Features:  

Users who are new to the SLR camera market will appreciate the D40’s small size, although it's not as light as some of the other cameras in this category, it does come in at 16.8 oz. It's still easy to carry around and capture those important moments. While it is an entry level camera, it offers many of the settings of higher end cameras. We liked that becuase it means you can grow into it as you get more comfortable with the settings and creating your own manual settings.

At the heart of the D40 is a modest 6 megapixel sensor with a wide range of user friendly features to make the switch to an SLR camera easier for the first timers. The menu was very easy to use. Most of the options were easily customized to suit an individual photographer's needs. The menu also included several interface options like changing the wallpaper and graphical and classical interfaces. The 2.5-inch LCD screen also makes it easy to review all the photographs you've taken.

While the D40 has only 3 autofocus points versus the 5 points on its predecessor, average users (ie those making the transition from point and shoot) likely won’t mind or even notice the difference. We liked that Nikon included in-camera retouching so you could clean up some of those photos right on the camera. You can work with red-eye reduction, trimming, D-lighting, monochrome and several filter settings. However, looking at the images on a 2.5-inch screen doesn't give you a clear idea of what needs to be fixed, so it may be better to wait until you get the photos to a computer.
 

Ease of Use:  

We liked that the Nikon D40 included so many automatic shooting modes. However, we were disappointed that it did not include a live view function. That can be awkward for those camera users who are used to looking at the screen to frame their images rather than looking through the viewfinder.

Value:  

The Nikon D40, although it has many features, doesn't have as high of quality as many other cameras in this category have. For example, although the 6.1 reslouction is easy to handle and use, every other camera in this category has at least a 10 or more on resolution. This wouldn't be a big deal because most beginner DSLR users wouldn't notice a difference, however, Nikon doesn't offer a significant price drop that matches the lower resolution and the camera's ability to take only 2.5 frames per second as opposed to the standard 3 fps.

Customer Satisfaction:  

Users were pleased with the color reproduction of the D40 but suggest using a custom white balance setting when in varied lighting situations. Many users thought Nikon could improve the start up time a bit on this camera. However, they did like that if the camera is waking from sleep mode it is ready almost instantly.
 

While the Nikon D40 is geared toward entry-level DSLR users, it's features and price don't quite match up. However, it does offer many options that will still make it an attractive investment for those looking to go to the next level in their photography.