Nikon - D40 Digital Camera Review

I have had my Nikon D40 (the D40x actually...same camera, more megapixels) for about 10 months now and am loving it! 

I am just an amateur photographer and this is my first SLR.  I moved up from an Olympus digital Point and shoot.  My main motivation for moving to an SLR was my frustration with the shutter delay with my P&S.  I would love to learn more about photography also and get into shooting in manual.  BUT, I have a low tolerance for frustration when I am learning something new, so I didn't want an SLR that was so complicated I would be missing all the great shots of my daughter while I tried to remember how to adjust the settings for the lighting conditions.  Everything I'd read said the Nikon D40 was right up my alley.....great presets to get great pictures, but the ability to branch out creatively in manual.  I've found this to be true.  I'm getting great pictures, no shutter delay (which is awesome when your main subject is moving ALL The TIME!) and I'm using the preset modes all the time.  I still haven't had the patience to venture into manual mode, but I'm happy with my pictures nonetheless.

 One caveat with this camera is that there is no autofocus motor in the camera body, so you have to be sure to buy AF or AF-S lenses if you want autofocus ability.  These lenses have an autofocus motor in them.  Otherwise, if you buy non-AF or AF-S lenses, you will only be able to focus manually.  If you know you will be investing in fancy high-end lenses down the road for sure and want to have more variety to choose from, the D40 may not be fore you.  But if your'e like me, and just want great pics of your child, vacations, holiday gatherings, etc., and are EXTREMELY frustrated by the infamous P&S cameras' shutter delay, this camera might just be fore you! 

My only other complaint is the my pictures generally seem to be a bit dark.  I'm told that adjusting white balance would help with this, but with the preset settings, adjusting white balance isn't possible (or at least I haven't figured it out!).  So you have to venture into other settings for that.  I am able to brighten up my pics pretty easily though with some photo editing software, so not too big a deal, but sure would be less hassle if they were right on to begin with.

Definitely recommend it.  Only wish I'd been able to buy one sooner.