We feel somewhat ambivalent about the D5000's design. Articulated LCDs are great and definitely enhance the usability of Live View. But ultimately we find the flip-down version on the D5000 less useful than the flip-out versions on Olympus' SLRs: it's good for overhead and hip-level shooting, but not as comfortable for sideways. Of course, from that perspective it's far more flexible than Canon's fixed LCDs. But the D5000's LCD isn't very good. In addition to the aforementioned visibility problem in direct sunlight, it seemed soft -- we couldn't tell if our photos were sharp, and manual focus in Live View (and video recording) was nearly impossible.
Furthermore, there's no way to keep the multi selector switch from accidentally moving the selected AF points, which we did, repeatedly. Finally, the viewfinder is small and dim, and the AF lock light is way down in the lower left corner where you have to strain to see it. On the upside, it has an optional grid display.
Performance
The D5000 definitely comes through on
performance and photo quality, however. It's fast, and generally outshoots the
D90, most notably in low-light autofocus. It powers on and shoots in
about 0.2 seconds, with shot lag as good as 0.3 seconds under good
light and a still-respectable 0.7 seconds in dim conditions.
It shoots and saves JPEG files slightly faster than raw, though they both end up at about 0.5 seconds -- adding flash bumps that just slightly to 0.9 seconds. Burst shooting clocks about 4 frames per second -- same as the D90 -- putting it at the head of this class. The AF system is pretty good too, and the whole thing is certainly fast enough to keep up with the typical shooting material of children, sport and pets. The battery lasts a relatively long time as well -- it's CIPA rated at about 510 shots.
It also delivers excellent photo quality for the price, with solid exposure (though not as bright and straight-to-printer friendly as the 500D's) and great colour. Its noise profile is very good up until ISO 1,600 and, for a variety of scenes, usable through its extended ISO 6,400 (Hi). The kit lens is above average as well: very sharp and able to focus quite closely.
As with the D90, though, the video is slightly disappointing. The camera only shoots 24fps 720p, which isn't a fast enough frame rate to render quite as smoothly as we've come to expect and doesn't scale very well to full-screen playback. It's usable, and fine if you're interested in experimenting, but it doesn't look sharp or polished.
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User reviews6
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RyanKelly 23 April 2011
Good: Many great features with its high ISO range, Excellently in low light conditions, Easy to use
Bad: Live view mode is slow with Autofocus
Comment: The Nikon D5000 seems to be everything I wanted. Although having the same size 12.3MP sensor as in the D90 and D300, the APS-C CMOS upgrade with 1.5x focal magnification seems an ample improvement over its predecessors. As with all the Nikons I have used, the D5000 presents to the user a robust, compact and light-weight feel, whilst still offering some features you would expect to find in professional level cameras.
The D5000 has many great features with its high ISO range (100 to 6400), 11 area auto focus system and good tonal range. The anti dust system offers three stages of protection: CCD shake, 'airflow' (which pushes air out of the mirror box) and anti dust software for post editing. The camera also has live view as well as a tilting screen, however I question the practical applications of the screen as I have taken some 500 images with the camera so far and have yet to use the tilt function (admittedly I prefer the optical view finder over alternative means). All said and done, the crown jewel of the D5000 is without a doubt the HD movie capture feature, allowing not only for 24fps capturing but interval shooting which produces stop-motion action. However the AF system is disabled during filming, resulting in the need to use the focus wheel manually which the clumsy-handed like myself find quite tricky!
One of the things I have always loved about Nikons is their ability to perform excellently in low light conditions. Although not a criticism, my Sony Alpha A350 has always given me a fair bit of grief when taking evening shots at ISO 400 or above, resulting in the need for an extra pass of colour noise reduction after uploading. The dynamic range optimiser as ever is very effective in bringing out detail in the lower tones.
I feel that the D5000 is in a tight spot being that it is the 'middle child', making it harder to favour over similar models. Moreover it is difficult to say where it excels and falls short compared to the D90 and the D300. I should say however that, overall, the camera comes trumps in all areas except the price, which is slightly higher than I would have bargained for. Ultimately though I am very fond of this camera and would give it my highest of recommendations. Well worth buying!
*** P.S. If you will buy this Camera I suggest at: amazon.co.uk/dp/B0025KV8Y0/?tag=reviews.cnet.co.uk-21
grindboy 4 November 2010
Comment: Looking at buying either this or the d3100. At the moment I'm leaning towards the d3100 as it has 1080p (24fps) and 720p (30fps), as opposed to just 720p (24fps) on the d5000. This would make the d3100 a good compliment to my Kodak Playsport HD pocket camcorder.
I'd use the latter for quick and dirty shots on the run and the DSLR for more controlled shots like unboxing videos.
The price difference is a consideration but it would only mean waiting a few more months before going with the d3100 if that came out on top.
What are your thoughts CNETians?
Monkeyspam 5 July 2010
Good: Picture Quality & Price.
Bad: Can't use all of nikon's lenses
See all 6 user reviews