Not since the days of cloth focal plane shutters have I heard such a soft shutter sound. Nikon has been getting better and better at this aspect of their SLR cameras, and the D40 surpasses them all. It's not critical to have a nice soft shutter sound, but it does much to foster appreciation among users, and even subjects. Harsh clacking and winding is really more distracting than appealing in my opinion. A softer sound allows the photographer to be part of the background rather than the center of attention. One exception to this rule is when photographing models, when it's helpful for the model to know when to change poses, but that's far from the Nikon D40's intended market.
The Nikon D40's 18-55mm AF-S lens also focuses very quietly, thanks to its Silent Wave Motor. I found it a very useful and reliable lens. Coupled with the D40's excellent high ISO performance in low light, its f/3.5 maximum aperture wasn't such a limitation. I confess that despite my impression that most D40 users won't miss support for legacy lenses, I find myself wanting to snick a Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 AF lens onto the D40 for those low light indoor photo opportunities where flash would either ruin the mood, or else wake the child. But the Nikon D40 won't work with any of the current close range Nikon prime AF lenses in AF mode.
The Nikon D40's pop-up flash is fairly quiet, releasing with a single "clack;" more tame than the Canon Rebel XTi's far louder "zing/clunk." It can be released manually by the user via the button on the left of the lens mount, or automatically by the camera when in fully automatic modes.
Noticable flare, quite strong when there's significant contrast in the corners.
I did notice a tendency for the Nikon D40 to overexpose the highlights. Digital is a lot like slide film: if you blow the highlights, there's no recovering them. The data just isn't there. I recommend setting the EV to at least -1/3 on bright sunny days to avoid blowing the highlights. There's plenty of latitude in the Nikon D40's wide dynamic range to bring it all back later if you have to; but you probably won't even need to try.
Getting back to the Nikon D40's 18-55mm kit lens, I also found that there was some objectionable lens flare evident in high contrast objects out toward the corners. I think it's perfectly acceptable in a lens at this price point, but still worthy of note.
The Nikon D40's 18-55mm AF-S lens also focuses very quietly, thanks to its Silent Wave Motor. I found it a very useful and reliable lens. Coupled with the D40's excellent high ISO performance in low light, its f/3.5 maximum aperture wasn't such a limitation. I confess that despite my impression that most D40 users won't miss support for legacy lenses, I find myself wanting to snick a Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 AF lens onto the D40 for those low light indoor photo opportunities where flash would either ruin the mood, or else wake the child. But the Nikon D40 won't work with any of the current close range Nikon prime AF lenses in AF mode.
The Nikon D40's pop-up flash is fairly quiet, releasing with a single "clack;" more tame than the Canon Rebel XTi's far louder "zing/clunk." It can be released manually by the user via the button on the left of the lens mount, or automatically by the camera when in fully automatic modes.
Noticable flare, quite strong when there's significant contrast in the corners.
I did notice a tendency for the Nikon D40 to overexpose the highlights. Digital is a lot like slide film: if you blow the highlights, there's no recovering them. The data just isn't there. I recommend setting the EV to at least -1/3 on bright sunny days to avoid blowing the highlights. There's plenty of latitude in the Nikon D40's wide dynamic range to bring it all back later if you have to; but you probably won't even need to try.
Getting back to the Nikon D40's 18-55mm kit lens, I also found that there was some objectionable lens flare evident in high contrast objects out toward the corners. I think it's perfectly acceptable in a lens at this price point, but still worthy of note.
by Shawn Barnett
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