Nikon’s D40x, 10-megapixel version of the D40 released inexplicably only four months after the D40, is set to be replaced by the new D60 line. There aren’t a lot of details, but considering the price point and previous capabilities of their cameras along that line, you can probably expect a perfectly decent camera crippled by its lack of autofocus support for much of Nikon’s extensive lens collection.
I’ve advised friends and family against buying a D40 due to this shortcoming, as I feel Nikon’s strength is in its excellent lens selection, and buying a camera that effectively ignores 30 years of great lenses seems a bad call. That said, the D70 is still a nice camera although it has been eclipsed by offerings by Canon and Pentax in that zone and performance point.
Nikon D60 to Replace D40x [Photography Bay]
As a D40 owner I just have to say…The D40 is a beginner Digital SLR so one can assume that most of these people don’t have any lenses and can just buy the more current lenses which have autofocus built in. A professional who has a ton of lenses isn’t going to buy this camera.
D40/D40 is compatible with the following lenses:
http://www.nikonians.org/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboard.cgi?az=read_count&om=16715&forum=DCForumID201
It’s more than enough for amateur user who is likely to buy this camera. D40 probably offers now the best quality/features to price ratio and the lack of focusing motor doesn’t affect its usefulness for majority of users.
I’ve already spent 4 times as much on two lens (both with AF built-in) than I did on the body. To me, the body doesn’t matter too much. When I hit the point where I happen to need an old Nikkor prime lens, I’ll get a second body which can AF it. The D40 will always be an interesting option, however, because it is so small and lightweight. I love it.
I agree with the previous poster about he D40x size. Nikon must be on crack to make it’s lightest, most portable dSLR its cheapest, even with some of the caveats it does. Mind you, its still way better than any prosumer digital. I’ve got great shots out of this camera, but the AF has gone downhill a bit, and it would be nice to use the bigger range of lenses. The lack of stock LCD protector is also baffling. I can understand not wanting to make their bottom line camera competitive with their top model, which it is not any longer, but who wants to drop 5k on a camera every 2 years. The whole thing is asinine, when you consider medium format still wipes the floor with all but the top digitals. The fact that I have to buy a $500 70-300mm instead of a $200 70-300mm cuz the AF wont work is sort of stupid, too. Anyway, I like the D40x and love its size, and dont want to lug around a D300, sorry. Then again, I would like the lack of chromatic aberration in the D300s. Space is at a premium when travelling, and the D40x is so easy to wave around. I wouldn’t be surprised if Nikon ends up with the bigger clunkier bodies at the low end.
D60 owners who’ll be taking lots of indoor photos with flash might want to consider purchasing the SB-400 external flash. Some samples to illustrate why at http://nikond60.dpnotes.com/nikon-d60-sb-400-flash/
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