it all! I have said it many times but will repeat myself here...it is not the camera but the photographer that takes a great picture. Nikon does not make a bad camera in my book. If you can get a good deal on a D40, grab it and learn all you can. You will be the one to make it sing, it does not do it for you or make you anything.
I hope you enjoy getting into the DSLR world. It is a lot of fun!
 

theregsy

Senior Member
The nikon D40, well I owned one briefly and came to a few conclusions, it is/was a great beginners camera, simple to use, compact and light with good image quality (well it is a Nikon). I found mine worked well in most conditions, (some trouble with AF in low light, but a lot of cameras suffer from this) I used AF-s and non AF-s lenses and got good results. In conclusion they are now so cheap that they are a bargain for what they are, solid reliable and good quality camera. Why didn't I keep mine? Well I managed to win the D40 and a Fuji S2 pro at the same time off a ceratin internet auction site, so I run them back to back, initially I dislike the D40 because of its need for AF-S lenses, in comparison the cameras were very evenly matched in terms of image quality and performance. The Fuji has more AF points and uses any F mount lens, the D40 faster in operation and only uses a single battery. In the end, I preferred the Fuji's size (I have big hands) and the more 'pro' styled controls, the Nikon was a little small for me and I didn't like the prices of the AF-S lenses but I would heartily recommend the D40 to anyone looking for a DSLR to take on holiday or to start into the wide wide world of digital photography.
 
An advantage of the D40, and the reason why I'm still keeping mine, is its high flash sync speed. When shooting strobist-style, I can go as fast as 1/1000 sec shutter speed to stop down ambient light without having to use pocketwizards.
 

fotojack

Senior Member
I will NEVER give up my D40....it's that good. I got lucky...I picked mine up, used, for $150 I think (can't remember exactly). Got it with all the cables, CD, manual, battery, SD card, etc. I was lucky to get it so cheap. :) Takes great pictures. No wait...let me rephrase that; I take great pictures with it! lol :)
If you can get a good deal on this camera...grab it!
 

teejay

Senior Member
I got a 2nd hand D40 with 18-55 kit lens for £200 of ebay. Have since purchased a new D90 but will never get rid of the D40 - its nice and compact / lightweight and produces great results with 50mm 1.8 prime.

[[ CustomPinoyRides - are you using a sync cord to get 1/1000 - I can only get as far as 1/320 until curtain comes into frame using Yongnuo 560's and their RT's... ]]
 
Nope! I have 3 flashes: two TT520's and a YN467. I trigger these with the CTR-301p.

Yours is a D40 and not a D40x right? Because the D40 has a hybrid electro-mechanical shutter. Read somewhere that at higher shutter speeds, it no longer uses the mechanical shutter and just turns the sensor on/off. Hence, no curtain to come into the frame. Tried it out, and viola!

I tried going even faster than 1/1000 but somehow not all my 3 flashes fire simultaneously anymore. So I keep it to 1/1000.
 

Eye-level

Banned
You might ought to go back and look at the Nikonite home page Don...we welcome ALL Nikon user's...can't believe you'd knock the team like this...

Mother was a Canon? Are you frigging serious man? LMAO
 
Not serious at all. You should know me better by now. I am one of the ones that thinks the person is more important that the camera any day. One of my favorite photos of mine I shot with a Canon P&S.

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Eye-level

Banned
You ever shot with a lowly D40 before Don? They are pretty damn stout... And Canon didn't have a damn thing to do with the D40 I promise you. The D40 will mount practically ever F mount Nikkor ever made...D7100 won't do that...there are lots of things to consider...don't just think it can be curtly dismissed because like I said a D600 or D800 in the rain might fail you before a D40.

Canon. No. Equal. NIKON! Not on their best day...not even a D6...LMAO!
 
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