I recommend the D40...
I have taken four trips in the past year or so using my D40 as my main camera. On the first three trips, I brought the D40 with the 18-55mm kit lens and the 35mm f/1.8 fast prime. On the fourth trip, I brought the 35mm f/1.8 and the Sigma 10-20mm. On all three trips, I carried the camera, the second lens, extra battery, SD cards, etc., in a Crumpler 4 Million Dollar Home shoulder bag.
First, you need to think about how you are going to carry your kit. The D40 with a small lens like the 18-55mm or 35mm is light and easy to carry on a shoulder strap. Carrying it in the shoulder bag with a second lens gets a bit heavy and uncomfortable to tote around for weeks at a time, but is quite tolerable for a few days. Personally, I doubt if the size and weight advantage of the GF1 is great enough to make much of a difference in carrying comfort.
Second, and perhaps more importantly, the image quality from the D40 is great! Don't worry about the fact that the D40 only has 6 megapixels. Use large, fine .jpg on the D40 and your pics will look great. I've printed many pics from my D40 at 8x10" and for prints that size or smaller, you don't need any more pixels than the D40 provides. I have not printed bigger than that, but I suspect files from the D40 would do fine up to about 12x18".
Third, I would not want to bring a camera without an optical viewfinder on a trip. I find when I use my point & shoot cameras, I have a very hard time composing my shots in many lighting conditions because I can't see the LCD.
Finally, think hard about what lenses you bring. I love the selective focus ability of the 35mm f/1.8. I always seem to get my best shots with it, and would not mind using it as my only lens. Using a prime does force you to concentrate on your composition a little bit more. I like the Sigma 10-20mm's angle of view but it is a little too big and heavy to be a good choice for travel when you are walking around all day. It's a specialized lens--usually the wide end of the 18-55mm kit lens (27mm equivalent) is wide enough, and the kit lens weighs half as much and is much more flexible. The telephoto end of the kit lens comes in handy too--I find I seldom need more reach than the ~85mm equivalent long end of the 18-55mm provides.
I have taken four trips in the past year or so using my D40 as my main camera. On the first three trips, I brought the D40 with the 18-55mm kit lens and the 35mm f/1.8 fast prime. On the fourth trip, I brought the 35mm f/1.8 and the Sigma 10-20mm. On all three trips, I carried the camera, the second lens, extra battery, SD cards, etc., in a Crumpler 4 Million Dollar Home shoulder bag.
First, you need to think about how you are going to carry your kit. The D40 with a small lens like the 18-55mm or 35mm is light and easy to carry on a shoulder strap. Carrying it in the shoulder bag with a second lens gets a bit heavy and uncomfortable to tote around for weeks at a time, but is quite tolerable for a few days. Personally, I doubt if the size and weight advantage of the GF1 is great enough to make much of a difference in carrying comfort.
Second, and perhaps more importantly, the image quality from the D40 is great! Don't worry about the fact that the D40 only has 6 megapixels. Use large, fine .jpg on the D40 and your pics will look great. I've printed many pics from my D40 at 8x10" and for prints that size or smaller, you don't need any more pixels than the D40 provides. I have not printed bigger than that, but I suspect files from the D40 would do fine up to about 12x18".
Third, I would not want to bring a camera without an optical viewfinder on a trip. I find when I use my point & shoot cameras, I have a very hard time composing my shots in many lighting conditions because I can't see the LCD.
Finally, think hard about what lenses you bring. I love the selective focus ability of the 35mm f/1.8. I always seem to get my best shots with it, and would not mind using it as my only lens. Using a prime does force you to concentrate on your composition a little bit more. I like the Sigma 10-20mm's angle of view but it is a little too big and heavy to be a good choice for travel when you are walking around all day. It's a specialized lens--usually the wide end of the 18-55mm kit lens (27mm equivalent) is wide enough, and the kit lens weighs half as much and is much more flexible. The telephoto end of the kit lens comes in handy too--I find I seldom need more reach than the ~85mm equivalent long end of the 18-55mm provides.
