Nikon D40x Review
Review Date: November 7th 2007
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Image Quality
All of the sample images in this Review were taken using the 10M Fine JPEG mode,
which gives an average image size of around 2.5Mb.
Noise
There are 6 ISO settings available
on the Nikon D40x 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 100, 200 and 400.
Noise is starting to appear at ISO 800, bit it is still quite
well controlled
even at ISO 1600. As you might expect, 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 D40x. 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 D40x 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.
Chromatic Aberrations
The Nikon D40x's 18-55mm kit lens handled chromatic aberrations
well, with some limited purple fringing evident in
areas of high contrast, as shown in the examples below.
Macro
The Nikon D40x offers a Macro scene
mode, but as the D40x is a digital SLR it's the 18-55mm kit
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 D40x
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 D40x'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 20 seconds, aperture of f/11 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 D40x produced images of excellent
quality during the review period. The 10 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 D40x 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 D40x's most impressive feature in terms of image
quality, especially given the new 10 megapixel sensor, is
the extensive and very usable ISO range of 100-3200. ISO
100-800 is virtually noise-free, whilst ISO 1600 produces
acceptable results, and even ISO 3200 is OK for small print
sizes. This makes the Nikon D40x 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 D40x 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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