Date:
2009-08-17 - 10:23:55
Author:
Peter Bendheim
Rating:
Amazingly good camera
The D5000 is an amazingly good camera and will make an ideal travel companion with its protective fold away LCD.
I've had every Nikon DSLR at one or other point (with the exception of the D3/x) and the IQ (not the body) of the D5000 is easily as good if not better than say the now old pro D2x..but without the ultra rugged build quality and ergonomics...at a fraction of the price. How cameras have improved in the last few years!.....the D2x could only really do up to ISO 800..now I can emulate the D2x look in Nikon Capture NX2 with raw files, shoot at high ISO's, get almost the same frame rate, etc when I don't feel like lugging the D700 around for travel shots.
It's low light ISO performance is great, feels good in the hand, small, well made and adequate for most general photography that isn't in a battlefield or tropical monsoon.
Problems
A lens motor would have been nice but I can live without it.
Exposure outdoors generally needs about a plus one third EV compensation, indoors I find myself adding a lot of positive compensation...but this may be my meter.
The new high res LCD would have been nice but you can't expect it at this price point.
Nothing to really complain about....other than a wish list which the D90 at a higher price point offers. So to complain is not valid when these features can be had on another model.
Great camera.
I don't care for video and haven't tried it, so I cannot comment.
Date:
2009-09-11 - 11:41:51
Author:
Michael Burkhardt
Rating:
Low light capabilities of this camera are pretty amazing. Shots that are impossible for a point and shoot and very difficult with my D70 were nearly effortless with the D5000. The flip-out screen is a pointless feature, especially since you will rely so heavily on the screen for changing settings as you shoot. Video capabilities may not be all that, but it sure is nice to be able to grab a quick clip on the go. With that in mind, HD is overkill. Viewfinder is perhaps a bit small, but nothing I can't get used to.
Date:
2010-04-20 - 08:55:03
Author:
Dave
Rating:
enjoy shooting this camera
Out of the box, my first impression wasn't the best, as camera size and feel are more like my entry level D40 than I expected. Of course there's the movable LCD (which is more useful than I thought) and Live View button, but not too much more to separate the outer look and feel from D40 mode.
Then I spent some time setting things up and shooting - and all of a sudden I'm loving this thing.
- The menus, IMHO, are waaaay better than anything I seen on other Nikons (mostly D40 and D200 experience) ISO adjustments and AUTO decisions all in one place, the access to the Info parameters on screen is really clean, and the LCD clarity is great.
- The high ISO performance for low light is quite good for my purposes. Sure you get some noise, but you get the shot - and if you are getting material for web and simple uses - it's perfect.
- The wiggly LCD screen is helpful for reading the menus and changing settings with the camera, say, in your lap. Also helpful at odd angles to review what you just shot. I use it more for those purposes than the live view.
So what don't I like? The video isn't real useful. Zooming without autofocus isn't much fun. Moving, even a little, creates odd artifacts in the 24p video -so don't think of any zoomed hand-held shots. Tripod, basic static focal length maybe. I don't know whether video editing sw like Final Cut Pro is ready to ingest these video files.
Overall - I really enjoy shooting this camera - and the images are excellent.
I'll try to post a few.
