Better late than never… Here’s our little review of Nikon’s latest DSRL, the D5000. First of all I’d like to stress I’m not a professional camera man but rather a DSRL heavy user, so don’t expect much from me. Ok? Another important point, this first Nikon DSRL I’ve tested!

Nikon D5000 Specs
- AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm Lens with optical image stabilizer
- 12.3 Megapixel resolution
- DX-format CMOS image sensor
- HD 720/24p with HDMI output
- 2.7” Free-angle LCD
- ISO Range : from 100 to 6400

Nikon D5000, The review, HDTV
(DivXHD 720p Direct Download “Right click, Save as…”)

First Impressions
“Interesting” was my first reaction… I’ve been shooting with a Canon DSLR for years now and I’m quite found of their products, but the Nikon D5000 was a nice surprise, different, but I enjoyed the experience.

Sorry for not being more precise, but the Nikon D5000 felt comfortable in my hands and I had a nice time handling it. Another nice surprise was despite its very affordable price, it doesn’t look cheap. It feels like a real pro DSLR, so far so good.

Let’s Shoot Some Pictures Baby!
Unlike Lumix’s GH1, the D5000 Nikon has a real viewfinder and and a nice 2.7” free-angle LCD. It was quite pleasant shooting with it, as pleasant as a Canon DSLR.

Fitted with the stock lens, the AS-F Nikkor 18-55mm, the D5000 gave us some acceptable results in both low and bright light. However, I was a bit disappointed by the whole kits lack of dynamic (colors) in all pictures, like if a grey filter was on top of the shots I made.

As you can see below (100% crop) the words “Better Life Now RaRa” tends to the green and if you look closer at the whole picture (see attached link below), you can see a blue tint on the entire shot. The AWB seems to have some difficulties here,. I tested the shot with a Canon Kiss X3 and didn’t encounter this problem.

I’m not skillful enough to determinate if this is a camera or a lens problem, but I have the feeling that the low quality of the stock lens underlines the D5000 weakness in some specific shots. With a better lens I’m sure you can get better color with your D5000.

Photo Sample, 23MB

An Amazing Camera Beginners
Capable of shooting good pictures, the D5000 stunned me with its beginner friendly UI (User Interface). As you can see in the video, this camera has an amazingly easy to understand UI with photo examples of every mode and setting.

Imagine for a minute you have no idea what ISO speed to use, the Nikon D5000 shows you a sample picture of each ISO setting to give an idea of speed to use based on a certain scenario. Not only made for ISO ranges, but for almost every setting you can think of.

One word… Brilliant!

Video Mode
The Nikon D5000 shoots video in Motion JPEG in 720/24p… I love having a camera that shoots good photos and 720p video is tempting, but I’m quite disappointed by the result.

Don’t expect to shoot more than 5 minute at a time with the D5000, a limitation that can be quite annoying for many. The overall video quality is far from excellent, as compared with the Lumix GH1, the Nikon D5000 far from being the best choice. The Nikon D5000 only records video in mono, and audio quality is pitiful at best. The same for video mode, far from being acceptable on a real all in one camera.

Video Sample, 72Mb

Conclusion:
Despite the lack of color dynamic in certain shots and the poor quality HD video recording mode, I was quite pleased with this DSLR. With a formidable easy to understand UI and great collection of photo samples to best advise its owner, the D5000 is definitely a recommended camera for DSLR photography beginners. Just make sure to get a better lens than the stock 18-55mm.