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Originally Posted by goodduck you got me exited there talking about $350 While the basic specs for this new model have been floating around the Web for a couple of weeks, the camera's most enticing feature - its affordability - managed to stay under wraps: US$599.95 is the expected street price in the U.S. for the D40 in a kit with the DX-Nikkor AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II lens EDIT http://www.engadget.com/2006/11/16/n...lly-announced/ I would love a digital SLR... dont think its in my price range for a few years though. il going to try to get a 200 - 300 range digital camera for xmas... my trusty cybershot has recently died.

Sorry about that. . . maybe it was suppose to be 350 Euros or something. It was a rumor, but $599 w/ a kit lens isn't bad. You could try to pick up an old D50, which has more features than this camera. Or an used XT/350D.

Compared to the Nikon D50, major feature and specification differences

Originally Posted by DPReview Nikon's choice of "compromises" with the D40 are switching to a new three area AF sensor (although it seems to be just as fast), removing some of the flexibility (you can't change the CW average area, exposure steps are fixed at 1/3 EV and there's no bracketing) and removing the status LCD (although this has more to do with making the camera smaller than saving money). What the D40 shares with the D50 are some of the important things, the six megapixel sensor, the 420 pixel metering sensor (also used on the D80), the more 'consumer like' default IIIa color mode and 2.5 frames per second continuous shooting (although now unlimited in JPEG mode). On the plus side you get ISO 3200 equiv. (HI 1), the ever useful customizable Auto ISO, a larger viewfinder view, shorter shutter lag and viewfinder blackout, a larger LCD monitor, a considerably nicer user interface, SDHC support, a new image processing engine, unlimited JPEG continuous shooting, in-camera retouching (including D-Lighting) and of course a smaller and lighter body. It would not therefore be fair to describe the D40 as a 'dumbed down' D50, far from it, the range of improvements and new features out-weigh those which have been removed or reduce, which would most likely not be missed by the average D40 owner.