I bought a D40 a year ago for roughly the same reasons (as posted at the start of the thread), and cannot praise it enough! I wish that I had held out of the D40x but there was/is quite a big price difference.

I have had some excellent photo's, some of the kids, some landscapes and lots of car/motorsport photo's. Despite its size it is a very portable camera and very versatile! It is very easy to customise the camera for the surroundings or situation however is also great in 'auto' mode if you are looking to point and shoot.

If you do go for a D40 I would try to get a kit with the 18-55 and the 55-200 lenses - 18-55 is great for subjects that are close but 55-200 is probably what you want if you are going to take some photo's of cars at 10+ meters away.

I bought mine from Digitalrev.com and saved £120 on the UK price at the time. They are a Hong Kong based company but have a sales office in the UK (registered office), so supply a UK warranty. If you do decide to buy from this company make sure you choose the door to door price otherwise you will get hit with duty when it arrives in the UK.

A couple of photo's taken with my D40 as they were taken (not photoshopped)......









http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa86/littleredbarchetta/Stuff%20stuff/DSC_0243.jpg[/img

[img]http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa86/littleredbarchetta/Stuff%20stuff/DSC_0138.jpg

Yep, D40 all the way

Bought mine not too long ago and have loved it! If you can stretch to the longer lens do that rather than a D40x.

Read this guys website and see what he says! http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/recommended-cameras.htm

I have used his settings and found they do improve over the standard for most things, but then shoot something else which comes out rubbish and have to remember to alter them back to standard. They work great for landscape and normal shots - not some of the interior / artwork I also do!

The flash makes a difference too - but maybe not of distance shots. Good for close-ups though!

The main thing will be to play with it as much as you can and get to learn what each bit does. As Mr Rockwell says somewhere - 'Photography is not a spectator sport' so it tends to be best done by yourself with no-one mithering you or distracting you!!

Have fun!

Thats it settled. Tuesday here we come, get it while I'm down near saffron walden and pop to cambridge for some tester pics

Sensors? MP? What the hell's going on here? Admittedly using that magnesium
flash pan was a bit of a pain in the backside, but one of my assistants usually
holds that while I get under the cloth to take the picture. The glass plates are a nuisance and the 30 second exposure time is a little inconvenient but you mark my words, this digital camera thing will never take off. Motor cars. That's another thing that'll never last.

if your gonna be using the camera for photographing rallys/races etc your going to want some sort of zoom yeah?., On the D40 your options are very limited compared wit the D50, D70, D80 etc etc., not impossible mine you, just limited.,

Bought the D40 about a week ago. And did suffer for not having a decent lense. Do you know where i can get one? About £130

What do you think is wrong with the kit lens?

If it is focal length, then yes the 55-200 VR zoom may help, and you may just find one for that money. A longer 70-300 VR zoom is quite a bit more than £130. VR would be good as without it you will prob always need to use a tripod to keep the camera steady

If it is sharpness / focussing, then is prob down to the operator? You really need to play with it and learn just to take shake-free images. I use my camera all the time for work, and even then a lot come out 'blurred' - this is not down to the lens, but my ineptitude to keep the thing properly still when not using the tripod.

Of course, if there is a fault with it, then pop back to the dealer / shop?

indeed, before you can pick a new lens - you need to say what is wrong with the old one. What is it doing / not doing right?

If it is sharpness / focussing, then you're not going to get anything anywhere near as sharp for £130.

Just focal length like you said James. Didn't even see this thread had got more replies.

I'm also now a member for DA Addicted!!!