Rating: 
Summary: Comparison to Canon Powershot S40
Review: 1) Size. Both cameras are small but the crown goes to Olympus, even if only by few cubic points. Olympus is also lighter of the two.
2) Resolution. Both cameras feature 4.1Mpixel CCD. What Canon misses and Olympus has is an extrapolation to 3,200 X 2,400 (or 7+Mpixels). By making an extrapolation from a raw image (not even TIFF!) the camera may make a much smarter decision then your average Photoshop program. This is the must if you want to print a poster from your picture.
3) Picture quality. Very good and comparable between both cameras. Even the most advanced reviewers have a hard time giving clear advantage to one or the other. Canon has a slightly better rendering algorithm, so the nod goes to Powershot but not by much. ...
4) Lenses - for all purposes the same. Not as fast as on any of the bigger cameras but satisfying for most applications.
5) Zoom - same.
6) Storage media. Olympus uses SmartMedia, while Canon uses CompactFlash (types I and II). Both supply laughable 16Mb out of the box, so you have to purchase larger modules. The prices for memory are comparable but advantage goes to Canon, since Compact Flash is a more advanced format and comes in bigger sizes. Still, 128Mb is more then enough for a day of shooting.
7) Batteries. Both cameras are not ideal. Canon pretty much forces you to buy additional module ... since it uses a proprietary format, but Olympus does not supply a rechargeable batteries and does not allow to recharge in camera, so you need to buy NiMh AA batteries and charger, which would cost the same (smart investment). Still I would give an advantage to Olympus because you can always find AA batteries in any store if you ran out of power. I also want to address here the power consumption since a lot of users are giving their thumbs down based on this feature alone. Both cameras are bad. This is a sad reality if you want a subcompact camera. But not make a tragedy out of this. If you use both cameras smartly, it should last you the whole day of shooting quite easily.
8) Price. Still too high IMHO for both of cameras. Canon is slightly more expensive but not by much. You can buy any camera now for less [money]. With all accessories (memory, batteries, case, etc.) you should just be able to fit in ... budget.
9) Flash. Mediocre at best for both cameras. Canon does a slightly better job at red-eye reduction, but Olympus is slightly better with white-balance adjustment. Still this is probably the weakest point for both cameras.
10) Video. Both cameras have built-in video mode with sound recording and speaker for later review. Since I don't care much for this feature I won't discuss it here.
11) Supplied software. Olympus ships with camera the Adobe Photoshop Elements - by far the best photo-editing package on the market now.
12) Nice extras. Canon comes in a metal casing which gives it a very sophisticated and ruggish look. Olympus casing is more stylish IMHO and is made of very sturdy plastic. Both cameras have auto USB connectivity and optional waterproof cases. Olympus has three unique features that made me buy it. First is a low-light noise reduction that can be activated when you switch camera into night shot option. The special algorithm that Olympus uses allows it to compensate for long-exposure related errors (such as "hot" pixels) and results in a much better looking pictures. If you like to make night photos (I do) you can't live without this feature. Second feature is pixel mapping that allows camera to compensate for dead pixels in CCD. Until you have this problem you won't probably think much about it. The third feature is "User Mode" which allows you to store your preferable settings and access them by simple switch of the dial. I use it quite often and it saves a lot of preparation time before shot is taken and results in a better quality picture. It is especially useful if you take a series of pictures in challenging lighting conditions (such as twilight time).Overall, I chose Olympus for the above mentioned features, but you can't go wrong with any of these little cameras.
Rating:
Summary: A near-perfect digital camera
Review: A terrific quality camera overall. Just a few gripes:
1) Eats batteries fast. If you use the viewfinder while you take shots, some regular Duracell or Energizers will last 15-20 mins tops. Results are much MUCH better with Lithium batteries such as the Energizer E2. 2) There is a somewhat lengthy delay between pressing the button and capturing the shot. I've missed some good shots on a couple occasions because I was too late on the trigger. Overall though, these are minor gripes that are more than made up for by the quality of the pictures this thing takes and the fact it is tiny enough to COMFORTABLY fit in your pocket. Highly recommended if you are looking for a top-notch camera thats easy to lug around.
Rating: 
Summary: This camera kicks butt!
Review: After much shopping around on the internet, and reading reviews I decided on the Olympus D-40. It's my first digital camera and so far I'm VERY pleased. Its compact size makes it easy to take with you. The biggest selling points were (1) the 4 megapixel capability, (2) the size AND (3) it has a remote! I love this feature, it means I can take pictures of myself with my family/friends without having to do the run back and forth routine that you do with a timer. (It does have a timer for those that still want that option) The remote works for a few feet - enough to get a pic of you with that awesome scenery, monument, etc. behind you. Also, you can manually set all settings - shutter speed, etc. The drawbacks are (1) the zoom and (2) the lag time between the press of the shutter button and the actual picture being taken. The zoom doesn't go as far as I wanted. I would have also liked the capability to put an extra zoom lens on. Sometimes the lag between pressing the button and the photo being taken is enough to miss the shot. For those reasons I've given the camera 4 stars instead of 5. Overall, this camera has been a great starter for me and I bet would be good for a repeat digital camera buyer who wants a bunch of features in a small package. P.S. Get the big (128MB) memory card.
Rating:
Summary: D40 Zoom is Great!
Review: Bought the D40 Zoom....absoluuutely love it! It is almost impossible to take a bad picture....from macros to landscape...the colors are vivid and images sharp. Every time I take a picture, I cannot go without saying aloud, "I love this camera!" Totally awesome!
Rating:
Summary: Little Giant
Review: Great little camera. The picture quality exceeds my expectations. This camera is jam packed with great features. After studying the users manual on the CD I was able to recognize all of the functions and navigate the menus with ease. Very intuitively laid out. I highly recommend this camera to anyone that wants the best of both worlds, a full featured miniture camera.
Rating:
Summary: Best Compact Digital Camera....
Review: Great Pictures, Great Zoom, lightweight... one bad thing: it drains batteries FAST...
rechargeable batteries are a MUST.
Rating: 
Summary: Nice features when it works
Review: I bought a D-40 and liked it so much I bought another for my parents. Within a very short time my parent's camera started having power problems. It would only stay on for about a minute even with new batteries. Fortunately we were able to return it and I got them a D-490 instead. After a little over a year my camera developed a similar problem. I'd turn it on, five seconds later it would turn off. They charged me $ to fix it. 0 for 2 is a pretty poor track record.
Rating:
Summary: Nice features when it works
Review: I bought a D-40 and liked it so much I bought another for my parents. Within a very short time my parent's camera started having power problems. It would only stay on for about a minute even with new batteries. Fortunately we were able to return it and I got them a D-490 instead. After a little over a year my camera developed a similar problem. I'd turn it on, five seconds later it would turn off. They charged me $ to fix it. 0 for 2 is a pretty poor track record.
Rating:
Summary: This camera is great!
Review: I bought my first digital camera about 6 months ago, the Fuji Finepix 101, 1.3 megapixel. It was handy and I had lots of nice shots, especially after editing in Photoshop. But the Olympus! Wow! Now I'm back to the old days of SLR photography, even with the choice of B&W or sepia tone images. This camera, in auto mode, captures the colors perfectly. It is a little hard to figure out at first and as someone else noted, the manual is worthless. But if you don't mind poking around a bit, you'll soon get the hang of it. I am very happy with it. BTW, I haven't had a single external device connected via USB that hasn't crashed my computer at some point so I'm not going to give the camera negative points for that.
Rating:
Summary: Olympus d40
Review: I bought this camera in June and immediately went on a 6 week vacation, thus I did not have time to learn how to use the camera. I bought 3- 128mb memory cards plus the Olympus carrying case. I obtained 1700 mah NiMh AA batteries and charger. I used the camera in automatic position and kept the batteries just in case I ran down the camera batteries. I got 468 terrific photos ,almost never ran down the batteries in a days shooting and found the carrying case saved my camera from a rain storm.When I got home I plugged the camera into my Windows xp computer and did a copy and paste from the camera to the computer hard drive. The photos were amazingly beautiful and accurate in both bright light and at nite. So whats is wrong with the camera. Perhaps the battery situation could be improved as to battery life, the camera might be better in a metal case and .5 inch longer, the slight time delay in shooting could be shortened.
But realistically this camera is fantastic and fits in you shirt pocket.
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