Is a Nikon D40 good for beginner?

I'm thinking of buying a used Nikon D40 for the $300… Is this a good camera for beginners? Worth for the price? Also, it comes with a fish eye lens, will I need to buy a separate lens for "regular" photos?

If your a begginer don't jump right in at SLRs get a compact first.

Not great for beginners its kinda high tech
But its a GREAT! Camera I love it and I also used it for when I was in yearbook last year in high school it took amazing shots!

In my personal opinion, there's no cameras as professional or beginner and I totally disagree with the previous guy that said you need to start with a compact camera, either he is a troll or he has no knowledge about photography.

First of all as you seem to be a beginner, I highly recommend you to buy a new camera such as: Pentax KR or Canon 1000D, Nikon 40D is also an amazing camera, many sports photographers use it and the outputs are amazing, depends upon the hands too. Skill is what you need, not cameras.

Make sure to take one professional with you when you will visit to check that camera, check it's shutter speed, flash and lens then take a wise decision but I personally think 300$ is too much for Nikon 40D

D40 is a fine camera to learn about photography. I would get the 18-55mm kit lens that came with the camera as this is a good general purpose lens until you figure out what sort of lens you need. New, the 18-55mm lens is $125 to $190 depending if the lens sports VR. A fish eye has limited use, but if it's a decent fish eye, it's worth the price. If it's a slip-on fish eye they got for $40, then throw the fish eye in the rubbish bin. The D40 can take good quality images, but you're pushing the camera if you shoot above ISO 800. The D40 has a tendency to overexpose, but that's easily solved by using an exposure compensation of -0.7 in program, aperture, or shutter priority modes.

You also need to be sure the camera is working properly and the sensor is clean. Sensor cleaning will probably cost another $20 to $30 if it needs it. As previously mentioned, take along someone who knows about cameras. Depending on how well they took care of the camera, you may need to replace the battery which is another $45.

At $300, you would expect to have the 18-55 kit lens (you don't say if this was included). If the fish eye is decent quality, then it might be an ok price, but you still need a general purpose lens like the 18-55 kit lens. If you need to buy the kit lens, then this isn't a good deal. You could get a new D3000 for about the same that you would spend getting this camera + lens.

Be sure the charger is included and is the official Nikon charger.

You should buy this one nikon Coolpix S8100 12.1 MP CMOS Digital Camera

12.1-megapixel CMOS sensor for high-speed operation and low-light performance
10x wide-angle optical Zoom-Nikkor ED glass lens
3-inch Ultra-High Resolution (921, 000-dot) Clear Color Display
Full HD (1080p) Movie with Stereo and HDMI Output
Capture images and video to SD/SDHC memory cards (not included)