Nikon D40x
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Written by Gordon Laing
Nikon D40x Gallery
The following images were taken with the Nikon D40x using the bundled Nikkor DX 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 II kit lens. Unless otherwise stated, each image was recorded using the Large Fine JPEG mode, with Auto White Balance, 3D Matrix metering and the Optimise Image parameter set to the default Normal for sharpening, tone, colour, saturation and hue; Noise Reduction was Enabled by default. The individual file size, exposure mode, shutter speed, aperture, ISO and lens details are listed for each image.
The crops are taken from the original files, reproduced at 100% and saved in Adobe Photoshop CS2 as JPEGs with the default Very High quality preset, while the resized full images were made in Photoshop CS2 and saved with the default High quality preset. The three crops are typically taken from far left, central and far right portions of each image.
Landscape: 4.87MB, Program, 1/250, f8, ISO 100, 18-55mm at 18mm (equivalent to 27mm)
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This landscape shot was taken with the D40x and its kit lens zoomed-out to 18mm. The aperture of f8 has ensured optimum sharpness for this lens, with plenty of detail in the crops. There’s a little coloured fringing in the corners with this lens, but nothing to worry about unless you’re pixel-peeping.  As you’d hope there’s also no noise at 100 ISO. | ||
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Portrait: 3.24MB, Aperture Priority, 1/800, f5.6, ISO 200, 18-55mm at 55mm (equivalent to 83mm)
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This portrait shot was taken with the kit lens zoomed-in to 55mm and its aperture wide open at f5.6 to throw the background out of focus. The crops are sharp and clean while the increase in sensitivity to 200 ISO hasn’t had a detrimental impact on noise levels.  It’s finally worth noting the vibrant colours the D40x delivers with its default settings – very punchy and consumer-friendly. | |||||
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Landscape: 4.42MB, Program, 1/200, f8, ISO 100, 18-55mm at 18mm (equivalent to 27mm)
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This shot was taken with the camera pointing directly at The Sun – in fact that’s it at the top of the frame. Many cameras would struggle under these conditions, but not the D40x. We may have manually popped-up the flash to boost the foreground brightness, but the D40x did the hard work of figuring out the right exposure.  Once again the legendary Nikon metering does it proud. | ||
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Indoor: 4.22MB, Program, 1/50, f3.5, ISO 400, 18-55mm at 18mm (equivalent to 27mm)
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This indoor shot was taken with the D40x set to 400 ISO and there’s a slight drop in quality for the pixel-peepers among us, but nothing to be concerned about at this stage. The crops are still very detailed and noise reduction hasn’t started to smear anything yet. | |||||
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Night: 4.42MB, Program, 0.77 sec, f5.3, ISO 800, 18-55mm at 46mm (equivalent to 69mm)
 | This night shot was a little dark using the D40x’s default metering, so we applied +1 EV of compensation. With the sensitivity increased to 800 ISO, the crops reveal a noticeable drop in quality over the samples above. Noise has certainly become visible, but you’d be unlikely to notice unless making a large print or viewing at 100%. We’d certainly say 800 ISO on the D40x is usable, although its arguably noisier here than the D80 using the default settings. | |||||
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Indoor: 4.80MB, Program, 1/6, f3.5, ISO 1600, 18-55mm at 18mm (equivalent to 27mm)
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With the sensitivity increased to 1600 ISO, noise levels again are more apparent, although the jump from 800 to 1600 ISO isn’t as significant as the one from 400 to 800 ISO. There’s still a respectable amount of detail in the crops, and the image looks perfectly good output at smaller print sizes. The noise levels at 1600 ISO also look similar to those in our D80 Gallery. | ||
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