Love at first sight best describes what I feel towards Nikon D40.

The D40 is Nikon's smallest digital SLR ever. Even with only a maximum resolution of 6.1 megapixel to boast, Nikon D40 is not a push-over. What it lacks in resolution, it makes up in portability and super easy-to-use features that bring out images of superb quality. The camera is very easy to operate with its intuitive controls. Start-up is very fast (the camera has started up even before you finish saying "Canon sucks", just kidding). Shutter response is very fast as well at 2.5 frames per second, and that means you'll never miss any special fleeting moment again. There is practically zero shutter lag time.

There is nothing special with the lens that come with the kit as it is only 3x zoom 18-55 mm, but having a world-famous Nikkor lens is enough to capture sharp and versatile photos in a wide-variety of conditions.

Also worth mentioning are its 2.5 inch color LCD monitor and in-camera image editing. Yes, red-eye correction, image trimming, changing brightness and contrast, image overlaying, and other basic photo editing can be done without the need for a computer.

Nikon D40 has 8 digital-vari program modes that adjusts automatically to meet your expectations depending on the condition: Auto Flash-OFF, Portrait, Landscape, Child, Sports, Close Up or Night Portrait.

ISO range is pretty wide at 200 to 3,200. At most situations, Auto ISO is the best ISO setting to use as this camera has a mind of a genius and an eye of the most experienced photographer. Just do some tweaks on the shutter and aperture settings, set the ISO to Auto, and voila, no need to worry about grains and noise.

Metering can be center-weighted, spot, or matrix. I often use spot whenever I try to perfect my focusing skills, which is still too far from perfection.

The shutter speed is not the fastest in the market, but at 1/4000 sec, it is not bad. I am fond of using the Bulb mode. Bulb mode is used to capture moving lights on dark situations and so the slowest shutter speed is being used in this mode (30 seconds or more), to capture the movement of lights.

To top it all, battery life is beyond norm. I can capture over a thousand photos before the battery becomes empty. And there's more, 30 minutes of charging is all that it takes to capture another thousand of photos. No need for a spare battery!

Very impressive. I have not yet even talked about its white balance, histogram, auto-focus, flash, white balance, and slideshow.

It is worth every penny spent. It turns any amateur photographer into a professional one with its magical features. Perfect for hobbyists who want to take their photography to the next level.

Five stars and a comet for my DSLR of choice.