Hello all I am new here and I have some questions.
First off I have never owned a SLR camera, my current camera is a Kodak Z650 point and shoot. I do a lot of remote control flying and racing and my current camera just isn't doing the job. The shutter speed is so slow that most of the good pics I have taken are out of the frame half of the time. I am not looking to spend a ton on a new camera but I want to get a new one that is a upgrade from the Kodak i have now. I plan to buy the Nikon D40 because it is on sale at my local Best buy and I have a gift certificate to use there.
I am curious to know if one of the biggest advantages of the Digital SLR is the shutter speed? Will I be able to snap the pictures like the 35mm cams and have the object in the frame without the shutter lag? That is my main concern. Also is there any worries I should have about this camera?

Thanks for the input.

Yes, almost zero shutter lag. The D40 is a great camera too. But please shop online some first. Most local stores are a little higher. Try Beach Camera, Adorama and B&H photo Video. It could save you some cash.

The shutter lag will be next to 0. You may need a fast lens, also. f/2.8 probably and something with a good zoom, if you want to catch flying models. This will cost you more than the camera.

Thanks for the reply's. I looked online and I could save some money for sure. I had a Best buy gift card to spend and I have been watching this camera go on sale and off sale there for about 2 months now. Yesterday it was onsale at Best Buy for $569 with the 55mmX200mm lens and a choice of carrying case or 4gb memory card so I bit the bullet and bought it. I did read a lot of reviews on the camera and knew that it was going to be a entry level SLR. Honestly I have to say that even though its a cheap SLR I am blown away already buy the features and how nice it takes pictures. I brought it home, charged the battery and spend about a hour reading the manual. After setting the camera up I decided to take some pics on auto focus and I couldn't even get a picture to come out bad. I took some great pics of the fish in my fish tank that ususally takes me ten tries to get one good shot with my other camera. I took some pics of my dog running around and again they came out great. With the near zero shutter lag even in auto mode I was snapping pictures like crazy just because I could. This is a HUGE upgrade from the Kodak that I will be selling very shortly and now I can see how this hobby can become very addicting once you have some nice equipment. I know I have a lot to learn and lukily I have a friend that is a professional photographer to help me learn all the in's and outs. He does a lot of action and racing photo's. I know its only been a day but so far I am very pleased with the camera.

I can almost see the big grin on your face....congratulations on your new hobby!

For sure!
Can you tell me what the optical zoom is on this camera with the 55mmX200mm lens? I know it says 3.5X zoom with the standard lens.

For sure!
Can you tell me what the optical zoom is on this camera with the 55mmX200mm lens? I know it says 3.5X zoom with the standard lens.

It should be a 3.6x zoom ratio. Divide the max by the minimum (200/55=3.63).