US$ 826 US$ 609.00

It seems that manufacturers are very busy catering the entry-level DSLR users these days. Potential newcomers may be split between the choices of two Ds, Canon’s 500D and Nikon’s new offering, D5000. Let’s just look at what Nikon’s D5000 can deliver to see if we can clear away that indecision for a bit.

The package is a sufficient bundle, crowded with the camera body, a battery and a battery charger, a USB data cable, an AV cable, a strap, a Body cap, an rubber eyecup, an eyepiece cap, a CD ROM and a user’s guide.

The body of D5000 is not exactly appalling. It looks bulkier than its peer Canon 500D, especially for its depth. It feels less substantial and less rigid in hand and may hence come across a little bit too plastic-ish for me. However, The grip is quite comfortable and firm as the handle is enlarged.

On the far left side of the body, we find the flash mode button and the default self-timer button which can also be re-programmed as the quick access to settings like shooting mode, image quality, white balance, Active D-Lighting, ISO sensitivity or Auto Bracketing. This may come in handy as there are not as many direct access buttons on D5000 as its competitors, and I will tell you why later.

The mode dial is packed with selectable shooting modes which are convenient to novice. The info button which has excused itself in D60 makes a come back here.

The SD-card slot is located on the far right side, safely guarded by a compartment door.

On the far left side, we can find connections to GP-1 GPS attachment (optional) which can enable geo-tagging, the USB plug-in as well as the HDMI output which is best for the playback of 720p HD movie clip recorded. It’s a bit of a setback when compared to the Full HD 920x1080 video shooting of 500D. Moreover, you can only record clips not longer than 5 minutes and there is no continuous AF for video shooting, you may need some practice to succeed in taking videos undisturbed by blurriness.

There is a lot to talk about at the rear of the camera which is predominantly accommodated by the 2.7” LCD who quality is outstanding: clear view under broad daylight, vivid colors and sharp brightness. You can choose between two styles of information panels: the graphic info display (which is shown in the picture) and the classic info display. I love the diagram of the aperture in the graphic one which makes the boring statistics animated. However, unlike its competitors whose display would automatically turn off when it senses your face comes forwards to the viewfinder so as to save battery, D5000 seems to have no such function.)

You can notice that the 4-way controller which is conventionally doubled as direct access buttons has been stripped off to merely navigation steer. The reason is that it is here used for selecting the AF points in shooting modes where AF point selection is allowed. D5000, like the high-end model D90 from the same Nikon family, provides 11 AF points, whereas Canon 500D has only 9 AF points)

The live view of D5000 is enhanced with the new trick of subject tracking other than the face-priority, wide area and normal area live view AF mode. However, the problem of noticeable shutter lag and slow speed in finding the focus in live view AF mode has yet to be solved.

One of the most interesting new features of D5000 is its vari-angle LCD. It can tilt and spin 180 degrees, so that the display can turn to its back to be further protected when it’s unused. The hinge is very smooth but solid that you would not have to worry its falling off suddenly.

When you want to take a self portrait, the vari-degree LCD is your friend. Since the hinge is not sideway, it may have a little problem standing on tripod though.

Nikon D5000 has inherited a lot from the high-end D90, 12.3 megapixel count (a little less than Canon 500D ’s 15.1 megamixel), a 3-D tracking 11-point AF and a powerful live view with subject tracking. It can come into a neck-in-neck fight with its competitors.