Nikon D40 6.1MP Digital SLR Camera Kit with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II Auto Focus-S DX Zoom-Nikkor Lens

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I am a Canon fan when it comes to point-and-shoot pocket size cameras. For me, money cant buy a point-and-shoot camera better than an Elph. When it came time to upgrade to a DSLR, I chose Nikon. I have friends in the photography business (Weddings) and they always choose Nikon over Canon. That said, both brands are great. I do not consider myself a profession, but more of an prosumer. I chose the D40 because I wanted a lightweight DSLR for vacations and college football games. Yes, this camera is great for college football. While it only does 2.5 frames/sec, I find that it is more than enough for my needs. You can get more megapixels now, but it is not necessary. Most will probably choose the D60 or the new D5000 over the D40. When I chose the D40, I was choosing based on several factors, including price. The D40 was the least expensive at the time. Plus, I put the money I saved into extra betteries and memory cards. 6.1 megapixels is enough for me and I feel that it is a good balance between photo size and defintion. You can crop nicely, even at 6.1 megapixels. This camera is smaller is size and is lighter in weight than mosr DSLRs. I have found the menu settings to be easy to understand and can recall the locations of settings with ease. You can also create a customized menu for your favorite options. I recently shot vow renewal ceremony with this camera and the additional Sb-400 speedlight flash, bouncing the light off of the ceiling. The camera was more than adequate and took some great photos. When you read this review, do a price/features comparison for the camera that suits your needs.

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I guess Im a member of the target audience for this camera --- it is my first SLR. As such, I have so far relied on its automatic settings for most of my photos. The photo quality has impressed me quite a bit. There is no comparison to my point-and-shoot digital camera. The camera is also extremely simple to get started with, as the auto mode takes full control over all settings and produces good results. My complaint with the camera is the following: I prefer to manually select the autofocus zone the camera uses, because sometimes Im not interested in focusing on the nearest subject (which is the default setting). Fortunately, the camera has a setting making manual selection quite convenient. However, whenever you switch the camera into a different pre-programmed mode (switching between auto and no-flash auto, for instance), the camera reverts to nearest-subject focusing. This can be quite annoying. The problem can almost be side-stepped by using the cameras manual "P" mode, but that mode does not allow auto ISO selection. At times, then, Id switch to a higher ISO for a darker subject but then forget to switch back for lighter subjects and thus get slightly noisier photos. This is of course my fault and not the cameras, but for an introductory SLR user it would be nice to either make Auto ISO available in "P" or allow the auto modes to remember the user-selected focus mode. I should say that my complaint is fairly minor, and Im sure Ill get used to it. Overall, I really like everything else about the camera. Pretty much everybody raves about this camera, so I wont say any more about it other than that I agree with what they have to say. One final comment --- I bought my camera from J&R through amazon and their service was unbelievable. I selected expedited shipping and ordered the camera at around 3am EDT (midnight PDT). J&R shipped it less than 4 hours later. UPDATE: It turns out that there is an awkward auto-ISO setting available in "P" mode. In this mode you must select an ISO value but the camera can automatically increase it in case it has difficulty achieving correct exposure otherwise. I have not experimented with this option much, but it seems much more awkward than just allowing the camera to select the ISO fully automatically.

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I wanted a dSLR for a long time before purchasing this one. I choose the dSLR because of the price and the reviews stating it was a good starter dSLR. I am not a professional photographer, but I like to think of myself as a professional amateur. For my purposes, this camera has been perfect. Its not too heavy, easy to use quickly in a fast paced environment, easy to use in a more controlled environment. I have used this to photograph my friends engagement pictures on the beach, Ive taken pictures in the fog in the mountains, Ive taken it with me to Italy- you name it, Ive probably taken the camera. My only complaint is that sometimes the lens seems to get "stuck"- it wont focus properly and wont take the picture. I can usually fix the problem with a few quick turns of the lens or turning the camera on and off. This seems to happen more when Im taking more "artsy" shots, who knows why. I would highly recommend purchasing a camera bag. If you plan on traveling with your camera without wearing it around your neck all the time, I would highly recommend looking into a backpack type bag- I really wish I had purchased one for my trip overseas! I generally stuck the camera in my over the shoulder purse/messenger bag to avoid having to carry a dozen bags like a camel.

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The Nikon D40 is the camera for you, whether you are a beginner just getting into the D-SLR world or are an avid photographer. I was new to the photography world when I spent months comparing camera after camera. I chose Nikon not only for its great reputation, but also the features, price, reliability and other reviews. 3 years later and after playing with many other cameras, I am still in love with my D40. The camera has great features, takes wonderful pictures whether its on the fully automatic settings or Im controlling the settings. Additional items such as external flash mounts and lenses are affordable and of the same great quality you would expect from Nikon. The camera is easy to use - especially after reading the manual-and although a DSLR, lightweight enough to take everywhere! The camera is also very quiet, especially compared to some of its competitive counterpart. I recently was handed a Canon Rebel XT to shoot a corporate multi-day meeting. Compared to the Nikon, it was rather clunky to operate and the shutter is quite loud. I ended up using my personal camera for the rest of the event. A feature I would have liked to have included is a sensor cleaner. Other than that the camera is full of useful features that help you take wonderful photos.

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First off, I am by no means an experienced photographer. Calling me an amateur would be almost too much credit. On that note, the camera is very easy to operate. If you are looking for one to just take out of the box and have at it, then you can easily do that. If you are looking for some more options and advanced features such as adjusting your own shutter or aperture, then you can do that as well. The camera has a comfortable grip with well placed buttons on the back so that you can basically operate the camera with one hand if necessary. The multiple flash modes are fantastic, especially the slow sync. If you are looking for a way to use your flash indoors and not have the picture look like it was taken with a flash, this mode makes the picture look a bazillion times better. The pictures come out very clear, clean, and sharp. I also have the 55-200 VR lens and from what I can tell compared to a few friends that have a Canon DSLR, they do not offer any lens that can keep zoomed in pictures as crisp as the Nikon VR series, especially if you have the skills of barely an amateur photographer, like myself. There are only 2 complaints I have. The first is that there is no live view on the camera. I didnt know that seeing your image on the screen before you took it was something that didnt come standard on DSLRs. I figured if a cheap point and shoot had it, so would a much more expensive camera. Its not the end of the world, but it is something the be aware of. Secondly, I guess to make the camera cheaper, they left the autofocus motor out of the camera. The only problem this causes is that if you have any older Nikon lenses that arent the AF-S model (which include their own autofocus motors), then they will not be able to autofocus on this camera or the D60 for that matter. Overall: I would definately recommend it based on its ease of use, extremely light weight, high quality of pictures, and awesome array of lens options (especially the VR series).

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I have had two digital point and shoot cameras and a 1980s 35mm SLR with four lenses. I am thrilled with the picture quality of my D40. This camera is small, lightweight, and very comfortable in my hand. I do have somewhat small hands, which are well suited to the D40. The construction quality is first rate. The menu is fairly intuitive and can be learned in a relatively short time. I read several reviews before purchasing this camera and have to say that they were dead on. Great camera, great price for moving up from a piont and shooter. The 6.1 megapixles is more than enough. I cant tell the difference in image quality when compard to my sons D80. I dont recommend the D40x because the extra megapixles wont be noticed unless you are printing very large prints. The frame rate of 2.5 per second has been measured an closer to 2.8 per second. The D40x is rated at 3.0 frames per second. Even if its a bit faster, the difference is minimal. Also, from what Ive read, the D40x is noisier at higher ISOs. I would put the $200.00+ savings into an additional lens. I plan to buy the 55-20mm VR lens for a little over $230.00. Also, The SB400 Speedlight is a great flash. Its much better than the onboard flash. If you find you like the feel and fit of the D40, Buy it! You wont be sorry.

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I go through lots of cameras. This was my third DSLR, and about 15th to 20th digital camera. THe D40 takes superb pictures. Dont let the reviewers mislead you into thinking this is just for newbies. It works great for newbies, and for serious advanced photo-enthusiasts. I fall in the latter category and like the camera for the following reasons: 1. Size and weight - easy to travel with. 2. Great image quality right out of the camera. Its nice to enhance photos in software like Photoshop. But its even better to have a camera that doesnt require you to do that for every shot. I recommend setting the photos to Vivid or More Vivid. Contrary to popular perception, I found these settings actually give you a more accurate color portrayal of the scene. 3. I use the D40 with the 18-200mm Nikon VR lens. They work great in combination. 4. Changing settings is quick and easy even though many are not set with dedicated buttons. 5. I like the way you can review a series of photos zoomed in, and the camera keeps the same zoomed in setting for each photo -- just turn the rear wheel. 6. Camera has a high quality feel. 7. LCD screen is bright 8. Viewfinder is bright. One thing I wish Nikon had included is grids in the viewfinder -- but cant have everything.

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Got this for Christmas. We had a Minolta film SLR years ago. It took great pictures, but we pretty much stopped using it when we got a little digital. Somehow we thought we couldnt justify a digital SLR since we had an SLR and a digital. I spent about an hour getting to know this camera, and now I LOVE it. It makes the Coolpix seem like a toy. The Coolpix is great, but it will probably become my daughters (and she is only 4). If you have never had an SLR, it is worth getting a good general photography book, and go practice on anything (shoot all you want; no film to waste). Take pictures of the same thing using all kinds of setting, and then compare the results. Of course, you can still hand the camera to just about anyone and let them point and shoot. For the money, this is a great camera, loaded with all the features the average user could ever want. Suggested additional purchases are a good 55-200mm zoom Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED IF AF-S DX VR Zoom Nikkor Lens , a tripod (many inexpensive ones work fine), and a good gear bag Ape Case Pro Digital Medium SLR System Case

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I bought this shortly after our first child was born. I was tired of missing great shots because of the delay in my point-and-shoot from the time you pressed the button to the time the photo was snapped. No problem any longer! I loaded this camera up with a 2 GB memory card and shoot away at nearly 3 frames per second to find just the ones I was hoping for. Its worked beautifully. The biggest problem is, there are usually too many great shots to choose from! I have wanted to get back into SLR photography for years, and this is a great camera for someone wanting to go digital. I looked at the D40x, but opted for this one. Several sites had comparable photos side-by-side between the two, and the difference was hardly noticeable under most conditions. I have printed beautiful 8x10 images with this camera with absolutely no complaints about the quality. 6 megapixels makes transfers to the computer faster and take up less space. The resolution is wonderful and the included kit lens does a nice job. The camera feels great in your hand. Its heavier than a point and shoot, but I have no complaints about the weight. I bought an SB-400 external flash which does a nicer job of filling out the light in the photo than the built-in flash. The built-in flash is fine for all around shooting, but the external provides better fill flash capabilities, which usually is a more even lighting effect when you are taking pictures of a little one to send to the grandparents. Ive had this camera for about 2 1/2 months now and taken literally thousands of shots with it. I am incredibly happy and satisfied with this purchase, and would highly recommend this camera to anyone who is investigating an entry level digital SLR or an all around camera that takes wonderful pictures.

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Two months ago I just wanted to buy a DSLR to get a feeling of what a DSLR can do and see if it is that good as others people saying it is. So I decided to buy the cheapest DSLR and tried it out. D40 was the cheapest I could find, at least for Nikon and Canon. And it surprised me. The camera is so easy to operate and the pictures are way better than the pictures from my point and shoot camera. I first used the auto mode to start and easily made a lot of great pictures. Now after reading some books I started to use some other modes to take picture of landscape and portraits. I am absolutely happy with the camera. It makes me want to know more about photography. I know there are cameras that are 10 times more expensive than D40 but do they produce picture 10 time better than D40... Well at least for a beginner it is more than good enough. The camera may be a 4 years old model but unless Nikon is going to make a replacement for ths DSLR. It is still the choice for beginner.

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