I was given the opportunity to test out the olympus camedia d-40 by my cousin for my sisters AND grandmothers graduation (they graduated same time). The setting was the park blocks here in portland, OR during a nice sunny day.

IS IT PURTY?
One of the first things a user of the d-40 will notice is its small size, in my opinion this is the smallest 4 megapixel camera available. Yes the cannon s-40 comes close but because it is so long I prefer the d-40's size. The camera is a very attractive off tone greyish tan color. This is the front half of the camera, the back of the camera is pretty much a black face. It makes me think of the cannon series 200,300,and 330 cameras. It has a very box like look to it, just like the cannons. It would have been very neat if olympus had made the casing out of aluminum as did cannon but it is just fine with the sturdy plastic they choose.
To get a real sense of what the camera looks like check out this 3-d image of it that I saw on the olympus site.
http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/cpg_3dviews.asp?3dview_lobby=1&product=712

THEM FANCY PICTURES
Olympus has been in the digital photography game for a while and the experience they have aquired really shows with the d-40. The pictures are immaculate, I saw no bleaching at all even in very direct sunlight, no red or purple fringing when looking at bright colors or in low light. Olympus has also been working very hard to improve the quality of its digital zoom. For those that aren't very good with a computer, the option to zoom and manipulate a picture with just the camera will be a great option. For me I would just as well prefer using photoshop to zoom if I need digital zooming.
One of my big cons about this camera is that is only has 2.5x optical zoom. For those who don't know much about digital photography, optical zoom means that at 1x zoom you will be getting the full 4 megapixels all the way up to 2.5x zoom, but after that you will be loosing picture quality as you digitally zoom in on the picture you have already taken.

CAN I BE STICKEN STUFF TO IT?
One big reason I personally won't be choosing this camera as THE camera I purchase will be its lack of any ability to add on lenses. You also can not add on external flashes. This is something that most casual photographers won't even care about, but it will prevent this camera from being used by more professional photographers.

WHATS THIS HERE BUTTON DO?
The ease of use of this camera is commendable. Olympus really did do the best they could to make this a great digital point and shoot camera. To turn it on is quite easy, you just slide open the cover on the front of the camera. It has a very neat turn dial on the back that lets the user pick just about any type of photo they will come in contact with. The menu buttons are directly beneath the turn dial, the proximity of these to the turn dial means that the user can easily make any selections they want just using their thumb. Turning on the lcd (its default is off) is easy, you just push the lcd power button next to it. To review prior photos you have taken you double push the lcd power button, you can then zoom in and out on photos using the zoom control on the top, very simple. If your viewing photos and you want to take a photo you just need to push the shutter button once on top, it exits out of the review mode to the photo mode. This seemed strange at first being that so many other cameras you choose review on the turn dial but when I was using it and needed to take a photo it was very useful not to have to look at what setting to choose. Deletion of pictures is easy too, from the review mode you put the red flash control button to the left of the dial, it asks are you sure, you push ok on the menu controls and viola!

JUICE ME UP BABY!
The batteries on the d-40 are excellent. My cousin changed out the batteries on arrival in portland, put in one of the double barreled lithium disposable battries. At 105 shots it was going strong. According to him the batteries rarely need changing and you can get rechargables for it.

AND THE REST?
One thing I forgot to mention is that it can take very acceptable photos using the view finder, you get real used to learning to aim just a tad higher with it though. The viewfinder is located just above the lense so it just a hair too high for even shots using the lense.

Another is that its shutter recycle rate is a bit slow, I couldn't get much faster than a shot every few seconds, not the best action camera but thats fine.

Ok so this isn't a cannon g-2, but its a pretty darn good point and shoot camera. Keeping in mind its 4 megapixel, and that will let the casual photographer zoom in without loosing much resolution, it just might be the perfect point and shoot camera.

The price is a bit spendy but not when you consider it is a 4 megapixel camera. For my money though I'd want the option to add on a larger lense.

Just to add a sidenote, I had fun using this camera, sometimes I use a camera and it takes so much work to learn that you don't really have fun using it until you know it. Not with this camera, I had fun learning to use it.

I hope you enjoyed this review, I sure did like reviewing this camera. If you want to read some of my other reviews check them out.

CAMERAS
FinePix 2600
http://www.epinions.com/content_71749635716

Sony MVC-CD200
http://www.epinions.com/content_73001766532

OTHER ELECTRONICS
Sony DVP-S360 DVD player
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HOUSEHOLD THINGS
Hoover WindTunnel Upright Vacuum U6445900
http://www.epinions.com/content_71748128388

KitchenAid Ultra Power KSM90 Stand Mixer
http://www.epinions.com/content_72905166468

KitchenAid 5-Speed Ultra Power Blender KSB5
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PC GAMES
Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos for Windows
http://www.epinions.com/content_70897012356

Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis
http://www.epinions.com/content_70897536644

Grand Theft Auto 3 PC
http://www.epinions.com/content_71750749828

If you have any questions on any of my reviews please contact me at zlmajors@qwest.net

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 499
This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Easy Enough for Anyone to Use