Nikon D40 vs Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX30

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Nikon D40 and the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX30, highlighting the advantages of each over the other, discussing their pros and cons, shared strengths and weaknesses, and providing a rating based on their available features and specifications to assist you in choosing the one that best suits your needs.

Nikon D40 was introduced in December 2006 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX30 was introduced in July 2013. Let us first list highlights of the models.

Now that we've looked at the most essential specifications and gained a basic understanding of these cameras, we can delve into more details and see the differences between them.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Nikon D40 over Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX30.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX30 over Nikon D40.

We already listed pros and cons of each model. However, you may also find useful to look at their common strengths and weaknesses shown side-by-side.

Screen

Nikon D40 has a 2.5" screen with 230k dot resolution and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX30 has a 3.30" screen with 1,229k dot resolution. Both have Fixed screens. Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX30 also features touchscreen which has advantages such as easy menu navigation, intuitive controls, quick setting adjustment

Optical (pentamirror) Viewfinder on Nikon D40

Nikon D40 has a built-in Optical (pentamirror) viewfinder. It has a 95% coverage and 0.80x (0.53x 35mm equivalent) magnification. There is no built-in or optional viewfinder available on Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX30.

Nikon D40 features a 6.1 megapixel APS-C CCD sensor with dimensions of 23.7 x 15.6 mm and a total area of 369.7 mm². Its native ISO range is 200 - 1,600 and expands to 200 - 3,200 in boosted mode. Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX30 features a 18.2 megapixel 1/2.3-inch BSI-CMOS sensor with dimensions of 6.16 x 4.62 mm and a total area of 21.3 mm². Its native ISO range is 80 - 12,800.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX30 has BSI-CMOS sensor, short for Backside Illuminated Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor sensor. In traditional CMOS sensors, the wiring and circuitry are located on the front side of the sensor, which can block some of the incoming light. BSI technology flips this design by placing the photosensitive elements (pixels) on the backside of the sensor, allowing more light to reach the pixels. This significantly enhances light sensitivity and improves low-light performance. BSI-CMOS sensors are particularly effective in low-light conditions, as they can capture more light, resulting in brighter and less noisy images. This makes them well-suited for indoor and night photography. BSI-CMOS sensors deliver a higher SNR and reduced cross-talk.

Nikon D40 can take pictures up to 3008 x 2000 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 2256 x 1496, 1504 x 1000 with 3:2 aspect ratios. Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX30 can take pictures up to 4896 x 3672 resolution.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX30 has an image stabilization.

USB Inputs

Both models have USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) inputs for data transfer.

Battery

Nikon D40 comes with EN-EL9 battery pack.

External Storage Slots

Nikon D40 has a single SD/SDHC card slot. Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX30 has a single card slot.

Shutter

Nikon D40 has Electromagnetic and mechanically controlled vertical-travel focal-plane shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/4000 sec on Nikon D40, and up to 1/1600 sec on Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX30. Nikon D40 can shoot continuously up to 2.5 fps. Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX30 can shoot continuously up to 10.0 fps.

Flash

Cameras have built-in flash with maximum range of 17.00 m at ISO 100 on Nikon D40. Nikon D40 also accepts external flash. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/500 sec on Nikon D40.

Nikon D40 body has dimensions of 124 x 94 x 64 mm (4.88 x 3.7 x 2.52") and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX30 body has dimensions of 96 x 59 x 15 mm (3.78 x 2.32 x 0.59"). Nikon D40 weighs 522 g (1.15 lb / 18.41 oz) and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX30 weighs 141 g (0.31 lb / 4.97 oz).

Nikon D40

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX30

124 mm

94 mm

96 mm

59 mm

94 mm

59 mm