Overall: 5/5

Update: Sample shots here

I just recently got something I’ve been interested in for a very long time: a digital SLR camera. After researching and considering the multitude of more consumer-oriented dSLR’s on the market, I ultimately chose the Nikon D40.

In my five days so far with the D40, it has unceasingly proved to be my dream camera. During my research, time and time again comments in reviews suggested that the D40 is a great camera for previous point-and-shoot owners — something I couldn’t agree with more. Like its point-and-shoot 2nd cousins, the D40 is compact, easy to use, and created with consumers in mind. Where Nikon had room to make or break this camera, however, was in whether this was to be an excellent point-and-shoot or, like they fortunately decided, a consumer dSLR somewhere in between. It is in making this decision that Nikon’s D40 shines; for instance, while there are several excellent automatic modes for specific shooting situations, there is also complete manual mode, and while there is quite good autofocus with the great 18-55 kit lens, there is also manual focus. Essentially, the D40 is the camera you, with your specific needs, make it out to be. In my several days of shooting, I’ve tended to lean more towards manual settings, but the D40 suits the vacationers who simply want high quality shots with no fuss, no muss just as well.

As for features, unlike its big brother, the Nikon D50, many of the D40’s settings are accessed via the very easy to use menu system on its large 2.5-inch screen. I can imagine that this would be a hassle for more professional photographers who not only need to change such settings, but are familiar with using tactile means to do so. However, for those whose past cameras were point-and-shoots, if their previous cameras even allowed for the changing of settings like ISO or white balance, it was probably done on the screen as well. With consumers still in mind, one new feature specific to the D40 include various editing capabilities within the camera itself. I’ve yet to try these out, but have heard that certain post-processing effects can actually improve photo quality in some cases. Keep in mind that with a camera so filled to the brim with features and settings to explore, it’s hard to know what all of these are and how to work them within just a few days!

One of the reasons I’ve really enjoyed the D40 so much is because of this exactly: even though I haven’t learned the ins and outs of the camera, I’ve still been able to take great photos. This can also be attributed to the fantastic lens that comes with the kit D40. It has an equivalency of about a 3.5x zoom and provides wonderful depth-of-field and quite good autofocusing (it’s a shame that there are only three points on which to train the lens’ autofocus sensor, though).

On the topic of lenses, it is definitely worth noting that the D40 is not an ideal camera for those with a collection of non AF-S/I lenses from Nikon. One of the reasons the D40 is able to be so compact is due to Nikon deciding to nix an internal motor to drive the autofocus functionality, as found in near all other dSLR’s and all other Nikon dSLR’s. Because of this, a new system of lenses called AF-S/I lenses have been developed with internal autofocus motors. The problem, though, is that these new lenses are few in number. In my opinion, this is probably not an issue for the D40’s target audience of those looking to break into the world of dSLR photography for the first time, versus those already owning lenses. Either way, the collection of AF-S/I lenses is sure to expand over the coming years.

All in all, the D40 has been a joy to use these past few days. What excites me the most about it is that unlike previous point-and-shoot cameras I’ve owned, the D40 gives me room to grow as my knowledge of photography develops. In my experience so far with the D40, taking photos is not a difficult or bothersome task in any way, as it used to be with previous non-SLR cameras. With fast and widely adjustable shutter speed (that’s right, blurriness be gone) and superb photo quality, now photography is fun and very rewarding for me.

Thank you, Nikon, for creating one excellent camera.

Overall: 5/5

I was a guest writer for a column called Friday Night Links at The Mac Mind, a site run by Anthony Cole, an acquaintance of mine from Random Shapes. In it, I provide some commentary on five links I dug up related to happenings in the world of Apple this week. Check it out

About five days ago as spring had really sprung, I thought to myself that with the new season a new design for this blog was in order. So, for those five days I worked very hard to almost entirely recreate my design. The result of this effort is what you are looking at now (if you’re in RSS, hop on over!), and I feel it’s a big improvement over the last version.

This design wouldn’t have been possible if it weren’t for some very kind and helpful I know from Random Shapes. These people include Jake Dahn for his honest opinions and CSS help, Anthony Cole for his critiquing, and Ranjani for her awesome logo.

Again, your feedback/issues you encounter are much appreciated.

Well it seems that Steve Jobs meant business after his press release a few months ago regarding his negative feelings towards DRM.

Today, Apple and EMI entered into agreements allowing people to download DRM-free music with a doubled sound quality for a premium and music videos with no added cost on Apple’s iTunes Store. Costing thirty cents more than iTunes’ normal offering of 99 cents-a-song, users now really own their music; DRM, which stands for Digital Rights Management, is technology embedded in media that lets content providers restrict uses of it. For iTunes songs, this means that users previously could only listen to their songs on five computers, and burn their songs onto CD a maximum of 7 times. With this landmark deal, users are now free to do as they please with their media.

Steve Jobs seems to have a bright future in mind for DRM-free media on iTunes. When asked about his projection of 2.5 million unrestricted songs on iTunes by year’s end, said Jobs, “Yes… that is our projection for other labels coming on board as well.”

Addendum: Typed in haste, I forgot to mention in this post that users who’ve downloaded music from EMI artists in the past may convert these purchases to DRM-free, higher quality versions for 30 cents extra. It’d be nice if they didn’t charge a fee, but oh well, I’m more than happy to be able to have DRM-free iTunes content at all!