Olympus D-40 Zoom Review

The D-40 Zoom sports an ultra-compact Olympus 2.8x zoom lens 7.25-20.3mm (35mm-98mm equivalent in 35mm).  It's an all-glass, aspherical lens constructed of 7 elements in 5 groups. The aperture range is F2.8/4.8-F8.0 (adjustable in 1/3 steps). Further enhanced by a 2.5x digital zoom function.

The camera uses an iESP Multi-Pattern AF (autofocus) TTL system (contrast detection). Focusing range is:

Normal Mode: 31" ~ infinity (0.8m ~ infinity )

Manual Mode: 3.9" (0.1 m) ~ infinity set by gauge on LCD

Macro Mode: W 3.9" ~ 31" (0.1 m ~ 0.8m), T:9.8" ~ 31" (0.25 ~ 0.8m)

To aid in critical focusing the LCD screen displayed is enlarged when you are actively changing the focus in manual mode. The camera to subject distance is always displayed on the screen and can be set for feet or meters.

When not in use the front of the camera and lens is protected by the sliding clamshell cover, it also turns the camera on and off when opened or closed.

The D-40 Zoom has a large and bright optical finder but it lacks a diopter adjustment.

The green LED indicates a focus lock and the amber LED tells you the status of the flash.

Built in multi-mode intelligent speedlight; Auto (automatic flash activation in low light and backlight), red-eye reduction, fill-in (forced activation), off (no flash).

Working flash range (at ISO 100):

Wide: 31" - 9.8'
Tele: 9.8" - 5.9'

The monochrome data LCD shows the most important camera settings at a glance. Unfortunately it is not illuminated - we will keep pointing this out until all of the manufacturers take the hint and add this much-needed feature!

The shutter release has the zoom lens control mounted around it. The zoom lever also functions as the index and zoomed playback control while in play mode.

On the back are the flash mode (delete in play mode) and metering/macro mode buttons (DPOF in play mode) next to the 10-position Mode Dial. Below the mode dial is the button that controls the color LCD display, pressing it twice quickly lets you review the last picture captured. The 4-way jog switch is used to navigate menus and control various camera settings. The OK button accepts menu selections, it also calls up the menu and when held for longer than a second it enables the manual focus.

DC INput for AC adapter or battery pack

A/V output, video is NTSC (PAL in European models), audio is monaural. The same port is also the high-speed USB data port.

There is both a microphone and a speaker built into the camera so you can playback videos on the LCD with full sound capability. The speaker is also used for the simulated shutter mechanism sounds and camera beeps.

The D-40 Zoom stores its images on 3.3v SmartMedia cards. Access to the card slot is below the 4-way controller on the bottom. The small cards are somewhat difficult to remove as there is no ejector mechanism and the fingergrip area is quite small. Olympus includes a 16MB card with panorama function and any size up to 128MB may be used.

The D-40 Zoom is powered by two AA size batteries (NiMH preferred but not supplied) or one of the Olympus CR-V3 one-use lithium. The battery door has a safety latch and thanks to the side by side design, battery changes can be swift.

Included is the Olympus RM-1 infrared remote control (it's not a big remote, it's a small camera.)   This allows you to control the zoom and trip the shutter in record mode and control playback while connected to a television - from the comfort of your easy chair.

The D-40 Zoom even has a second IR receiver port on the back (that's it above the optical viewfinder). This lets you easily use the RM-1 remote from behind the camera without having to reach around in front of the camera or try to bounce the IR beam off of a wall or other surface. Kudos to Olympus for doing this as many of us use the IR remote for tripod-mounted macro shots.