Nikon D40X Design

Nikon D40x Design

The Nikon D40x is quite light, with the body, lens, battery, and SD card weighing in at only 753 grams, just 10 grams more than the Nikon D40. Despite its light weight, it never felt tinny or insubstantial, conveying instead a sense of solidity and pleasant heft.

The front of the camera shows the usual assortment of controls. The lens release is on the left side of the lens flange (on the right in the shot above), and the bright incandescent AF-assist lamp is nestled between the top of the grip and lens flange on the other side of the body. The small dark spot on the grip is the window for the optional infrared remote controller.

The left side off the camera has the Fn, or Function button, which by default controls the D40x's self-timer function. Above it is the flash release button, which also doubles as the flash exposure compensation control (the Exposure compensation control must be pressed while turning the Command dial to change the compensation amount). A small plastic and rubber door toward the rear of the camera hides the video-out and USB jacks. A lug for the neckstrap is located on the top corner of the body.

The right side of the D40x is fairly plain, with only a neckstrap lug and a spring loaded door for the SD memory card compartment. There is also a tiny access door for the cord used by the AC adapter dummy battery.

The top of the camera has the shutter button and on/off rotary control in their usual location, as is the exposure compensation button. To the left of that is the Shooting Info button, which triggers the display of shooting information on the rear-panel LCD. The flash shoe accepts generic flash units, as well as any current models of Nikon's Speedlights.

The back of the camera is the same as the D40x. Four buttons run down the left of the LCD: the Playback button, the Menu button, the Zoom out/Thumbnail/Help button, and the Zoom in/Setting/Reset button. Above the LCD are the optical viewfinder and flash hot shoe. To the right of the viewfinder is the diopter correction control. Right of that is the AE-Lock/AF-Lock/Protect button, and finally the Command dial. Right of the LCD is the Multi-controller with an OK button in the center. Beneath this is the Delete button.

The LCD display is huge, bright, and very high resolution, the same 2.5-inch, 230,000 pixel screen used on the D40. Larger LCD screens have become more common on digital cameras, and it's easy to see why. The screen on the D40x is great for viewing photos, and its size and resolution make the menu screens both attractive and easy to read as well.

As usual, there's not a lot to look at on the bottom of the camera, just a metal tripod socket and the battery compartment cover.