The camera with two not so discrete lenses...
You can find much better reviews on this camera on the internet (see the sites I mention in the forums section)
but here is my personal opinion.
General impression:
I had the opportunity to sell my D70, an excellent camera producing fantastic pictures. But since I was waiting for a new pro-body (D3(00)),
I needed to replace it with another backup camera. I was looking for top picture performance, at a reasonable price and in a small package, to easily travel, a kind of super P&S camera.
I selected the 40x, knowing that I had to sacrifice a lot compared to the D70, just to gain a few megapixels and a better LCD screen on the back...
Even if the list of Cons (see hereunder) seems long, this is an excellent small camera. The limitations will be an issue for the very serious amateurs who want to grow with their camera.
The pros
- reasonable value for money,
very decent camera, ideal for casual shooting
- small package
- excellent picture quality at a reasonable price
- very intuitive user interface
- simplicity
- excellent on board flash performance
- 10MP
- good ISO performance
- excellent LCD display with pixel level zoom
- very good viewfinder
- simple AF engine with 3 sensors (simple but limited)
The Cons
- incompatible with non AF-S (or HSM) lenses because there is no AF motor in the camera
- very limited AF system (3 sensors compared to the 11 sensors in the D200 or D80 or the 5 sensors in the D70)
- limited ISO steps (100, 200, 400, 800, 1600 - no intermediate values)
- no CLS (wireless flash system support)
- only one thumbwheel on the back
- a few critical functions only via menus (BUT function button available for instance ISO)
- no grid display in viewfinder
- no optional grip
- no top LCD display - need to use the info button to display settings on rear display
- batteries incompatible with other cameras (D50, D70, D80, D200, D300)
- rear LCD not protected (need to buy a separate protection)
The lenses (a starter kit I would recommend - see other reviews as well)
- 18-70 (the so called kit lens) or the 18-200VR
excellent price/performance ratio, the most logical choices
as universal lenses
- macro: add a 500D close-up lens on top of the 18-200VR or 70-300 for instance
- longer lens: 70-300VR version
The accessories
- SB-600 wireless flash
- don't forget to have an extra battery
- SD cards - 2GB cards are cheap enough and give you a reasonable
capacity on the D40x.
choose fast cards to have reasonable performance for action
shots at 3 fps
The battery (EN-EL9) - here a compatible one
The battery charger
A few pictures...
#1 Flower ?
#2 Macro shot with the 105VR lens - handheld
#3 Black and white out of camera
#4 Macro with pop-up flash in the dark
