First and foremost, the D40 lacks the focusing motor built into the body of the camera ( like all previous Nikon DSLRs) . Instead, it must have a motor built into the lens ( Nikon calls these type “Silent Wave” or AF-S) , otherwise, you lose autofocusing. While Nikon offers several AF-S lenses, they offer only a handful under $1, 000. Additionally, the D40 will only be available in the US with the 18-55 kit, and most the other lenses under $1, 000 over lap very much with this lens. Tamron and Tokina currently offer NO lenses with the motor built-in for Nikon cameras, and Sigma only offers a very few. If you want a zoom going to 300mm any time soon, be prepared to shell out about $600 for Nikon’s new 70-300VR lens if you require autofocus. It promises to be a very nice lens, but you can get a basic Canon or Sony 75-300 for a bit over $200. Thus, if your considering the D40 because you have a bag full of Nikon AF lenses, then you might instead look at the soon to be disappearing D50.
Compared to other Nikon DSLRs, the D40 is much smaller, very similar to the Canon Digital Rebel XTi. While this results in a smaller, lighter camera, it also means it will have some of the same drawbacks that many Nikon owners have teased Rebel owners. The camera will have a smaller grip; a smaller, less powerful battery; will lose the top info LCD and use the rear 2.5? screen instead; and, the feature Nikon users typically point to when they refer to “ergonomics” is the viewfinder. While the D80 has a .94x viewfinder, the D40 matches the smaller .80x of the XTi.
The autofocusing points will also drop to 3, with 5 being the previous low on a Nikon DSLR.
The D40 will do very well, especially since Canon & Sony aren’t currently offering a lower cost, 6 megapixel camera. The directly comparable camera would be Pentax’s K110D, which retails for about $550 with lens and after rebate. It uses the same 6 megapixel sensor supplies by Sony as the D40. A bit heavier, is uses 4 AA batteries instead of the LithiumIon. I prefer the latter, but there are many fans of the inexpensive AA NiMH rechargables. The viewfinder is also larger, and has a very nice 11 point AF system. Pentax also offers the more popular K100D, which is the same as the K110D, but with SR ( “Shake Reduction”) built into the camera body. This retails, after rebate, for about $50 more than the D40.
So the D40 will be a very nice camera for the budding photographer, but not necessarily a good upgrade for current Nikon owners. Instead, they should look at the D50 ( while supplies last) , or consider the superb 10 megapixel D80.