I have to say I'm pretty tempted by the D5000....but I'm not sure if it's just NAS, desire for new shiny things or a practical reason....

I have a D3 for everyday shooting and I use a D300 for travel. I'm wondering if there is any room for a D5000....I'd like a small, light, portable body with similar IQ as the D300 with which I love....I'd also like to try out the video....but I've read of so many limitations of the video function....

Would it be worth it for the video and swivel screen alone?


Timothy Zinck
Canadian Nikonian in South Korea
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>I have a D3 for everyday shooting and I use a D300 for travel.
> I'm wondering if there is any room for a D5000....I'd like a
>small, light, portable body with similar IQ as the D300 with
>which I love....I'd also like to try out the video....but I've
>read of so many limitations of the video function....
>
>Would it be worth it for the video and swivel screen alone?

For someone like you who is used to a D3 and a D300, I think the difference in size and operation between a Nikon professional DSLR and the D5000 might blow your mind … and not necessarily in a positive sense.

I'd recommend you borrow somebody's D40/D40x/D60 and take it out for a weekend. Shot a memory card or two, and see what you think. If you're in love, order a D5000. If you're ready to shoot the thing (and I don't mean with a camera), stick with what you've got.

Or, there's always the D90 …

— LaDonna

_________________________________
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing

>Would it be worth it for the video and swivel screen alone?

No. The video is a nice gimmick, you will spend a couple of days playing, and then only use it very occasionally. However, if you want to have something with D300 quality in a smaller body, I would certainly go for the D90. It is much less of a size-shock, it shares a lot more with its bigger brothers than the D5000 and can autofocus non-AFS lenses that the D5000 cannot (pretty much all of Nikons non-exotic primes).

>if you want to have something with D300 quality in a smaller body, I would certainly go for the D90.
>It is much less of a size-shock …

We're discussing the differences between the D5000 and some of the other not-yet-D-x-hundred's over in another thread, and I've been corrected about the size. The D5000, it turns out, is a chunky little geezer. Almost the same size as the D90 (a little thicker through the middle, actually!), with less weight.

So I hereby strike size as a reason to think twice about the D5000.

The other issues, however, still stand.

— LaDonna

_________________________________
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing

For someone shooting pro equipment, I can think of 2 reasons to love D5000:

1 - size. Couples with a prime (and maybe a katzeye) you almost have a throwback to the small manual cameras of Nikon's history (but not quite ) It might make a nice body for days when you're not serious and don't want to carry around a big chunk of magnesuim & aluminum.

2 - articulating LCD, combined with live view, makes this a killer macro camera, better in some situations than anything else out there.

I use a D50 as a backup to my D300. For the first time in a long time, I feel that a new Nikon entry-level camera would actually make a more competent backup or compact body. Yes it's still lacking an AF motor, but for tripod work, live view makes manual focus quite a bit more reasonable (for my eyes anyway).

Larry - a Bay Area Nikonian
My Nikonians gallery

www.tempered-light.com

So for someone like me who has a D60 and wants to move up in the world (not quite to D300 status) this is what in terms of the D90 that I have very high on my list of next bodies to buy?

Seems to me they're pushing out a lot of models that do pretty much the same things.

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If you're planning to get it just to have the video function, there are more compelling solutions out there. There are 720p and even 1080 res dedicated vid-cameras using flash memory that are smaller than fist-size and will record superior footage and audio.

The swivel screen is unique to a certain extent. Certainly for video functions, it's a neccessity given how ubiquitous that feature is on any vid-cam today. And it would give you an "angle viewfinder" to the extent that you're using Live View. Not sure if it's really worth the USD800 to get it just for that though.

"Toodle-loo from Covey22!"

-Armando
Nikonians Team
Nikonians News - Fresh Everyday!

The Covey Blog!

My Plan:

Get out of the car.
Get closer to the subject.
Pick the right mid-tone this time.

See My Nikonians Gallery

The only reason I could see using the swivel screen is when there's a large group of photogs and I'm on the outside looking it. It would have come in handy last week as I had to hold my camera up, click and hop I got some good shots, at least with this screen I could see what I was pointing at!

At 800 it's less than the D90 which is always nice, price makes me smile, but what other differences are there?

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So for someone like me who has a D60 and wants to move up in the world (not quite to D300 status) this is what in terms of the D90 that I have very high on my list of next bodies to buy?

With the release of the D5000, Nikon has temporarily leveled most of the product family again, anchoring them on a ~12 MP baseline (minus D3X). From a feature-set differential, you're not going to gain too much by moving to a D5000. A D90 will definitely put you ahead - the non-AFS lenses become fully compatible and you'll get some high-ISO performance boosts as well.

"Toodle-loo from Covey22!"

-Armando
Nikonians Team
Nikonians News - Fresh Everyday!

The Covey Blog!

My Plan:

Get out of the car.
Get closer to the subject.
Pick the right mid-tone this time.

See My Nikonians Gallery

>The only reason I could see using the swivel screen is when there's a large group of photogs and I'm on the outside looking it

That's precisely the situation where I'm interested in that LCD feature. I go to a film premieres and while live view is very handy addition for over the crowd shots it's difficult to gauge without an angled screen. Normally such shots are taken at close range with the subject being blocked by fields of arms thrusting autograph books forward. An angled screen will take a lot of the compositional guess work out of such situations.

I agree with earlier posters about the video mode being more of a gimmic than a serious feature but at the Nikonians African Safari last November I was spitting feathers that I didn't have a D90 with me to grab some video shots when a young elephant starting thrashing around in a mud pool. The extra capability of a spare body with video features when using long lens gear is not to be sniffed at. I can certainly see the advantages of such a body when recording behaviour when stills would not normally convey the circumstances as well. And how many third party handi-cams can you fit an 800 mm lens to?

The only reason I could see using the swivel screen is when there's a large group of photogs and I'm on the outside looking it.

I have to smile, because I'm the crazy guy with the roller bag and a three-foot gorilla stepladder attached. Crowds don't bother me, in fact, people have offered to pay me so they could temporarily use my stepstool to get their shots. It's a bad habit I've carried from being at too many airshows and large-field events.

Agreed - it can be an advantage. I'm still not certain it's worth it; having experimented with someone's D300, Live View is too slow for spontaneous photography. Just my $0.02 adjusted for inflation. If it's improved on this model, so much the better.

"Toodle-loo from Covey22!"

-Armando
Nikonians Team
Nikonians News - Fresh Everyday!

The Covey Blog!

My Plan:

Get out of the car.
Get closer to the subject.
Pick the right mid-tone this time.

See My Nikonians Gallery

So far it seems to be very similar to the 90, and that angled screen, while I may not use it a lot, and the price are some tempting features. I really can't carry around a step ladder (nice idea!) given the situations I'll be in so that's where I'd use it. Too bad Nikon couldn't just add that to the D90 and call it a 90X or something.

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>articulating LCD, combined with live view, makes this a
>killer macro camera, better in some situations than anything
>else out there.

The hinges of the screen are on the bottom of the camera, and the screen swings down. The people at dpreview have found that this makes swiveling the screen while using a tripod not as convenient as you might think, and with some combinations, blocked altogether. That might pose a problem for macro work.

— LaDonna

_________________________________
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing

>So for someone like me who has a D60 and wants to move up in
>the world (not quite to D300 status) this is what in terms of
>the D90 that I have very high on my list of next bodies to
>buy?

The short, oversimplied answer though is that if you want to add Live View and video to your D60, get a D5000. If you want to upgrade, get a D90.

If you'd like that fleshed out a bit, here’s a post I wrote in another thread comparing the D5000 to the D80. Since the D90 and the D80 are at about the same level of advanced-ness (other than the video, the D90 is basically a straight-up upgrade of the D80) the stuff I write there should help get you started. I wrote it from the point of view of trading in a D80 for a D5000, not from the point of view of going from a D60 to a D5000; but the information which would be most relevant if I were the one making the decision is all there.

Ignore what I wrote about the size of the D5000; I hadn't read the data completely enough. But the other stuff is a general overview of the differences when the camera is just acting like an SLR.

— LaDonna

_________________________________
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing

>I go to a film premieres and while live view is
>very handy addition for over the crowd shots it's difficult to
>gauge without an angled screen. Normally such shots are taken
>at close range with the subject being blocked by fields of
>arms thrusting autograph books forward. An angled screen will
>take a lot of the compositional guess work out of such situations.

You might want to wait and see just how far down the screen drops before you get too excited. I haven't seen a picture of it yet with the screen dropped down further than lying horizontally. The hinges are positioned so that you'd think it would swing down even further than that, but the Nikon site says the screen swings down "approximately 90°", leading me to believe that that's about as far as it goes.

From there the screen swivels 180°, which I take to mean that you can swivel it so that you can look straight up and see the screen rather than only being able to look straight down and see the screen. But if my camera were above my head, and then tilted down towards the ground a little to take a picture of a celebrity a few feet in front of me (but blocked by a crowd), I think I'd need to be a few feet behind where I'm standing in order to see the screen, since I can't tilt it more than perpendicular to the back of the camera.

Am I making any sense?

A screen that limited in range of motion might be handy for taking a picture of the goodies on the kitchen counter if you're two years old (or, using Live View, simple reconnaissance to see what's up there to be had), but for the situations I get myself into it won't help much. For when the camera is below me, I have my DR-6, and when needs to be positioned above my head, I'll still use a step-stool.

— LaDonna

_________________________________
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing

>A D90 will definitely put you ahead - the non-AFS lenses become fully
>compatible and you'll get some high-ISO performance boosts as well.

According to the spec table at dpreview (a fantastic table; I highly recommend taking a look at it), the ISO capabilities of the D90 and the D5000 are identical.

But I completely agree that a D90 gives you a far more full-bodied camera experience. That second command dial, for me, is worth its weight in gold.

As a first camera for somebody who doesn't have a whole lot of time to put five years worth of photography lessons (via books, internet, actual classes, hours of trial and error) into the next year or so, the D5000 with its slew of scene modes looks fantastic. Just the act of being aware of what kind of scene you're shooting and what kind of result you're after is a fantastic Lesson One for somebody trying to learn photography.

But somebody who feels he's outgrowing his D60 is probably outgrowing scene modes as well. And at that point, the D90 really has sooooo much more to offer. To me, it all comes down to just how much somebody wants that swivel screen …

— LaDonna

_________________________________
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing

After looking at that list on DPR as well as the images of each body I'm gonna go with the D90 when the time comes. Hopefully by the end of summer I'll have the 90 in my possesion!

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>Hopefully by the end of summer I'll have the 90 in my possesion!

Good luck!!!

— LaDonna

_________________________________
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing

It would be fine. The screen swivels so all he has to do is hold the camera up, tilt the screen down 90 and swivel it. Hold your camera up to get a sense of what I'm saying, it'll be fine.

All they had to do was add that feature to the D90 and instant sell. I fail to see the reason for adding yet ANOTHER body.

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>All they had to do was add that feature to the D90 and instant
>sell. I fail to see the reason for adding yet ANOTHER body.

Are you suffering from NAS-remission?

— LaDonna, who can always find a reason for adding yet another body. It's finding the funds that's the problem …

_________________________________
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing

>>articulating LCD,
>combined with live view, makes this a
>>killer macro camera, better in some situations than
>anything
>>else out there.
>
>The hinges of the screen are on the bottom of the camera, and
>the screen swings down. The people at dpreview have found that
>this makes swiveling the screen while using a tripod not as
>convenient as you might think, and with some combinations,
>blocked altogether. That might pose a problem for macro work.

Unfortunate maybe, but a problem that it seems to me would be not at all difficult to work around.

Larry - a Bay Area Nikonian
My Nikonians gallery

www.tempered-light.com

I used to have a Canon G3 which had the swivel screen. I thought it was terific. But it was hinged on the SIDE, so it folded out to the left, then could swivel up and down as well. I don't see how a bottom hinged screen would be as useful. I believe Olympus makes a side hinged SLR model. If you're seriously in need of that feature, I'd go to a store and try out the Oly to see if you like it. To me, however, an SLR is better than a swivel screen. I don't want to go back to trying to focus and compose on the screen. YMMV.

Rich

Well if I knew what NAS was, yeah

The more I look at things I might just do the D5000 since it's a D90 crammed into the D60 body while I'm already well used to. If the D90 had 5 or so features the D5000 didn't then a D90 it would be, but for a cheaper price I can't really argue myself out of the 5000.

Thoughts?

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D5000 body is not the same size as the D60.

D90 has:
- DOF preview
- Flash master/commander
- Ability to focus AF lenses
- Front command dial
- Larger brighter viewfinder

Chris

It's a "D90 crammed into a D60" in terms of how you access its features, but definitely NOT crammed into a D60 body. That's the weird thing — the D5000 gets its own whole new body. Doesn't look anything at all like any of the "current" bodies. Again, I refer you to dpreview. So you'll have to get used to a new body (in terms of what it feels like under your fingers) anyway. And the bodies are uncannily close to one another in size (the D5000 is a little thicker).

But in terms of how it operates, yup, you'll be using all your D60-type motions with your fingers.

So why were you thinking about getting a D90 in the first place? What had/has you wanting to move away from your trusty D60?

— LaDonna, collecting more data if I'm to keep up my end of the "talk me into/outta it" conversation

_________________________________
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing

>Well if I knew what NAS was, yeah

My bad. Re-looking at your "Nikonian since" date, I realize you haven't been here long enough to contract it in the first place.

You've come to the right place, though. Just wait a year. Then we'll tell you about our support groups.

— LaDonna

_________________________________
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing

The 5000 doesn't have commander mode? DOF preview is nice, the front command dial, well I've done without it so...

What's the size difference between the 60 and 5000?

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My main reason for wanting the 90 was extra MPs and the focus points. I do a lot of sports and three ain't cuttin' it. I always wanted the 90 but it was a matter of timing and the 60 came out first and when I needed it so....

My dad has an 80 and I love it but at the time I couldn't justify the cost so again, the 60 won.

Visit my Nikonians gallery.

Will the swivel screen prohibit any aftermarket manufacturing of a battery pack for this camera?
One thing I liked about my d40 was the aftermarket targus battery pack which when added still kept the camera lightweight, but the added battery usage gave me plenty of shots between charging.
I would think you could still use the swivel screen in a restricted way somewhat with a battery pack attached.

Mark

Visit my Nikonians gallery.

>but the Nikon site says the screen swings down "approximately 90°

That's plenty far enough and significantly better than having the LCD and viewfinder completely out of view when I have to use a camera in this manner at the moment.

>because I'm the crazy guy with the roller bag and a three-foot gorilla stepladder attached

I'm 6 foot plus so a simple two step step-ladder is sufficient for me and I normally take one with me to such events. However the UK police don't allow public photogs to use them at all premieres. Anything taken outside the Empire Theatre and the Vue Theatre at the north side of Leicester Square are not permitted to completely close off the area to pedestrians. That means when the celebs arrive crowds swell massively and pedestrians are trying to squeeze past your back. Hence step ladders for the public photogs are not allowed. Outside the main Odeon on the east side of the square, the public area is closed off to pedestrians and the only limitation is getting whacked in the head by the TV boom camera. The press can use them all the time because they always have their own closed off pig pen to play in.

Interesting point, I wonder if Nikon have an MB-D5000 in the works that somehow accommodates the swivel screen? The first thing I thought of was L-brackets, which are probably an easier design problem than battery packs

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Visit my Nikonians gallery.

>What's the size difference between the 60 and 5000?

D5000: approximately the same size and almost as much weight as a D80. For specifics, compare the specs:

D60 / D500 / D80 / D90.

Keep in mind when comparing weight that the D60/D5000 use a lighter battery than the D80/D90.

— LaDonna

_________________________________
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing

>My main reason for wanting the 90 was extra MPs and the focus
>points. I do a lot of sports and three ain't cuttin' it.

In my opinion the extra 3MP is more of a hassle than a help, but I completely agree with you about those extra focus points. Every time I pick up my husband's D60 I look at those three focus points and say, again, "they're kidding, right?"

Anyway, the D5000 has both. And, to make the deal s-u-p-e-r sweet, it has the option of shooting in RAW+JPEGfine. Good stuff!

So Nikon may have just saved you a passel of money! Whatcha gonna do with it?

— LaDonna

_________________________________
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing

I do a lot of sports and three ain't cuttin' it.

Actually, the less number of focus points make the AF calculation faster. It's all the other settings, such as Servo and any Dynamic Focus options, that add latency to the AF calculation and driving the lens to the focus point. The only limitation you have with AF systems that are CAM900 or below (and to some extent the CAM1000 series on the D200/D80) is that you are constrained by a centric composition because the only really reliable sensor is the center most one. It's when you start to rely on the outer sensors to do the same job the center sensor does is when the system starts to lag behind say CAM1300 (D1 series) and higher. If you want to maximize your capabilities, get to a faster FPS body and use Silent-Wave equipped lenses, preferably with fast apertures. The more light the lens can "ingest," the faster it will perform. CAM1000 (which is what is available on the D90) *can* be more effective in off-center compositions if it's enabled with Group Dynamic Area. They didn't make it available on the D80 to differentiate the products.

"Toodle-loo from Covey22!"

-Armando
Nikonians Team
Nikonians News - Fresh Everyday!

The Covey Blog!

My Plan:

Get out of the car.
Get closer to the subject.
Pick the right mid-tone this time.

See My Nikonians Gallery

>Actually, the less number of focus points make the AF
>calculation faster.
Thanks for the really helpful information! For me, the extra focus points aren't about tracking the subject; it's about how frequently the subject (specifically, the focal point, such as the eyes of the subject) isn't in the center of the frame. That's where all the extra focus points is so great, and for me, such a time saver: that focus / reframe / shoot routine can get old.

But for folks who are wanting the fastest AF possible, it's really important to know about the tradeoffs involved with using a feature at first glance seems to be "The Solution" to the problem.


>They didn't make it available on the
>D80 to differentiate the products.
I believe the D80 and the D90 both have MultiCam 1000 AF systems. It's not listed on the Main Features page of NikonUSA's D80 website, but I'm pretty sure it's there all the same.

— LaDonna

_________________________________
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing

See now ya'll are just throwing too much at me The D60 did work wonders at a race I did last year but I've found for baseball I need more than those three. I use AF-A so it's not like I'm trying to grab a million spots but the ability to move the focus point around is nice to have.

I really can't decide now. I guess in the end for me it's going to come down to price and body size between the 90 and 5000, and the front knob and some minor things (which I've managed to live without on the 60!).

Hopefully anyone who has the 90 will use or buy the 5000 and compare them for us on here.

Visit my Nikonians gallery.

>>>So Nikon may have just saved you a passel of money! Whatcha
>gonna do with it?

Buy a lens

But commander mode is out on the 5000, right? So basically I would have two cameras that would be useless for any shoot where I'd need to set up lights.

Visit my Nikonians gallery.

>But commander mode is out on the 5000, right?

Can't help you there. I don't do lights.

But I would say, IMHO, that anybody setting up shots with two flash units needs a D90. Those "other things" that you've been doing without on your D60 are pretty darn nice. Ignorance is bliss, but a second command dial is rapture.

— LaDonna

_________________________________
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing

>Buy a lens

THAT's the spirit!!! You're a through-n-through Nikonian! Where you been all this time?????

— LaDonna (wondering whether it will take Rich the standard full year to find out what NAS means &helli

_________________________________
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing

>See now ya'll are just throwing too much at me

Armando did it …

— LaDonna

_________________________________
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing

I believe the D80 and the D90 both have MultiCam 1000 AF systems. It's not listed on the Main Features page of NikonUSA's D80 website, but I'm pretty sure it's there all the same.

Yes, they both have CAM1000, however, the D200 has Group Dynamic AF options - where you can combine several sensors into a "hybrid" sensor to cover a specific area of the viewfinder and shift those groups around using the selector dial. The D80 does not have that option and substitutes a less useful (IMHO) Wide-Area AF mode.

"Toodle-loo from Covey22!"

-Armando
Nikonians Team
Nikonians News - Fresh Everyday!

The Covey Blog!

My Plan:

Get out of the car.
Get closer to the subject.
Pick the right mid-tone this time.

See My Nikonians Gallery

Nikon Auto Sale?

Need another shiny (thing)?

NAS = How do I buy this without my wife finding out?

Nikon AnonymouS

There are so many others!

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>I believe the D80 and the D90 both have MultiCam 1000 AF
>systems. It's not listed on the Main Features page of
>NikonUSA's D80 website, but I'm pretty sure it's there all the
>same.
>
>Yes, they both have CAM1000, however, the D200 has Group
>Dynamic AF options - where you can combine several sensors
>into a "hybrid" sensor to cover a specific area of
>the viewfinder and shift those groups around using the
>selector dial. The D80 does not have that option and
>substitutes a less useful (IMHO) Wide-Area AF mode.

Ah, ya. I get it. I thought you were saying that the D80 was missing a feature that the D90 has. You were talking about a feature that the D80 was/is missing that the D200 has. I'm with you now.

And again, thanks!

— LaDonna

_________________________________
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing

>NAS = How do I buy this without my wife finding out?

Verrrrrrry close. It's not the definition, but it's pretty much in the by-laws.

— LaDonna

_________________________________
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing

>See now ya'll are just throwing too much at me The D60
>did work wonders at a race I did last year but I've found for
>baseball I need more than those three. I use AF-A so it's not
>like I'm trying to grab a million spots but the ability to
>move the focus point around is nice to have.
>
>I really can't decide now. I guess in the end for me it's
>going to come down to price and body size between the 90 and
>5000, and the front knob and some minor things (which I've
>managed to live without on the 60!).
>
>Hopefully anyone who has the 90 will use or buy the 5000 and
>compare them for us on here.
>

Going off of the specs, to me, i really think it will come down to whether or not you want to have a focus motor to use non AF-S lenses, or commander mode vs. have a use for the swivel screen.

The viewfinder on the 90 While nicer is not a game stopper, nor is DoF Preview, which IMHO is a legacy feature anyway. You can still pretty much DO everything with the 5K viewfinder as you can with the 90, it is just not a bright, large etc. Without a Focus Motor, or CLS, you are dead in the water (or out mucho $$$ just to get in the game) if you want those features. Obviously, the swivel screen cannot be replicated by the D90.

Then of course there is the $$.

Had I known when I bought my D40 what I know now, I would have saved up for the D90, rather than buying the D40. I didn't realize how much I would miss the focus motor, and CLS seems very appealing. Yes you can buy AF-S Lenses, and Yes you can use a SB-800 or 900 as a master for CLS, but those cost a lot more $$$ than the difference in the bodies.

----
jan.
paigejulia.blogspot.com

My Nikonians Gallery

need a secret? this game is fun!

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The reason I would buy a D5000 (I have a D200) is: for $700 I can give it to my wife and 7 year old kid to shoot anything they want including video on our vacations, at 12MPxel, and I would have a back up camera if my D200 bites the dust.

I have learned that the wife and kids have some times much better photographic visions (certainly different) from mine and it is worth it to let them play.

$700 is a small price for that.

>The reason I would buy a D5000 (I have a D200) is: for $700 I
>can give it to my wife and 7 year old kid to shoot anything
>they want including video on our vacations, at 12MPxel, and I
>would have a back up camera if my D200 bites the dust.
>
>I have learned that the wife and kids have some times much
>better photographic visions (certainly different) from mine
>and it is worth it to let them play.
>
>$700 is a small price for that.

You seem to write this post as though they don't currently have a camera. If not, why didn't you/why not buy them a D40? And at its size, it's far easier for a 7-year-old to hold.

Here are some photos my third-grade nephew took, in his neighbor's back yard, with the D40 I got him.

After a fifteen-minute lesson from Proud Auntie.

No post-processing done at all, not even cropping or re-sizing.

(I did make sure it was fully clad in Camera Armor before I handed it to him!)

So yes, getting an entry-level dSLR for a spouse and/or child is amazing. But (assuming they don't break it and want another one) it doesn't need to cost $700!

— LaDonna
(Did I mention that I'm a proud auntie? )

_________________________________
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing

Yes, and the D90 also lacks the Group Dynamic AF function. It's AF functions are identical to a D80, which in itself is not a bad thing. I just wish Nikon could have given everyone the Group function no matter what model it was. But there had to be a way to make the consumer pay for more performance...

"Toodle-loo from Covey22!"

-Armando
Nikonians Team
Nikonians News - Fresh Everyday!

The Covey Blog!

My Plan:

Get out of the car.
Get closer to the subject.
Pick the right mid-tone this time.

See My Nikonians Gallery

My older daughter has my D70. She enjoys it and takes very creative photographs.

My little daughter had a old Sony POS but she fell out of love with it when it stopped taking video.

The D5000 would be great for the spouse-little kid especially if it can double duty as a daddy back up camera.

Oh my goodness, I have have just glanced over about 80 posts in response to this topic, and there is much to think about. Many are wondering if they might go and buy the newest toy on the market. I say, if you want it go and get it. But I also think about what the new offering could mean for future development in Nikon bodies, and the future of the DSLR concept.

My guess is that future DSLR offerings from Nikon will incorporate (lower-res) video capture as well as (higher-res) still capture. I speak with my colleagues in press and they all say that their editors want video and still photographs along with the story. This reflects current changes in media coverage and presentation. Video is very important for news providers, and a journalist who can capture a good five-second byte for the website is golden. This leads me to believe that forthcomming models of D4 and D400 will have video capabilities, probably with better functions for sound and focus.

So by all means get yourself into the game now, with the D5000, if you will. But don't be suprised when the next better thing comes out in six months.

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>You might want to wait and see just how far down the screen
>drops before you get too excited. I haven't seen a picture of
>it yet with the screen dropped down further than lying
>horizontally.

I stand corrected (again). The third photo on Ken Rockwell’s site (down, folks, down … it's just a picture I'm citing here) shows the screen swinging all the way down. Now THAT will provide some flexible viewing options!

— LaDonna

_________________________________
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing

So by all means get yourself into the game now, with the D5000, if you will. But don't be suprised when the next better thing comes out in six months.

But that's been true of consumer electronics in general. Sooner or later you have to make a decision to jump into the pool. Granted, no one wants to be a test case, but without those pioneers who buy first generation models, there's no R&D for the follow-ons.

"Toodle-loo from Covey22!"

-Armando
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My Plan:

Get out of the car.
Get closer to the subject.
Pick the right mid-tone this time.

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If I read the specs correctly, the D5000 does not have a built in focus motor. So you'll have to manually focus older Nikon lenses or stick with AFS lenses.

gunfighter48
A steady hand works good for cameras and guns.

I've had a D5000 for a week now, and I'm impressed.

I'm an old F series photographer, but most of my photography for the past few years has been with P&S digital cameras.

I can flip the auto focus off, set the camera to manual mode and remember the good old bad old days, or I can set the camera into shutter or aperture priority mode and take pretty good pictures.

I handed the camera to my mother this weekend to take a picture in AUTO mode and it came out quite well.

I see only three drawbacks to the camera at this time.

1. The lack of a built in flash commander (solvable by using an SB-800 or SB-900 flash as my primary, or using an SU-800 commander with outboard Nikon flash units.)

2. Adobe Photoshop CS4 and Lightroom 2.3 RAW support is lacking. (1-2 months should see that resolved, I hope.)

3. Lack of AF motor in the camera body. My old lenses would be fully manual anyway (including aperture and focus), so that's not a big deal to me.

So far, I like the camera a lot. It's handy, takes good quality pictures and left money in the bank for groceries.

-TM-