This is the entry-level DSLR with that famous swiveling LCD. The Nikon D5000, that is. It can go head-to-head with almost any SLR, even with the 55mm kit lens. There’s a 12.3 megapixel sensor doing all of the work, and ISO range of up to 6400 with 11 autofocus points. So how did it fare in my month-long review? Not too bad actually. It did quite well.**
**This means you have to click on to read the review. Because we want you to!
Full disclosure: Mr. Brown, AKA the UPS Man dropped this at the mail room. Actually, it was loaned by Nikon Corp.
Price as Reviewed: $629.95
The Specs Say A Lot
Let me list them in a completely techy and geeky fashion, then you can move onto where this actually has effects. Clearly, the D5000 is ready to do war with anyone, anytime, anywhere:
- 12.3 megapixel DX-format CMOS sensor
- 2.7″ tilt and swivel LCD monitor with 230,000 dot resolution
- Movie capture at up to 1280 x 720 (720p) 24 fps with mono sound
- Live View with contrast-detect AF, face detection and subject tracking
- Image sensor cleaning (sensor shake)
- 11 AF points (with 3D tracking)
- IS0 200-3200 range (100-6400 expanded ISO)
- 4 frames per second continuous shooting
- A 1080mAh battery
Design & Aesthetics
At 1.3lbs, this is no featherweight. It isn’t made out of metal, but black plastic, which proves to be a pretty solid material, and is very strong. The hand grip has a more rubbery texture than other parts of the camera, so grip is improved. As for the buttons, they range from clicky, to soft touch. Not even once did I have to “look” for a button, because it was so easy to remember where each one was. There’s a gallery that I think said “Me too!”, so here it is:
GALLERY
Down To The Brink: Software
The reason why I used that choice of words for the section title is that the interface bundled into the D5000 is made to be beginner friendly, and is supposed to be easy on the setting changes area. Well, let me give some real clarification on that. If there’s a downfall to this DSLR, the brink, it’s the endless menus and tons of options that only ruin great photos. I can say that any consumser could buy the D5000 (if its price is in their budget) and enjoy it, but only after you’ve spent almost a minute tuning settings for a single shot, then going back into the endless options which in the end only produce a lackluster, out-of-color and saturation photo. Now you could come up with a defense: “So Stef, your mini rant is pretty amusing, but you can save the settings you tinkered with, right?”
If only it was so. You can’t save settings on the D5000 SLR. That’s right, “no you can’t”.
It annoys anyone I’ve tested it on. Greatly. After taking 1,300+ plus photos for this review, in different states (Florida, New York, and New Jersey, including shots on a Delta flight), I can say half of my shots are only half of what they should have been. This D5000 has no problems for shooting anything, no question about that. But to keep on shooting, perfectly? It has a pretty hard time doing that. On top of the already cranky settings menus, there’s the SD card capacity. It can fill up faster than I thought it would (I was using a 2GB regular SD). It’s no biggie though. With storage cards getting cheaper everyday, you could have your very own colletion for $100 bucks, which would probably get you 10 2GB cards.
**Note: my “filling it up” means that the card I was using can take close to 300 photos before needing to be emptied out. Anyways, here’s some examples.
PHOTO TEST GALLERY
The Bottom Line
It lacks. It gains. It has a lot of pwning power. The battery lasts for days of quick photo taking, or lasts an entire day of endless photo-shoots, including a TV interview (2 in fact, in which both of this camera is starred in). I’ve enjoyed testing of the D5000, and would even go as far as to buy one (because I’m in the market for SLRs), but I have a pretty good feeling that Nikon has better digital single-lens reflex cameras in the works.
Pros:
- Picture quality, night or day, is strong, as long as the settings don’t go funky.
- The professional looks. Just look at it, it begs for attention!
- HD video quality is smooth, but sound is in mono.
- The 2.7-inch LCD is high-res and extremely useful.
- It’s Nikon (that’s actually saying something).
- Battery life lasts at least 300 photos.
Cons:
- The settings menus are sent from Mars
- SD card fills up real quick.
