[Dabhand16]

The issue with the D40/D40x is that these bodies do not have autofocus motors, so if you want AF, the lenses must have built-in motors.

This means that some lenses will not autofocus on the D40/D40x bodies as they do not have a built-in AF motor.

Now this may not be a particular issue for you. As I said before, there are more lenses now becoming available that will work on the D40/D40x, but it just might be that in the future you will need a lens, or have the opportunity to get a bargain lens that will not AF on the camera.

The creative lighting, if it is what I think it is, is to do with using flashguns in combination or as a fill light. If you are going to do a lot of this type of shots it will be an advantage. But in your choice of camera it is better to concentrate on the basics rather than the feature list. Not many people will use every function that is available to them, but if there is a feature that will be of use to your type/style of photography, it will be useful.

With regard to other fancy in-camera effects, I'm generally not in favour of them. Better to understand how to get what you want in a picture from setting the camera up properly rather than rely on auto features that take control away from you.