How can i change the shutter speed on a Nikon D40?

I don’t own a D40, but on my Pentax K10D there is a special mod called “B” for long exposure, like Night shot or star shooting.

On normal setting I only got 30 sec max exposure however. I will have a look at this question ! :)

If you want to shoot for example cars by nights, with their flare on, few seconds are required, a tripod too.

You can’t do it without a shutter release cable (too much camera movement if you push the button directly on the camera).

Switch the shutter speed to bulb and press and hold the button on the release cable until the desired amount of time has passed.

2 to 3 minute exposures are great for lightning strikes and storms shots.

I just looked on Nikon’s website, and there is the setting that Mulot mentioned (B stands for ‘Bulb’). Look in your manual to know where it is, but methinks it should be right on the setting dial on the top right side. In bulb, the shutter stays open for as long as your finger depresses the shutter release button. http://www.nikonusa.com/Find-Your-Nikon/ProductDetail.page?pid=25420
and somewhere towards the middle it mentions that there is a bulb shutter setting on this model. In fact, I would find it quite odd if it didn’t…

Well, astrofoo beat me. Disregard.

Yes Astrofoo and Les bring the solution. On some model you have to release the shutter bouton to close the shuuter, or you can press it to open, release, it will continue to be opende while you press it again.

I too recently got a Nikon D40 and am new to high end photography. I have been doing a lot of learning from this website.
http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d40/users-guide/index.htm
Good Luck

B does in fact stand for bulb. (I Am I big fan of the kenrockwell.com site)