Buy new: $478.17
/ Used from: $439.33
Nikon D40 camera with excellent 18-55 kit lens. Check for Amazon's deals on free or discounted accessories.
A lens hood improves your photo quality by shielding the lens from stray light. The hood can also protect your lens from knocks and bumps to the front end. This is the hood for the 18-55 kit lens. It is cheap, sturdy, and well made. After a camera bag and memory card, this is the next accessory you should buy for your D40. Most add-on Nikon lenses come with their own hoods.
Buy new: $214.95
/ Used from: $189.95
This zoom lens adds some telephoto range to your camera. The lens is lightweight and inexpensive, but very capable. The newer VR version of this lens will help to improve the sharpness of your hand-held (no tripod) photos.
Buy new: $479.00
/ Used from: $465.00
If you're interested in sports or wildlife photography, the 70-300 lens is a better choice than the 55-200 lens. The more powerful magnification will get you closer to the action.
Buy new: $663.95
/ Used from: $725.00
If you don't like carrying 2 lenses with you and swapping them for different situations, this single super-zoom lens will cover most of your photography situations.
One disadvantage of moderately priced zoom lenses is their speed (or lack thereof). This inexpensive and small lens lets you use a bigger aperture and faster shutter speed in low light situations. Since it is not AF-S, it will not autofocus with the D40, but manual focusing is not very difficult. Camera stores sell these for about $115 new or under $100 used.
Buy new: $479.00
/ Used from: $973.91
Sigma HSM for Nikon lenses will autofocus with the D40. Some of the Sigma lenses are a little cheaper than the genuine Nikon lenses. Sigma does have some focal lengths that Nikon does not. This Sigma 10-20 wide angle zoom is popular with D40 owners.
Buy new: $37.82
/ Used from: $99.24
The 18-55 kit lens uses 52mm filters. The circular polarizer is the most useful filter you can get for digital cameras. Don't leave it on all the time, though, since it does reduce the amount of light reaching your lens. Hoya HMC filters are great quality at reasonable prices.
Buy new: $129.99
/ Used from: $291.56
An external flash is a huge advantage of a SLR cameras vs. most compact cameras. The small SB-400 has twice the range of the built-in flash and also lets you bounce the flash off the ceiling for softer lighting. The SB-400 is Nikon's cheapest Speedlight flash, but it is adequate for most people. The fancier flashes are mostly for people using multiple flashes together.
Buy new: $12.49
If you can't use the SB-400 flash's bounce feature for some reason (e.g. outdoors), this diffuser does a great job of reducing harshness.
Buy new: $13.22
/ Used from: $14.99
The remote control is not included with the D40, but it is a cheap and very useful accessory. It is great for self-portraits and also when you have your camera mounted on tripod and don't want to shake it by pressing the shutter button.
Buy new: $39.99
The D40 comes with a rechargeable battery and charger. The battery is good for hundreds of photos. If you take your camera when traveling and cannot recharge the battery every night, a spare battery is a good idea.
Buy new: $15.85
This 3rd party battery seems to work just as well as the Nikon-brand battery, but at 1/3 the price.
Buy new: $23.36
/ Used from: $13.89
This small and inexpensive bag holds the D40 with 18-200 lens attached and has enough pocket space for your filters, spare battery, etc. With the 18-200 lens, you usually don't need a big camera bag to carry multiple-lenses. The smaller Topload Zoom Mini will fit the D40 with the 18-55 kit lens.
Tamrac and LowePro are the most popular brands of quality camera bags. They make a wide variety of styles and sizes, but they are all high-tech looking. If you want something with a softer look, try Crumpler or Domke. They make high quality camera bags in different sizes and colors.
Buy new: $89.95
A backpack is more comfortable than a shoulder bag if you are carrying several pounds of gear on a full day hike. The Lowepro Fastpack is the best camera-specific backpack that I have seen. There are 4 different models with different sizes and features.
Buy new: $20.48
I use this case when I want minimal bulk and moderate protection, e.g., to carry the camera around town on the neck strap or to drop the camera into a backpack with my hiking gear. The D-MIDSIZE case fits the D40 with the 18-55 kit lens. The D-MIDSIZE-ZOOM model fits the D40 the 18-200 zoom. The case fits snuggly with no pockets. The similar Nikon case is too small for the 18-200.
Buy new: $34.00
This inexpensive, roomy camera bag holds my D40 (with lens attached) and has padded pockets for 4 additional lenses. I use this bag to keep all my stuff organized and protected at home. When I go on field trips, I take a smaller bag with just 1 or 2 lenses.
Buy new: $29.45
The D40 uses SD or SDHC memory cards. 8GB cards are relatively inexpensive and hold lots of photos. I've never had trouble with Transcend brand cards and they are cheaper than Sandisk or Kingston. Shop around, Amazon never has the cheapest prices on memory cards. Do buy from a reputable dealer; I've heard of counterfeit Sandisk cards showing up at flea markets or on auction web sites.
Buy new: $3.85
/ Used from: $4.99
These Sandisk MicroMate SDHC card readers are cheap and small and fast. Older SD card readers will not work with SDHC memory cards.
Buy new: $13.59
/ Used from: $10.68
The D40 user manual describes the camera's features in reasonable detail. If you need more basic tutorial information, this little book does a good job with lots of color illustrations.
Buy new: $13.59
/ Used from: $10.90
This is one of the better beginner-level digital photography books. It has lots of color photos and explains in simple terms how to create similar photos with your camera. If you are new to serious digital photography, this is a good start. It is short and easy to read, but not very complete.
Buy new: $26.39
/ Used from: $24.00
This is a more complete tutorial book on digital photography. It is much longer and more detailed than the Kelby book. Many college beginning photography classes use this as their text book.
Buy new: $16.47
/ Used from: $12.95
This is an extremely popular intermediate-level photography book. The book emphasizes techniques and thought processes, rather than equipment.
![Adobe Photoshop CS2 [OLD VERSION]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/11N9FFY4CZL._SL150_.jpg)
If you want to use the D40's RAW mode, you will need some computer software to process your photos before you can print them. The best software on the market is Adobe PhotoShop. The latest PhotoShop is CS3, but CS2 is almost as good and much cheaper. PhotoShop CS2 can process Nikon D40 RAW photos, but not photos from the Nikon D40X.
Buy new: $10.95
/ Used from: $54.05
Nikon lens caps are great quality. If you lose yours (not hard to do), replacements are inexpensive. 3rd party lens caps don't hold as well and aren't much cheaper. The 52mm cap fits the kit lens.
Buy new: $5.75
Rear lens caps are also easy to lose. Generic versions of these are available, but the genuine Nikon caps are cheap and work a little better. One size fits all.
Buy new: $759.88
/ Used from: $650.00
Macro photos, e.g. super-closeups of insects and flowers, are some of the most exciting photos that you can take with an SLR camera. Unfortunately, the AF Nikon macro lenses sold by Amazon are super-expensive. Instead, I use an old manual Nikkor 55/3.5 lens and it takes photos that are just as nice. You can find used Nikkor macro lenses for around 50 dollars on popular auction web sites.
Buy new: $78.95
Extension tubes like this one change the focus point of your lens to focus closer. Some lenses can focus on subjects just a couple of inches away. I use an older (and much cheaper) Nikon M2 manual extension tube, but Amazon does not sell that. These tubes are great for "macro" photos, i.e., closeups of small subjects like insects or flowers.
Buy new: $69.99
This tool greatly simplifies macro photography focusing. Macro focusing is mostly accomplished by moving your camera closer or farther from the subject. Mount your camera on the plate, then mount the plate to your tripod head.
Buy new: $184.95
This attachment is great if you want to take a photo from ground level, but don't want to lie down in the mud to look through the viewfinder. The cheap Chinese knock-offs that are available on popular auction web sites reportedly work pretty well.
Buy new: Too low to display
The French/Italian Gitzo 2-series carbon tripods are possibly the most popular tripods among serious SLR photographers. They are light enough to carry around and stable enough for the vast majority of situations. If you're serious about photography, you'll probably think about paying the high price for these sooner or later.
These Chinese Benro 2-series carbon fiber tripods have many of the features of the Gitzo 2-series carbon fiber tripods at half the price.
Buy new: Too low to display
If you cannot afford a carbon tripod, aluminum tripods with the same size and strength will weigh 1 to 2 pounds more more and cost much less than carbon. Aluminum is more prone to vibration during long exposure shots, though.
Better quality tripods are sold without the head so you can choose what you want. A good head gives you a great stability/weight ratio, very smooth operation, and locks down securely with little effort. A good head will last longer than your camera. Kirk, Markins, and Arca are all great brands.
Buy new: $101.00
If you can't afford a premium tripod head and your lenses are no bigger than the Nikon 18-200 f/5.6, this head should be good enough. Avoid smaller heads that tend to droop and ruin your composition.
Buy new: $79.95
This little tripod is surprisingly sturdy. It is just 19" long (folded) and 2 pounds (including head) and easily fits in my small backpack. Despite the size, it is packed with features. It is too wobbly for a heavy lens or long exposure, but minimal weight is often more important for hiking or travel use.
Buy new: $12.95
A monopod works almost as well as a tripod in many situations, but the monopod is much lighter weight, less bulky, and faster to use. This very cheap monopod is surprisingly sturdy.
Buy new: $9.75
If you change your SLR lenses a lot, you will occasionally get dust inside your camera, especially on the mirror. This air blower will help you get all the dust out without leaving any residues.
Buy new: $6.01
/ Used from: $2.64
From time to time, the front glass of your lens will get dusty or dirty. This compact lens cleaner does a great job. One end has a brush to sweep away loose dust and dirt. The other end is more serious for fingerprints and smudges.
