Review based on a production Nikon D40X
The Nikon D40 was announced just under four months ago, and yet here we are with a new version of that camera. The D40X has the same compact lightweight body and easy to use control layout, in fact the only external physical difference is the badge. Under the bonnet Nikon has swapped out the D40's six megapixel CCD for a ten megapixel unit, this also provides a lower base sensitivity of ISO 100 and must utilize dual readout because continuous shooting frame rate has gone up from 2.5 fps to 3.0 fps. Based on the specs and features this camera is clearly aiming to knock the EOS 400D (Digital Rebel XTi) off its pedestal.
As with the D40 the D40X doesn't have an built-in focus drive motor which means it can auto focus only with lenses which have their own drive motor (AF-S and AF-I lenses). The lack of a drive motor can be seen by the missing mechanical focus drive pin on the lens mount (see images below).
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| D40 / D40X lens mount | D80 lens mount |
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* Slower with noise reduction enabled
Because of the similarities between the two the first half of this review (up to page 12) is based on our review of the D40.
If you're new to digital photography you may wish to read some of our Digital Photography Glossary before diving into this article (it may help you understand some of the terms used).
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Dpreview use calibrated monitors at the PC normal gamma 2.2, this means that on our monitors we can make out the difference between all of the grayscale blocks below. We recommend to make the most of this review you should be able to see the difference (at least) between X,Y and Z and ideally also A, B and C.
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Nikon D40X 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only) | $999.95 |
Nikon D40x 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor Lens | $799.00 |
Nikon D40X 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only) | $999.95 |
Nikon D3100 14.2MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF-S DX VR Nikkor Zoom Lens | $446.95 |
Nikon D40X 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II AF-S DX and 55-200mm f/4.5-5.6G ED AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor Lens | $1,699.95 |
Nikon D40 6.1MP Digital SLR Camera Kit with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor Lens | $459.99 |
Nikon D40 6.1MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only) | $129.99 |
Nikon D40x 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor Lens | $1,499.95 |
Nikon D3100 14.2MP Digital SLR Double-Zoom Lens Kit with 18-55mm and 55-200mm DX Zoom Lenses (Black) | $496.95 |
Nikon D90 12.3MP DX-Format CMOS Digital SLR Camera with 3.0-Inch LCD (Body Only) | $609.00 |
Nikon D3100 Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm & 55-200mm DX AF-S Zoom Lens with 32GB Card + Case + Flash + Filters + Tripod + .45x Wide & 2.5x Telephoto Lens Kit | $579.95 |
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