Nikon D40 budget DSLR pics leaked

A few days ago, two mysterious images of a Nikon D40 appeared on the website of German electronics retailer Neckermann. Although the posting has since been removed, that hasn't stopped Digital SLR enthusiasts from poring over the images and the specifications (6 megapixel CCD, 3 point focusing, and the absence of an auto focus motor and a status LCD), both of which suggest that this camera will be aimed at the bottom end of Nikon's DSLR line-up -- if it actually exists, that is. While elitists may moan at the potentially limited feature set, anything that blurs the line between consumer and pro-level cameras is fine by us, especially if it reduces prices.

[phez @ Nov 5th 2006 8:12PM]

awesome!

[Tom @ Nov 6th 2006 11:35AM]

Nice, since i probably won't win the D80 with my craptastic attempt (that means PLEASE GIVE IT TO ME) i might be able to shoot low for this one, being on a limited budget and all.

[Scott Neary @ Nov 5th 2006 8:18PM]

Way cool...make it around $500 and I'm in..

[apeguero @ Nov 5th 2006 8:25PM]

A 6 megapixel with manual focus and 3 point focus? What else is this bottom of the bucket DSLR missing for features? $500.00? Are you kidding? They need to make this one around $299 for body only. Really. The Digital Rebel XT Can be had for $500.00 without and in some cases, with a lens and it offers a lot more than this. Take a look http://www.shopcartusa.com/Product/0206b001/Electronics~Cameras~Digital_Cameras/Canon_Digital_Rebel_XT_-_Body_Only/PT_Y/?ic_campID=98

If this one is real it better be really cheap!

[Steve @ Nov 5th 2006 8:47PM]

No AF motor means there is no provision for the old AF screw-type lenses. It will work with AF-S lenses which have the AF motor built into the lens itself.

[Dave @ Nov 5th 2006 9:33PM]

Hmm. No auto-focus... but this picture/mockup shows an auto-exposure and auto-focus lock (AE-L/AF-L) button on the back?

0_o.

[bobby koerper @ Nov 5th 2006 8:35PM]

That lens has a manual/auto focus selector switch on it, and i seriousdly doubt that Nikon would release a manual focus SLR in america. /maybe/ in Europe, but i doubt the manual focus idea is true even still.

[Brandon Margicin @ Nov 5th 2006 9:11PM]

I'm thinking that the body isn't necessarily Manual Focus, but requires the use of a newer Nikon AF-S lens. This allows them to do away with their old style in-body auto focusing systems and rely on just the lens focusing motors. Funny, it took Nikon this long to do that when Canon has used that design since the first EOS 650 camera body hit the market almost 20 years ago. That's my guess anyways.

[Jesse @ Nov 5th 2006 8:37PM]

Maybe it's just me but it doesn't seem that consumers will want a camera that can't auto-focus and pros won't want a camera with such a basic feature set

[Scott @ Nov 5th 2006 8:45PM]

People the internal AF motor is for older nikon lenses. Most Nikon lenses now have AF in the lens which would AF on this camera if it actually exists.

[Dan @ Nov 5th 2006 9:09PM]

This camera is clearly targeted at the Best Buys, Circuit Cities, and so forth. Today, a basic Nikon D50 kit with the 18-55mm lens costs around $650. This D40 is pictured with the same 18-55mm lens. A $499.95 price for the body + lens sounds like something they might be shooting for. If Nikon wants to really impress, they could ship it with a decent memory card as part of the price.

Yeah, older AF and AF-D lenses won't autofocus (they will still manual focus), but this camera is clearly aimed at the first-time D-SLR consumer.

[Matt B. @ Nov 5th 2006 9:24PM]

any price between $300-$500 would make me an instant DSLR user. for my SLR uses, I'm still on 35mm due to costs. for my digital uses, I'm still on 1.8MP because of costs. something with such quality at a good price just might make a good convincing for me to give Nikon those magic 16 digits :)

[Scott @ Nov 5th 2006 10:54PM]

Matt B.

If the sub $500 dollar is your entry point why not buy a slightly used camera now?

D70's sell for $400 or less and will invariably be a better camera than this D40.

[Foof @ Nov 5th 2006 10:42PM]

Apeguero: What's the MSRP for the Canon Rebel? That's right. Nikon will set an MSRP for the D40 of between $400-500, and the actual street price, especially after a few months on the market, will be considerably lower.

[Maximiliano Udenio @ Nov 5th 2006 11:20PM]

As for the manual focus nonsense: The camera will do AF with AF-s lenses, that don't require the motor to be in the camera. Most new lenses (and all the high end ones) are AF-s. This move was most likely to reduce size/costs.

That the D70 will be a better buy is something we'll have to see. IQ on the D50 is better than the D70, simply because it came out like a year later and had better noise reduction. This D40 will probably have as good a NR system as the D80.

This thing looks great for those wanting to upgrade from a compact digital.

[Captain Lumpy Dog @ Nov 5th 2006 11:13PM]

My God. I remember when the first DSLRs came out. They cost in the range of 15 Grand. How times have changed.

[JC @ Nov 6th 2006 12:34AM]

The article said "no built-in AF motor". It didn't say that ther will be no AF. The interpretation was wrong from the from the first few posters. So please let's stop spreading around this wrong information. There is AF, there is an ability to AF with the AFS lenses. It's just that this new camera cannot AF with AFD lenses, which probably suits its users, who simply wouldn't encounter AFD lenses in their normal use, and don't have a collection of them to worry about either. They will just end up buying new AFS lenses (whether DX or FF).

[zb2c1ve @ Nov 6th 2006 12:10AM]

Yeah great - Nikon can't even keep up with supplies of D80 and even D200 in the *rest* of the world. In Australia for example, D80's are still hard to find and some lenses on lonnnggg backorder. So hey, why not bring out a few more models.

[Shadyman @ Nov 7th 2006 4:18PM]

As far as the "autofocus" goes, from the wording in the article, it sounds like there will be no 'autofocus drive' on the camera... Nowadays, autofocus servos are put into the lenses themselves

[Lars Kjellberg @ Nov 6th 2006 2:14AM]

I'm invited to a Nikon press conference in Stockholm on Nov 16th so I assume that is the release date of the D40.

[stevo @ Nov 6th 2006 2:39AM]

i see people comparing this to a d50, and how a d50 would be a better choice, here is what you need to factor in though, you have new chips, new parts, new beautiful lcd display, in the long run, this thing will process faster and work better all around. i was seeing the same thing when the d80 came out, vs the d200, anyway, i ended up buying the d80 and am very happy with my purchase, great camera and i really can't wait to see what great things come of the d40 :)

[Rasmus @ Nov 6th 2006 3:54AM]

Trust me, it has AF.

[kingtroll @ Nov 6th 2006 12:05PM]

apeguero: haha.. almost every shop on that link you posted is a "bait and switch" site with the exception of B&H. Try looking up resellerratings.ocm on those shops and see how they rate. If you think you can get a Canon XT w/ kit for $500 from a REAL retailer.. I suggest you look again.

[FRiC @ Nov 6th 2006 4:51PM]

For those unfamiliar with Nikon, "AF lenses" are lenses that are focused by a motor inside the camera body, and "AF-S lenses" are lenses that have motors in the lens. Not supporting AF lenses doesn't mean the camera only works with manual focus lenses.

[Joe @ Nov 6th 2006 1:23PM]

Doubt it reduces prices. What it probably does is price protect the D80 vs. Sony's alpha and the cheapest Digital Rebel. In the end, it costs those who want more complete feature sets more to have these stripped down models on the market.

[Obnoxious @ Apr 17th 2007 7:17PM]

First of all the camera hasn't been confirmed just to dissipate some doubts, the other thing is the lack of the motor, you see some Nikon lenses don't have a motor, the motor comes in the camera lenses labeled with AF-G, AF-D, AF (last two mainly primes or fixed focal length) can't work with this motor in Auto focus mode, only AF-S lenses would work in theory.

Other things are the lack of Quality, White Balance, and ISO buttons in the rear panel, no status Monochromatic LCD screen, less AF points, and an unknown size of viewfinder...

If this info is truth, people moving from film SLRs cameras with AF-D, AF-G or/and AF Nikkor lenses (or their 3rd party equivalents)skip this one, and get a Nikon D50 so you don't have to trash your glass.

[New User @ Nov 6th 2006 7:32PM]

I have never owned a DSLR before, so I don't understand what AF-S means, but I want to buy a D40 to learn. Someone gave me a lens as a gift, and I want to know if I will be able to use it.

Will a 50mm f/1.8D lens work Manually on D40? I don't need autofocus... All I need to know if it will work Manually or not on D40?

[Shadyman @ Nov 7th 2006 1:40PM]

You could always take the lens to any respectable photo store and they should be able to tell you.

[Amy @ Nov 8th 2006 12:46PM]

You descibe the lens as a "50mm f/1.8D". The D at the end in relation to a Nikon-fit lens suggests that it is an AF-D lens. This lens will not have its own focusing motor, and therefore relies on a focus drive motor in the camera body itself. As the D40 does not have one, the lens would work perfectly but you would need to focus manually.

AF-D lenses pass information back to the camera about the focusing distance to which it is currently set. This helps the camera to determine the correct flash power, and also to determine what sort of scene you are shooting - letting the camera use what is known as 3D Matrix metering. This function will still work, although you will still have to focus the lens by hand.

Amy

[Jake @ Nov 7th 2006 3:09AM]

in-lens AF is way faster than in the body. This is a good thing! Canon's and Nikon's with AF in-lens p0wn my poor Minolta 5D with its in-the-body focusing.

[David Chin @ Nov 19th 2006 9:03PM]

The Nikon D40 makes sense to someone who wishes to only own 1 lens: the Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 DX lens ... and has no desire to explore digital photography with some of the more well-known, but older Nikon lenses that offer excellent value for the money such as the Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D AF. To this person, I'd have no reservations recommending the D40.

I'm currently tracking information related to the Nikon D40 at :> http://www.pbase.com/dlcmh/nikon_d40_links