A week after I wrote the article on photographing cars I set out to buy a wide angle lens for the Sony Cybershot. It would make the compact camera even more versatile. But the pricetag for the high-quality adaptor lens set me off a bit, as it was around some 150 to 160 Euros.

Even more so when I spotted in the shop window a second-hand Nikon D40 with its standard DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55 mm G-ED II lens. The whole typical « kit » was on offer for slightly more than 300 Euros. The decision was soon taken : here I got my wide angle lens and for some 150 Euros more a Nikon digital SLR high quality camera. And so the Nikon D 40 joined the camera collection…

Quality feel…

Unpacking the box and taking the camera through its first paces, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the camera was actually never used at all. I took the precaution to purchase also the UV filter and lens shade, which unfortunately masks of some light using the standard flash, but is not to be missed for good lens protection and use on sunny days.

The controls are very easy to use, the finish of the body is impeccable, the strap attachments are recessed... showing attention to detail.   

Being familiar with the digital Nikons, getting acquainted with the D40 was a breeze. Flicking through the different menus is easy, using the ‘P’ setting it is also quite handy to use the exposure compensation button, which is not only readable through the viewfinder, but is also to be seen on the ultra-large screen, where the chosen settings are even visible in bright sunlight.

The camera has no auto bracketing function, but this is no serious drawback, as one has to assess the exposure changes anyway.

The display at the back is quite large and provides excellent reading, even in bright sunlight.  

The quality feel is further enhanced by the ultra smooth and quiet shutter, the precision of the buttons and handles, and the very quiet lens focus motor on the 18-55mm AF-S lens, which is of the Silent Wave type.

Good handling

The camera literally also handles very well, and seems glued to your hands. This is excellent when using the camera in low light conditions, where slow shutter speeds are countered with rock steady handling. The outstanding high ISO performance is also an asset, and the 3.5 F maximum aperture of the lens is therefore no real drawback. Indeed, there is hardly any noise or colour shift using these high ISO settings, and you will see soon the performance of this D40 on the photos of the test of the new Audi A4 and the Bentleys I drove in Courtrai… where I also took some available light photos of the Bentley and Lamborghini stands on the show. Also the title picture of the announcement of the column on model cars and miniatures is taken with the Nikon in available light conditions.

Overexposure

I did notice a tendency for the Nikon D40 to overexpose the highlights. Digital photograpy is similar to using slide film: if you "blow" the highlights, there's no chance of recovering them. On sunny days, I learned to underexpose with at least -1/3 to avoid "losing" texture in the highlights. The photos of the test of Peugeot 4007, soon to be seen on these pages, are taken with this slight underexposure, as the car is black against a sunny sky. There's plenty of latitude in the Nikon D40's wide dynamic range to bring it all back later, but I did not even have to do this.

Nikon was also so wise to take a sound view at the megapixel race and offers the D40 with "only" six megapixels. It therefore inherits the excellent colour processor of the bigger D80, and that is more important. There is nothing which will make 6 megapixel cameras obsolete, as human eye vision sharpness will not dramatically improve the next decades…

An excellent, versatile and easy to use camera, this D40. It will certainly not be sitting idle in the camera bag!

Those old aluminum photo cases…

A recent trip to Cuba, still using the Cybershot, made me think again how nice it would be to have still these aluminum cases which you can throw around with no fear in airplane luggage bins and Cuban buses. Well, I found one, old Nikon sticker included, in a second hand shop in Antwerp, setting me back some 7 Euros, indeed a small price to pay for a piece of practical nostalgia…

Hans Knol ten Bensel  

The body is of course in plastic, but the look and "feel" of a metal body is very well imitated. The controls give a nice and tight "quality" feel...