Nikon’s D 40 was a run away success with the entry level DSLR users, who merely wanted to point and shoot their DSLRs. Then came the costlier version of the D 40, the D 60 with slightly better features. In the mean time there was the D 90 which was in the mid level DSLR of Nikon which was actually an upgrade of Nikon D 80 and D 300.
Now comes the latest offering of Nikon, the Nikon 5000 which is a upgrade of the D 60 but it packs in the features of D90 with out you having to pay the price of it.
Lack of accurate Autofocus on videos:
You must be prepared for some things if you fancy the D 5000. You should be ready to experiment with manual settings of a DSLR. You should also be ready to experiment with some AF-S lenses because the Nikon D 5000 does not have servo of its own.It is worth the enthusiasm. The chromatic Aberration correction facility of Nikon makes lenses look that much more enchanting.
Advantage of shooting videos:
The D 5000 has that additional attraction which was first offered in the D 90- the answer to the much asked question, why can’t a DSLR shoot videos?. Although it can shoot videos up to a duration of 5 mins of 2 GB at 1280 x 720, 640 x 424, 320 x 216 at 24 frames per second, the focus has to be set manually when the objects in question move. The video quality is good when you compare it to compacts but the D 5000 challenges you to take better videos by realizing its potential.
Size:The size of the Nikon D 5000 is slightly bigger than the D 40 or D 60 and is slightly less than the D 90.
File foramts:
The D 5000 has the ability to shoot at 4 fps while the D 90 could handle 4.5 but it can shoot 63 JPEG and 11 RAW files while the D 90 could do only 25 JPEG and 7 RAW files.The D 5000 has 12.9 mp and like the D 90 has EXPEED processor and CMOS sensors. The LCD screen of the D 5000 differs from both D 60 and D 90 that it is a 2.7 “ LCD monitor with 2,30,000 pixels and can tilt and swivel. It also offers live view and you can play back images both still and video.The auto focus facility of the D 5000 is 11 points for 3D tracking and has dynamic area Auto Focus for moving objects. It also has face detection and the focus has to be set on the individuals eyes.
Extras:
Although the D 5000 dose not offer the 1005 pixel, 3D color matrix metering, like the D-90 the 420 pixel metering is provided. The D 5000 has standard controls for processing the images. Among the facilities it offers are, D-lighting, filter effects, color balance, red eye correction, retouch menu, distortion control. It also has Nikon Electronic Format which is its own RAW processing but it also lets the user make a copy in JPEG.
ISO-Advantage:
The White balance settings in the D 5000 are extensive- 12 in number including Auto and to get a clear picture of the color composition of the white in the picture it is temperature sensitive over a wide range and actually takes three different pictures to arrive at the perfect white balance by comparison of these pictures. The ISO sensitivity is good over a wide range but beyond the levels of 1600 to 3200 the threshold level decreases which allows some noise to creep in thereby some details are likely to be distorted.
Conclusion.
The Nikon D 5000 is a good choice for those who are willing to make a jump from the entry level D 40 with out paying for the features that are available in the D 90.
Additional features of Nikon D 5000 compared to D 60
• 12.3 MP CMOS sensor (D60: 10.2 MP CCD)
• Tilt/swivel screen
• Live View with contrast detect AF
• Movie Mode
• Wider ISO range
• 11 point AF system with 3D tracking (D60: 3 point AF)
• Control of Active D-Lighting intensity
• Automatic correction of lateral chromatic aberration
• Choice of JPEG quality in RAW+JPEG shooting
• Extra retouching options
• More scene modes
• Faster continuous shooting
• Exposure bracketing
