Quote ="Donna"Hi all I have had a Nikon D40 for about 3 years and am looking to upgrade. There are so many options out there, I have done some research but the more I read the more undecided I am. I mainly use for sports, but want to do some portraits etc.. any suggestions? I like the feel and weight of my Nikon, so would be more than happy to stay with the brand. Budget of around £700.'"
Quote ="LeedsBornWelshRoots"That's a difficult budget band for a Nikon body. (I'm assuming body only cos you'll no doubt have lenses already for your D40.
It's not enough for a pro-am body like a D300s (circa £1K) but less than £700 only buys bodies which aren't massive upgrades from your D40.'"
Does seem like that amount falls between ranges.
If you are leaning towards staying with Nikon it may be worth trying to PM Ginger Jon. At some point in the past I think he upgraded from a D40 to a D90 - he may be able to offer you some advice.
Also I believe vbfg has moved through the Nikon range as well.
Like LBWR I am not sure that anything less than £700 will get you much of an upgrade however I suppose the considerations would be perhaps the D90, D7000 or D300s.
Ginger Jon or vbfg may be able to offer useful advice about the D90 and what this offers over the D40, otherwise you may be looking at one of the other two models or perhaps a second hand body.