dSLRs And The Nikon D40

The Nikon D40 is a wonderfully made digital single lens reflex (dSLR) camera. It includes an 18-55mm kit lens, which is equal to about a 3x zoom, and can be interchanged with a variety of other lenses from cheap $250 upgrades to the same $2500 lenses other super high end cameras can accept. This is exceptionally awesome because you are given the option to do a LOT more with your camera down the road when you want to step up your photography.

If you’re used to normal digital point-and-shoot cameras but you want to get a much better picture quality and a more organic feel to shooting photos this is the perfect camera to help you transition from a general point and shooter into the world of amateur photography.

The learning curve is very minimal if you’ve ever used a standard 35mm SLR film camera, digital SLR cameras work almost exactly the same. Anyone can easily pick up a D40 and take amazing pictures, it’s as easy as learning how to use the zoom and then the rest is generally the same as any other digital camera.

The main reason to step up to a dSLR of course is to get better picture quality. The D40 is a 6.1 megapixel camera, which seems low for a high end consumer camera/low end professional camera when compared to some Olympus 10.2MP camera you can find at Target for $250... but the megapixel rating has nothing to do with quality, just physical picture size. When you take a picture with a dSLR your camera actually opens a shutter and looks through an aperture for a given amount of time which exposes a certain amount of light in, and that image information is recorded digitally to an SD card just like a film camera would record that information to the mylar film.

The colors dSLRs are able to capture are simply amazing! Where you really notice the difference in your photos is in the saturation and clarity of colors and shadows. This seems basic, but the ability to capture black as ‘black’ and not just ‘dark grey’ is absolutely crucial to presenting colors as they look in real life.

For instance: the photos below are cropped from larger versions to accentuate the differences. On the left the photo was taken with a standard point-and-shoot (Canon PowerShot). Notice how it looks grainy and the colors are dull. Whereas the photo on the right was taken with a dSLR (Pentax K100D) and you can right away see how much more clear it is and how the colors really pop out. You can see how shadows really make a difference if you look at the difference between the boy’s hair in the two pictures; the dSLR lets you really see the true colors and definition of everything in the photo, where with the standard camera everything just looks dull and flat.

The next thing that worries people often times with dSLR cameras is they think they will be difficult to use or figure out all the different settings... well the Nikon D40 takes all of that frustration and throws it out the window! You can just throw it in automatic mode and it will figure everything for you except how close to zoom in; that includes ISO, shutter speed, aperture, focusing, flash, white balance, and the list goes on!

When you do get to a level where you want to experiment a little the camera has built in pointers to help you shoot perfect pictures too. So say you’re in a dark room and you need a flash, the camera will tell you that you should turn on the flash because of low light. Also, when you are changing settings like ISO you are shown examples of what the different setting should be used for. This makes the Nikon D40 not only easy to use, but much more fun when you can get professional quality photos without even opening up the manual or taking a photography class!


Pros: High quality ‘prosumer’ level dSLR camera with interchangeable lenses, very cheap ($475 on Amazon) for a dSLR with a kit lens included, can shoot in RAW, high quality 6.1 megapixel sized photos, very easy to use as a beginner, excellent color capturing capabilities.
Cons: The msrp of $499 for this camera is not cheap by average camera standards, it can’t even compare to the size of a simple point-and-shoot camera

The Bottom Line: The Nikon D40 is for the aspiring photography hobbyist, not the layman nor the professional. This is a perfect stepping stone from general picture taking to the world of professional digital photography. It’s cheap, comes with everything you need right in the box (except an SD card), and it’s very easy to use and catch amazing photos with. This is a great buy, DEFINITELY check it out if you want to capture life’s very best memories to remember for the rest of yours... just as you lived them!

Overall: 8.5

Usability: 7 This is a very easy dSLR to use if you know anything about cameras, but it’s not for the layman
Customizability: 8 Interchangeable lenses, the ability to add on filters, and external flashes is awesome, some old lenses won’t fit properly without expensive adapter rings though
GUI: 9 very appealing indeed, beautiful screen that tells you every pertinent piece of information you’d need to know to take simply amazing photos
Coolness: 10 This camera turns heads left and right... and it takes photos that do the same!