Digital Trends

Because of cameras like the new Nikon D40, industry pundits expect close to 2 million D-SLRs will be purchased in 2007. Because of its $599 price—with lens—it nicely bridges the gap between high-quality point-and-shoot digicams and those who want to take their photography one step beyond--and also don’t want to go broke.

Nikon caused quite a stir in December 2006 when the D40 arrived. Nikon typically goes for the higher end and feels consumers should pay a bit more for its uptown brand. I cut my teeth on the fabled Nikon F2 35mm camera back in the day and always have a soft spot for the company. But there are limits. There’s no reason to spend a bundle on a D-SLR when the 8MP Canon Digital Rebel XT and 6MP Pentax K100D are around for under $600. In a turnaround, Nikon met the competition head-on with the 6.1-megapixel D40. And this camera is clearly targeted to D-SLR newbies unlike the recently reviewed Pentax K10D. Should you go for this one or set your sights a bit higher? Let’s find out…