Capturing the Moments into Pictures

The Nikon D40x is the second-most affordable DSLR in Nikon’s lineup (the D40 takes the honours). The D40x is largely identical to the D40, sharing the same body, menu structure, electronics and mechanical bits.

In fact, the D40x is essentially a D40 with a higher resolution CCD sensor (10- vs 6.1-megapixels), slightly faster continuous shooting rate (3fps vs 2.5fps) and a lower base ISO sensitivity (ISO 100 vs ISO 200).

Whether or not this is worth the RM600 premium depends entirely on how much resolution you need.

In my opinion, the D40x is still fantastic value for money because it inherits all of the important components from Nikon’s more expensive DSLRs while trimming away stuff that beginners wouldn’t miss.

Speaking of that, the D40x is clearly designed for beginners upgrading from compact cameras – it requires menu navigation to adjust the majority of its shot settings, which is a far cry from the press-the-button-and-rotate-the-dial simplicity found in the rest of Nikon’s DSLR lineup.

D40x

There’s a method to this madness, though. The D40x presents a friendlier face to beginners by providing them with illustrated guidelines on the effects or purpose of each setting (Each ISO speed is accompanied by a little thumbnail photo to show the sort of lighting conditions it would suit, for example).

The camera even displays warning messages and provides help and tips – something unheard of in a DSLR.

While I’ve seen examples of GUI-based camera adjustments that would suit experienced photographers better (see the Olympus E-410 for a good example), Nikon has to be commended for trying a different approach with the D40x.

EASY TO USE: The Nikon D40x is designed for beginners and comes with very handy help button and user tips.

Once you get used to how everything works, the D40x is just another Nikon DSLR, which is a really good thing.

Super fast and responsive, the camera has quick autofocusing, near-instant startup times and no perceptible shot-to-shot delays, which means its fast enough for all but sports photographers.

The D40x only has three autofocus points, but who’s counting? Actually, tripod-using macro photographers are – but they’d probably spend more money on a D200 or something.

In spite of its small size, the camera is very ergonomically designed and allows a very firm grip – I would risk sticking it out of moving bus to take a shot.

Class-leading autoexposure and auto tonal adjustments mean that very few cameras can produce better looking photos than the D40x. And most importantly, it makes the D40x extremely trustworthy.

Since it uses Nikon’s latest-generation image processing engine, it produces JPEG images with even better resolution and noise characteristics than Nikon’s other 10-megapixel DSLRs (i.e. the D80 and D200).

Overall, the D40x is a great DSLR for beginners and still has enough performance and quality to meet the needs of all but the most demanding photographers.

Pros: Excellent picture quality and overall performance; affordable; good ergonomics.

Cons: “Simplified” interface not as intuitive as Nikon’s pro interfaces; lack of lens motor means no autofocus for older Nikon lenses.

-taken from the Star Online-

This entry was posted on Monday, November 5th, 2007 at 7:04 am and is filed under Digital Camera. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.