Throwback Thursday: Nikon D40

I have D7200 now. But i still own D40. in my opinion for the beginner DSLR photographer D40 is the best DLSR Camera that i have ever used. it is very simple and friendly, have excellent photo quality. A lots and wide range of options, clean ISO Shot even on the high ISO. very Fast. i will not sell it under any circumstances

These are still capable of producing great images. The best person in my local photography group still uses one. She is a college student who can't afford any better. Other people might come in with sharper images, with better dynamic range, and less noise but nobody comes in with images as compelling as she does. Her understanding of composition and ability to think outside the box allows her to make images more compelling than those with $10,000 worth of equipment in their bag. My point is that in the right hands a D40 with a kit lens can be used in creating amazing images that easily better someone without as much talent with a D810 and a top flight lens. I count myself among those with much nicer gear but nowhere near the imagination.

I decided to take up photography as a hobby. I found a d40 in a pawn shop and had it cleaned. For me its been a great camera to learn with. The picture quality is fine for me at this point and I really like having a camera with a manual mode!

Yes ! We claim a new D40 for 2017 :)

https://www.flickr.com/photos/maoby/albums/72157633176288362

I bought one used about 6 years ago. Took a couple of thousand shots with it using the 18-70 zoom and my 35/1.8 (I still have both lenses). I really enjoyed using it. Carried it everywhere. Sold it to fund a D300 purchase. Should have kept it :-) as I seldom took the D300 out with me. Too big and heavy!

Maybe I will buy a D3300 just to stick on the end of my 35mm. Small, fast, light; perfect for travel and street shooting.

One of my favourite cameras that, along with the 18-200mm VR lens, produced some of the best images I have every taken. 6 meg is more than enough for my needs and the versatility of a superzoom meant that I never missed any shots.

When CCD vs CMOS discussions happen, samples like these from the D40 keep me on the CCD camp.

Albeit only 6 mp, I can definitely say I prefer these colors and overall rendering to anything modern. (D800, D600, 5d III, 5d IV, etc)

"CCDs don't see in color, it's the CFA". I know, but explain to me why exactly ALL the better CFAs and color profiles went to CCD cameras on a consistent basis? (Fuji S3 and S5, Nikon D200, Pentax K10D, Leica M8 and M9, digital backs, etc - all legendary in color rendering)

These images are lovely in 2016.

IMO, there's a subtle beauty on this rendering you simply don't find in modern CMOS cameras.

Such a shame CMOS won and people like me can't even vote with their wallets, as there's just 1 side to choose. Such a shame.

It's surprising to me that more aren't mentioning the D40's fast shutter sync capabilities. It was great having 1/500th accessible for syncro-sunlight flash work. High Speed Sync flashes can't duplicate this capability, and leaf shutter lenses, well... remember leaf shutter lenses?

Now there are plenty of photogs hauling around more flashes than they ought to need. Their state of the art cameras only offer 1/250th, if that, so they need at least one more stop of flash to take the same photo. The D40's electronic shutter wasn't perfect. I remember being baffled with a photo that showed a bright, fat jet contrail running horizontally across the sky, none of it visible to my naked eye. That's when I learned what "sensor bleed" looks like. Maybe today's improved sensors wouldn't suffer that, but we'll never now until someone tries.

The D40 was my first DSLR. I sold it to my buddy when I went full-frame many moons ago and bought a D700. Still miss that thing!

A D70 user at the time, I recommended the D40 to several beginner photographers, who really took off with it, and it allowed them to take great quality shots and grow as DSLR shooters.

Personally, though, whenever I picked one up (along with the D50, D60, or anything today D5XXX and below), I felt stymied by the lack of a front control dial. I cannot stress enough the utility of dual control dials (no matter where they are located) for shooting with any measure of manual control!

I bought the D40 when it wasn´t quite new anymore and a 6 MP became something as a statement against the gaining megapixel fetishism of these days where more MP usually ment nothing more than more noise. Together with it´s quite poor kit lens (18-55 ) it had the same price (299 Euros) as a solid compact cam but a considerable better IQ than that. I used it together with a Sigma 18-200 equipped with an AF motor so I didn´t miss it at the body itself. And I never made a stress test of resolution by making giant prints. A thing that I particularly loved was the D-lighting function which even the "great" D200 lacked. While the D40 was lacking an IS the lens provided one as well - not unimportant as the ISO shouldn´t be turned at more than 400. I remember the D40 as a very faithful and capable cam which provided great performance and most notably excellent results - but the architect of these results had to be nobody else than I myself - the cam hasn´t been more than simply a device.

Nothing wrong with those sample photos at all, they hold up well to scrutiny in 2016. High ISO isn't much of an option with the D40, obviously, but the camera is still quite capable all these years later. Same with my D50. It is limited to 1600 ISO but has a focus motor and can use many Nikon lenses, not just the DX ones. It still takes great photos and I still use it from time to time.

Wow, I don't recall such universal admiration for a camera. A simple but competent picture taker with no really big pretence.

Great camera. My first ever DSLR, and one that I will always treasure. I wasn't a beginner at the time, but was attracted mainly by the price and size.

I used it again recently and was blown away by what a great camera it is to pick up and shoot. 10 years later, it's still super-responsive (faster in operation than my mirrorless), with fantastic controls and great, highly ergonomic handling.

Also, the spec sheet doesn't reflect what it was like to shoot with. It was tiny but extremely well-made. The shutter was delightful: vibration-free, quiet, and sophisticated. The 3 AF points weren't really a problem in day-to-day use. Just focus and recompose! The viewfinder still holds up today.

The 2.5" screen is still decent a decade later, and the camera still looks relatively modern.

There's also something about the CCD-based D40's colours that are richer and more appealing than modern CMOS-based Nikons.

A true classic.

Bought a second-hand D40 two weeks ago, because it had a lens I wanted. But I was really impressed with how this camera worked; there was no problem with it and it was snappy.
Regarding the 6 MP: Since I owned a Fuji S6500fd, I have always stuck to 6MP. The 12MP G15 I owned after that was set to 6MP, and I noticed that the per-pixel-sharpness was really great (better of course than in 12MP).
Now, since a few weeks I have a D3200 with 24 MP and I usually shoot in 6MP with that one too. For some reason, 6MP has been more than enough for me in the last 8 years or so.

But I have to say that I could easily see a sharpness difference between the D40 and the downscaled output of the D3200; the D3200 is really sharp, the D40 of course shows signs of Bayer interpolation. The main difference however is the noise level, this has clearly improved over the years. And you get used to that quickly...

Phil Askey sure took nicer sample shots back then!

My first DSLR was the D40x, and it's how I learned photography. The camera was a revelation when coupled with the 50mm f/1.8D - my first experience with subject isolation and bokeh. I do miss how small it was and how simple to use, and I really had no complaints about image quality for most routine situations, especially when coupled with good glass.

At least there was K series of Pentax DSLRs...

My first dslr which I dearly loved. Great camera.

"D40 shoppers weren't likely to care about the lack of support for older lenses"

Actually we (the dpreview commentariat) did. Opinion was very much divided however. Some people went ballistic over the fact that AF lenses did not autofocus, some people were overjoyed that non-AI MF lenses could now be used without fear of damage to the camera.

For me the latter element was the main reason I bought and kept the D40. I had four of them over the years and they served me well.

I can't decide if these throwback articles help to promote or deter GAS. One thing for sure, they are definitely entertaining to read. Thanks for doing it. I still have a D40 and a D50.

Now the Canon 40D, that's a camera worth remembering!

https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos40d

The D40 was my first SLR. I had no experience with SLR's before it but i still clearly remember after about a month of owning it thinking to myself,

Holy crap this camera is crippled!!!

I won't say a bad thing about its image quality, that was great, but i always felt it was far too stripped down and i did find myself outgrowing it very quickly.

Saying that i do have fond memory's of it, and as i am getting older i am luckily forgetting that i bought the fugly silver version!!!

My D40 is still like-new....about ~8600 actuations yet...i do still use it occasionally...the IQ is even into 2016 great - i love the colors, CCD sensors give...forget all that DxO & DR thingy, CCD Colors are more life-like. I never liked the Look from my D90 Pictures, compared to my CCD D40, D60 & D80 Nikons...and i own the D7000 since many years, too.

Still nowadays, with the 35/1.8 DX AF-S lens, a great everyday combo, way small & handy, great IQ, it delivers...always shooting RAW....or take the 18-55 or 55-200 lens if one need a Zoom...very easy to handle, everybody can take pictures with the D40, great build quality. I won't sell my D40....and bought it back into time only, because i've read the DPReview back then...damn, it's been already 10 years...yes, i do feel older...something...

Nikon had so much experience with this 6 MP DX Sensor since the D100, D70(s) & D50, they tweaked the heck best IQ out of it with the D40.

Thankfully by that time i had an EOS 400D, a great camera !!!!!

Never could let this one go... it was that good ! it was better than my D70, Nikon sqeezed everthing out that 6Mp sensor very nice pixel density and the combined shutter gave me a high sync speed as well. It over-exposed a little so i compensated at -0.7 and after that most of the time it was spot on offcourse after the D40
I purchased the D90, D7000 and now the D7200 wich is indeed a lot better.
But the D40 was the first of its kind small light and very good,,, It was the mirror less of it's time (with a mirror) :)

I still own and use this camera that still lets me take some pretty good pictures:
http://www.panoramio.com/user/diegobenin

During its time, I had a Canon 400D [Made in Japan]. It was superior to the D40 (and D60) in every way with its "low noise" ISO1600 CMOS sensor

CCD vs CMOS still worth of comparison, hope they consider this in FF or Medium Format for studio or landscape purposes , or improve speed.