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Nikon D5000 Digital Camera

(4 out of 5)

A well-designed digital SLR with great high ISO performance, HD movie capability, and a rotating LCD.

Review by Jeff Keller | Jun 17, 2009 | + Share

The D5000 offers nearly all of the features and performance of Nikon's fantastic D90, but in a smaller form factor. Nikon also threw in a flip-down, rotating LCD display to keep things interesting. The D5000 has the usual set of D-SLR features, very good photo quality and performance, plus an HD movie mode. Most of its downsides fall into the "I would've been nice" category: the LCD resolution is low, the viewfinder is on the small side, and autofocus isn't supported on all Nikkor lenses. A few other issues are more annoying, such as the extremely slow contrast detect AF in live view mode. Despite its flaws, the D5000 is a solid choice for those looking for a full-featured, yet approachable D-SLR.

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Pros	Cons
Very good photo quality -- superb high ISO performance Relatively compact body Flip-down, rotating 2.7" LCD display Dust reduction system Live view with contrast detect AF and face detection Full manual controls, several bracketing modes, RAW support Responsive performance in most situations -- fast continuous shooting for its price Custom button and menu Nice visual representations of various settings, plus in-camera help system HD movie mode Redeye not a problem Elaborate playback mode Good battery life HDMI output Optional GPS unit	Images a bit soft straight out of the camera -- tendency to slightly underexpose Flip-down LCD not as useful as those that flip to the side -- screen resolution could be better Limited selection of lenses that support autofocus Very slow focusing in live view mode -- manual focus enlargement not sharp Poor RAW image editing software included -- better software will cost you $$ Movie mode isn't great: 5 minute time limit, so-so video quality, poor audio quality, no continuous AF Viewfinder on the small side Flimsy door over memory card slot

Pros

Cons

Very good photo quality -- superb high ISO performance
Relatively compact body
Flip-down, rotating 2.7" LCD display
Dust reduction system
Live view with contrast detect AF and face detection
Full manual controls, several bracketing modes, RAW support
Responsive performance in most situations -- fast continuous shooting for its price
Custom button and menu
Nice visual representations of various settings, plus in-camera help system
HD movie mode
Redeye not a problem
Elaborate playback mode
Good battery life
HDMI output
Optional GPS unit

Images a bit soft straight out of the camera -- tendency to slightly underexpose
Flip-down LCD not as useful as those that flip to the side -- screen resolution could be better
Limited selection of lenses that support autofocus
Very slow focusing in live view mode -- manual focus enlargement not sharp
Poor RAW image editing software included -- better software will cost you $$
Movie mode isn't great: 5 minute time limit, so-so video quality, poor audio quality, no continuous AF
Viewfinder on the small side
Flimsy door over memory card slot