klausboedker
on - last edited on by
ElizabethS
Having nothing new to say about the D5000 is really a luxury problem. After having previously reviewed the Nikon D300s and D3000, two cameras on opposing ends of a feature (and price) scale, half way through shooting with the D5000 it dawned on me that the camera really lands in between the two end points of the D300s/D90 and D3000 scale. Middle class, if you will.
↑ The Nikon D5000
So where exactly do the camera's features fall on this scale?
↑ Brief walkthrough of the D5000's features.
Sensor
Plain and simple, when the Nikon D300 was debuted a couple of years ago, it was one of the best sensors in its class. It still is, but other sensors are catching up, such as Canon's 7D and some of Sony's and Pentax's cameras. After the d300, the same sensor (or possibly even developed a bit more) was used in first the D90, then D300s and now the D5000.
With the D5000's 12MP CMOS sensor I am comfortable shooting the camera up to ISO 3200, even pushing it to the limit @ ISO 6400 is possible and usable if you add some hocus pocus in form of, say, converting the image to black and white or keeping the print small.
↑ ISO 3600 (left) and ISO 3200 (right)
↓ Shooting in very bright conditions it was still possible to pull back most of the contrast and highlights in these photos thanks to the great sensor and shooting in RAW.
In terms of bang-for-bucks, you do get more by buying the D5000 over the D90/D300s when you strictly look at sensor quality per dollar spent. Roughly speaking, the D5000 is 30-60% less expensive than the D90/D300s respectively. Pretty sweet deal!
Autofocus and fps
For an entry level camera, the D5000 is actually pretty snappy. It clocks in @ 4 fps (frames per second). This is just shy of the D90's 4.5 fps, and a bit better than the D3000's 3 fps. Having shot with and tested entry level cameras before, I have always felt that the 2.5-3 fps was a tad too slow. 4 fps felt good and adequate for most shooting.
↓ Catching the action with 4 fps.
↑ Autofocus on the D5000 is OK, but not award-winning. In this shot I was aiming to get the eyes in focus, instead I ended up with a sharp chest, and slightly out of focus head of the tiny bird (even more pronounced in the right-hand shot).
As far as I can tell, the D3000 and D5000 share the same 11 point AF system. I am still a big fan of the fact you so easily can select the focus point you want to shoot with using the directional 4-way pad. This was one of the features also highlighted in my D3000 review. Super!
Read more in part 2.
