Nikon D40 Review
Review Date: January 15th 2007
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Image Quality
All of the sample images in this Review were taken using
the 6M Fine JPEG mode, which gives an average image size of
around 2.5Mb.
Noise
There are 5 ISO settings available on the Nikon D40 which
you can select at any time if the camera is in any shooting
mode. There is virtually no discernible noise at the slowest
settings of ISO 200 and ISO 400. Noise is starting to appear
at ISO 800, bit it is still well controlled even at ISO 1600.
As you might expect, quite a lot of detail is lost at the
fastest speed of ISO 3200, with the images having a "painted"
feel, but they are still perfectly useable for small print
sizes. An excellent performance by the Nikon D40. Here are
some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting.
Sharpening
Here are two 100% crops which have been Saved as Web - Quality
50 in Photoshop. The right-hand image has had some sharpening
applied in Photoshop. The out-of-the camera images at the
Standard setting are soft and benefit from some further sharpening
in a program like Adobe Photoshop. Alternatively you can change
the in-camera sharpening level one of the six presets if you
don't like the default results.
File Quality
The Nikon D40 has 3 different file quality settings available,
with Fine being the highest quality JPEG option. Here are
some 100% crops which show the quality of the various options,
with the file size shown in brackets.
RAW Format
The Nikon D40 enables users to capture RAW and JPEG format
files. It is important to remember that, unlike all the other
DSLR manufactures, Nikon charge extra for their software
solutions
like Capture NX if users want to convert and adjust their
NEF RAW files. NEF files are recognised by third party software
packages like Capture One Pro and Adobe Photoshop CS2, but
this is also a pricey investment. Unfortunately, at the
time
of this review none of the third party software packages
could read the D40 RAW file. We've provided a few samples
for you
to download.
Download
Example #1
Download
Example #2
Download
Example #3
Chromatic Aberrations
The Nikon D40 handled chromatic aberrations quite well, with
some limited purple fringing evident in areas of high contrast,
as shown in the examples below.
Macro
The Nikon D40 offers a Macro scene mode, but as the D40 is
a digital SLR it is the lens that determines how close you
can get to the subject, not the camera body. The first image
shows how close you can get to the subject (in this case a
compact flash card). The second image is a 100% crop.
Flash
The flash settings on the Nikon D40 are Fill flash, Rear-curtain
with slow sync, Slow sync, Slow sync with red-eye reduction,
and Red-eye reduction. These shots of a magnolia coloured
wall were taken at a distance of 1.5m.
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Auto Flash - Telephoto (82mm) |
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And here are some self-portraits. As you can see, neither
the Fill Flash setting or the Red-Eye reduction option caused
any red-eye.
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Flash On (100% Crop) |
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Flash - Red-Eye Reduction (100%
Crop) |
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Night Shot
The Nikon D40's maximum shutter speed is 30 seconds and there's
also a Bulb option for longer exposures, which is great news
if you're seriously interested in night photography. The shot
below was taken using a shutter speed of 15 seconds, aperture
of f/10 at ISO 100. I've included a 100% crop of the image
to show what the quality is like.
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Night Shot (100% Crop) |
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Overall Image Quality
The Nikon D40 produced images of excellent quality during
the review period. The 6 megapixel images are slightly soft
straight out of the camera and ideally require some further
sharpening in an application like Adobe Photoshop, or you
can change the in-camera sharpening to one of six different
levels. The Nikon D40 handled chromatic aberrations well,
with limited purple fringing effects appearing only in very
high contrast situations. Macro performance was below average
with the supplied 18-55mm lens, although with this camera
being a DSLR you could always treat yourself to a dedicated
macro lens. The built-in flash worked well indoors with no
red-eye and good overall exposure. The night photograph was
excellent, with the maximum shutter speed of 30 seconds and
the Bulb mode offering lots of scope for creative night photography.
The Nikon D40's most impressive feature in terms of image
quality is the extensive and very usable ISO range of 200-3200.
ISO 200-800 is virtually noise-free, whilst ISO 1600 produces
acceptable results, and even ISO 3200 is OK for small print
sizes. This makes the Nikon D40 a great camera for low-light
photography without having to resort to using the flash, which
in turn can produce more natural results.
 PhotographyBLOG
is a member of the DIWA
organisation. Our test results for the Nikon D40 have been
submitted to DIWA
for comparison with test results for different samples of
the same camera model supplied by other DIWA
member sites.
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