Reviews : Hardware : Digital Cameras : Digital SLR Cameras

Digital Cameras Buying Guide: There are many makes and models of digital cameras on the market. Read on to determine the right digital camera for you. Read more...

Digital SLR Cameras

Nikon D40

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Nikon D40

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RRP

$1099.00 $899.00

Review Date

Wednesday, 7th of February, 2007

Features

Camera Resolution : 6.1 MP

ISO Speeds : 1600

ISO Speeds : 200

ISO Speeds : 400

ISO Speeds : 800

What's Hot

Great pictures, speedy, comfortable to hold, great low light performance

What's Not

Some slight chromatic aberration issues

The Final Word

The Nikon D40 is a great entry level SLR, and a good competitor to Canon's EOS 400D. It captures high quality pictures, has speedy operation and great low light performance, making it a wonderful choice for the budding enthusiast.

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Imatest Digital Still Images

All of our cameras are tested using Imatest, which provides standardised benchmarks that can be directly compared across models. By generating a specific score we can give you hard facts to support our reviews and make sure you make the best decision possible.

SFR Test for Sharpness and Chromatic Aberration StepChart for Image Noise ColourCheck

Sharpness

Sharpness is potentially the most important element of a picture. The sharper a shot, the more depth and clarity it will appear to have. Sharpness is a term used to describe the boundary between one section of colour and another. The more defined this border is, the sharper the shot. It is measured by comparing the distance it takes a pixel to change from one colour value to the other. All cameras will blur to some extent, but in good models it won't be noticeable until you really zoom in to extreme levels. The higher the value, the better the camera; anything over 1300 should be considered excellent.

Chromatic Aberration

Cameras with Chromatic Aberration are often attributed as having poor sharpness, but this is not the case at all. Chromatic Aberration is caused by light refracting at incorrect angles as it passes through the lens. It occurs around the edge of a shot and presents itself as colour fringing, which can destroy the clarity in those areas. Chromatic Aberration is measured in terms of its distance from the centre. A lower percentage is good. Anything below .05 should be considered fairly good.