Camera Review – Nikon D5000

by Christopher B. Derrick

Nikon’s D5000 is a new entry-level camera that will compete in a crowded field of play, but it holds its own and maybe takes some prisoners along the way.

While the D5000 still doesn’t have the autofocus motor of its more expensive brethren, this is still a fantastic camera (Nikon gave it a tilt-n-swivel LCD instead). As an upper-entry level camera (if such a class exists), the D5000 has many of the same features as the Nikon D90, but sits firmly between the D60 and the D90. Therefore it competes directly with the Canon EOS 500D and the Olympus E-620.

I’ll be honest with you I’m a Nikon man. I’ve had Canons in the past, and have two Nikons now (mainly because when I migrated to digital, I didn’t want to invest in new lenses as I loved the Nikkor lenses that I do have). So when reviewing the D5000, I had to think about this camera as if I didn’t own any previous Nikon gear, or was willing to switch to Nikon in my first foray into the digital space. One of the first things I noticed about the D5000 is that it’s designed to feel more rugged than most other cameras in its class, as its body is metal and polycarbonate. The camera’s ports include HDMI (to coincide with its HD video capabilities), a GPS port that works with an optional GPS unit, so you can tag your photos with latitude and longitude information), a tripod mount, an SD/SDHC Card slot, A/V out and a hot shoe for an external flash unit. All pretty standard fare, but specs that you need and want and don’t have to ask for.

The key features of the D5000 are the following: a 12.9 megapixel CMOS sensor, a 2.7-inch tilt-n-swivel LCD monitor, HD movie capture at up to 1280 x 720, 24p with mono sound, Live View with face detection, subject tracking and contrast-detect autofocus, image sensor shake for sensor cleaning, an 11-point AF system, an ISO range of 200 – 3200 (which you can extend in the customize menu to 100 – 6400), 4 fps continuous shooting, with a buffer capable of holding 7 RAW, 25 JPEG (fine) or 100 JPEG (normal) shots, extensive in-camera retouching capabilities (RAW development, image straightening), and a 72 thumbnail and calendar view in playback. These are all pretty impressive features that have trickled down from the D90, and the majority of them are the reason why this camera is a step up from the D60 (in addition, there are more Scene Modes, choice of JPEG quality in RAW+JPEG shooting, automatic correction of lateral chromatic aberration and control of Active D-Lighting intensity).

Nikon wanted the User Interface to be as sleek as possible, so the camera’s command & mode dials, 5-way nav pad, Live View, Menu, playback and the standard info leave the D5000’s back fairly uncluttered. You can access all of the camera’s setting through the Menu button, which is good for new users, but might be tedious for advanced users. What you can do though, is adjust the ISO and shutter speed from the Info button. Also, the menus are interactive, so if you aim the camera at various light sources in Graphics Mode, an on-screen graphic will show the aperture engaging on the Info Screen; and while this is just a bell-n-whistle for any intermediate to advanced user, it’s definitely helpful in grasping the functions of the camera for a beginner.

What’s entirely different than on any other Nikon is the 2.7-inch LCD screen that pops out and can tilt up to 180 degrees, and you can swivel the screen like a camcorder. This makes shooting at tricky angles a snap. You’ll be forced to use Live Mode to frame shots, but in some cases you just can’t use the viewfinder and still get specifically framed shot that you want. The drawback with using Live View is that autofocusing is much slower and there’s a definite shutter lag.

Now what you really want to know, or least what’s always at the forefront of my mind when I’m testing a dSLR is, what is the image quality like? Well, the 12.3 megapixel sensor delivers the goods, the images are so sharp that you’ll be a little taken aback if you haven’t used a high megapixel camera before. The colors aren’t nearly as saturated as a Canon, so you have to say to yourself – do you want vibrant colors built-in to your digital negative or more accurate colors that you can adjust in-camera or in Photoshop. I prefer accurate colors, so I can make the adjustments and tweaks that I want, not what the manufacturer thinks I’d like.

The large image sensor means that the D5000 gets the most out of its ISO rating, and delves deep into the shadow for pleasing shadow detail. The image sensor also performs robustly in low-light situations; and if you adjust the ISO set to the extended range (100 to 6400, but at a lower resolution) you still get remarkable clean images in next to pitch-black situations. I love to shoot at night after it rains, so I can get glistening, high contrast imagery, and this camera captures amazingly rich photos with hardly any noise in the reflected, wet surfaces; and with the flash turned off (which I almost do exclusively) the images weren’t blurry. Granted, I’ve worked pretty hard to develop a technique to avoid camera shake and have my shutter speed set at 1/15th, but it’s nice to now that the camera – set on Auto – can deliver in such adverse lighting conditions.

Now before we go, let’s talk about the HD movie mode on the D5000. This camera is nearly as sophisticated as a dedicated digital camcorder, because you can adjust ISO and exposure ahead of time and get movies that look as startling as the photos you can get. The D5000 records at 24 fps, which can be a little jerky as most video records at 30 fps or 60s. The big drawback with this dSLR (and practically all of them) is that there’s no autofocus while in movie mode. However, Third Party equipment makers have follow-focus attachments (what motion picture cameras have to adjust the focus on the fly as the camera and/or subject move during recording). I believe the Canon Rebel T1i has AF in movie mode, and I know the Olympus PEN EP-1 has strong AF capabilities during filming and you can even use a zoom lens without sacrificing autofocus.

At around $630 (body only) the D5000 is a somewhat pricey entry-level camera, but it’s worth the money. It has so many features and high quality image capture abilities. And with the kit lens, you’re paying considerably less than its direct competitors. Although, if you’re like me and have several Nikkor lenses this is fantastic camera; the Live View and HD video increase the value enormously.

The Nikon D5000 comes in several configurations including: Nikon D5000 Body Only, Nikon D5000 with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR Lens and Nikon D5000 with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR and 55-200mm f/4-5.6G VR Lenses

Chris Derrick is a writer, photographer, screenwriter and director living and working in Los Angeles. He studied film production and screenwriting at the University of Southern California, and continued to expand his photographic knowledge through classes at the Art Center College of Design.

Website: shadowboxercinema.com

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9 Comments

Henry
October 1st
Thanks for the review. I would love to have this camera.
Dumitru Brinzan
October 2nd
This week I started looking for a good entry-level dSLR for myself. Until yesterday I was ready to purchase a Nikon D3000, and then I stumbled upon D5000… D3000 is only ~100$ cheaper, so D5000 is definitely an option…

These reviews are incredibly helpful, especially for novices like me :)
Bill Jones
October 2nd
@Dumitru
Thanks! I’m glad you found it helpful. Stay tuned for more camera and other gear reviews in the future.
Tom
December 5th
Hi,thank you very much for your review.But now i’ve got big problem.I supported all my life Canon and now i waned to buy Canon EOS 500D (i’m dslr beginner).But after i’ve seen some review of Nikon D5000 and i started read more and more about this camera.Thanks to this i found your webpage aswell but i cann’t make finall decision but i feel more concerned by the Nikon…What should i do?? :) thank you very much
Bill Jones
December 5th
@Tom

If you like Canon and would have some concerns about the Nikon then I would stick with Canon. They both are great brands and make quality cameras.
Tom
December 6th
ok,it would be probably better for me….we’ll see.Thank you very much
Kae
February 6th
I just bought a Nikon D5000 cam a few days ago and I think this camera is great especially for those who never held a DSLR camera before. I love the performance so far, I have to break it in one of these day and see how far it can go. This is my 1st time with Nikon (I’m a sony, canon user) and I think I made a good choice.
Bill Jones
February 6th
@ Kae
Congrats of the new camera, I’m sure you will love it.
Saksham Gupta
March 10th
Hey,

Bought a D5000 couple of months back. Being my first DSLR, it sure packs in quite a punch. Very happy with the performance so far. Would like to buy a 105mm macro lens though.