Nikon launches the D40 - entry level digital SLR camera for under £450

This one may seem a little weird: Nikon has launched a camera that actually seems to have gone backwards technologically speaking. The D50 is its current entry level camera, but now there's the D40, a smaller, cheaper version designed to appeal to 30-something year old men (we say poo poo to that) and family types. Actually, though the name, size and price suggest that this is a lesser camera than the D50, the D40 has an awful lot on board that the D50 lacks. In-camera editing, for instance, which includes things like D-Lighting, for cleaning up dark shots, and red eye removal. There's also the small matter of the processing engine, which is the same one the superior (and recently announced) D80 uses.

And because it's aimed at entry level users, there are lots of helpful features added in to make shooting more straightforward. The menus are accompanied by example pictures, which show what effects the settings will have on a shot when you change them, and there's a help key that will provide instant advice about what the various features do.

There's no LCD screen on top anymore - all the action now takes place on the image preview screen instead. This makes things a bit easier for beginners, and I was quite taken with the alternative screen setting that shows you the actual aperture size along with a speedometer-style shutter speed. Alternatively, you can stick with the traditional screen display, or opt for a fluffier "wallpaper" setting that will use one of your stored photos as a background.

The Nikon people reckon that 60% of buyers will be male, and while I'm sure they've done their research, I can't help feeling that this is exactly the sort of camera likely to turn the heads of the ladies. And not necessarily just because of the easy-to-use interface or lower spec, but because it's small, light and not at all showy. From what I've seen so far, I really like the D40 - anything that gets people into the delights of SLR cameras is fine by me. We should be getting our hands on a review sample soon, so expect a more thorough write up in the next week or two.

Nikon