Amateur Photographer Magazine

 Nikon D40 Digital SLR product review - INTRODUCTION

Monday 3rd December 2007

Damien Demolder

INTRODUCTION

It is not necessarily obvious what makes a good beginner's camera, as opinions are mixed on what it is that beginners really need. Some might say an entry camera shouldn't be a great financial commitment in case the novice has a change of heart. Others say ease of use is most important – though finding a balance between the convenient ease of automation and the more challenging simplicity of a fully manual model will be hard to judge.

Seasoned enthusiasts and photographic greybeards will invariably say that learning the hard way in 'the school of hard knocks' is best, but a camera is more likely to find commercial triumph when it 'holds the hand' of the new user in order to make successful images. For the average high-street punter, 'take great shots with no effort and experience' is a more compelling sales message than 'suffer for your art', no matter which is most likely to lead to photographic greatness.

A camera designer who wants to appeal to the masses and perform a moral duty of educating the user and improving his or her abilities will surely come up with a product that offers automation to protect the green recruit, but at the same time providing the means to progress when the time is right. That designer, when this is achieved, will also by default produce a camera that the more experienced photographer can use, cuckoo style, when the more advanced alternatives don't suit the budget. This is, I think, what Nikon has done here with the D40. But while Nikon is happy to protect the green recruit from manual modes and having to think, the company may not relish so much the prospect of lost sales of the D80 to photographers who should be looking up and not down.

Got an opinion on this story? Why not post a comment on our message boards

Back to index