DSLR Sizemodo: Nikon D40x vs "World's Smallest" Olympus E-420

We just got the Olympus E-420, and before we shoot a million test shots (rough approximation), we thought we'd take a look at it's biggest claim to fame: it's the smallest and lightest DSLR around. Here you see it with the relatively handy and lightweight Nikon D40x, which in body is almost totally identical to its update, the D60. Below you can see the two from all the necessary angles, with starter lenses and even on my kitchen scale—both weighed with batteries, as they should be. OK, Olympus, we get it! You're smaller than the other guys. Stay tuned to find out whether we think all that shrinkage is paying off. [Nikon; Olympus]

Nikon Steadies Up 18-55mm Kit Lens With Image Stabilization

Feature trickle—the movement of bells and whistles from high-end to low-end gear—is great. As Crave points out, image stabilization is one that's been falling down the line pretty steadily, now landing in Nikon's standard kit 18-55mm lens. The new, tricked out AF-S DX Nikkor 18-55mm f3.5-5.6G VR lens— VR standing for vibration reduction—is only $200, and launches next month, just in time for stocking stuffing. [Crave]

Time to Upgrade: The Best DSLRs for Under 600 Bucks

Laptop Mag's running a roundup of "the best DSLRs under $800," but all of them actually go for around $500 (w/ lens), Sony's A100 excepted, which is just under $600. Of the group—Canon Digital Rebel XT, Nikon D40, Pentax K100D and Sony Alpha A100—they ultimately side with the D40, but truth be told, there isn't a world of difference between them all. They're all great cameras for the money, really—it comes down to personal preference. More »

Canon 40D DSLR Prosumer Flagship Images?

That's what is reported to be a 40D, the successor to Canon's 30D prosumer flagship. The highlights of improvement appear to be a live view LCD, boosting the MP rating from 8.2 to 12 or 13, and Small RAW image format. Sounds fanciful, especially as we've heard all sorts of other numbers out there for MP ratings in the past. Either way, I love the 30D, so I'm excited for the successor. And I can't wait for the official news, whatever specs that will bring. [Northlight Images] More »

Hype Sheet: The Nikon D40 Meets Joe America

The Pitch A horde o' red-blooded Americans from Georgetown, S.C., are handed 200 Nikon D40s and instructed to document their daily lives. Cue a cloyingly sweet montage of townsfolk snapping each other at barbershops, cheerleading practice and garden parties, while the narrator waxes rhapsodic on the D40's ease-of-use. The spot culminates with the Georgetowners congregating for a photo show, then holding up some Fathead-sized portraits as the outro music swells. Georgetown, we're finally told, has been unofficially rechristened Picturetown, "a place where ordinary people take extraordinary pictures." Has Nikon found the right formula for pushing DSLRs to the masses, or does the Norman Rockwell approach miss the mark? More »

Olympus Evolt E-410 Unboxed and Well Fondled (Verdict: Quite Nice, but Nikon D40 is Nicer)

If you don't know about the E-410, it's a 10-megapixel digital SLR packed into a remarkably slim body, selling for an impressively low price ($700 for body only, $800 for one lens, $900 including two lenses). The value proposition increases when you consider it includes Live View—the ability to get a video preview of your shot on the main LCD, á la point-and-shoot cameras. We talked about all of this and more when we introduced it to you at PMA. Now that it's here, is it the end-all be-all? Did it take pretty pictures? Keep reading to learn about my hands-on E-410 experience, and see some shots. More »

Nikon Spruces Up Its D40, Now the 10.2-Megapixel D40x

There's an updated version of the Nikon D40 DSLR that'll soon hit the streets, now called the D40x and raising its megapixel count to 10.2 from the 6 megapixels it had before. Nikon also says it's also improved in two other areas: its three-frames-per-second continuous shooting, and a wider range of ISO speeds, now beginning at 100 instead of the 200 of the D40. More »

Nikon D40 DSLR is Tiny, 6MP, with 3200 ISO: Eeess Nice

Nikon officially unveiled the D40 today, a new budget DSLR worth your attention. First off, they've stopped upping the megapixel count, and have left it alone with a 6MP CCD, which is fine, because I don't shoot above that anyhow for the web or personal images. Then it has a 3200 ISO rating making for terrific low light performance. Canon's competing Rebel XTi only goes up to 1600, for example, so the Nikon gets an extra stop. It'll shoot at 2.5 per second, and there's in camera retouching of red eye, shadow and highlight enhancement, and others. It uses SD cards, which is nice, because I've got a whole lot of em lying around. And the body itself is small, yet packs a 2.5-inch LCD. More »

Nikon D40 Budget DSLR Images Leaked

Here they are, folks. The images you have all been waiting for. Yes, the same images you have been losing sleep over. The leaked images of the Nikon D40 are here! Yea! The D40 is being considered a "budget DSLR" (I was unaware those existed), and will have a 6.1-megapixel sensor, 2.5-inch LCD and other goods. Not much else is known. More »