Les Jones

New Nikon cameras and lenses

Thursday, July 30th, 2009 | Photos | Permalink | 2 Comments |

D3000, D300s, and updates to the 18-200mm and 70-200mm/F2.8. Amazon already has them up.

DP Review has a brief D3000 hands on with full specs. Hit the next and prev buttons for other new Nikon gear. Somewhere on DP Review there’s a side-by-side chart comparing the D60, D3000 and D5000, but I can’t find it again.

What I wanted was a camera the size of a D40/D60 with the 12MP high ISO sensor of the D90/D5000. The size is right, and the D3000 has the improved autofocus system of the D5000, along with a larger LCD (but with the same 230,000 pixels).

The big disappointment is that the D3000 has the D60’s 10.7MP sensor. I don’t care about the 1.3 extra megapixels, but what I lusted after was the amazing high ISO performance of the 12MP sensor and this camera doesn’t have it. That pretty much does it for me, but just to pile on, the D3000 lacks the built-in chromatic aberration correction and distortion correction of the D5000 and D90. Also missing from the D5000: LiveView, movie mode, and exposure bracketing.

None of this makes the D3000 a bad camera, but it does make it a half-hearted upgrade from the D40 and a pointless upgrade from the D60. If you’re starting from scratch this looks like a decent camera at a fair price, but be aware the feature set here is getting a bit out of date. (Almost every new DSLR these days has LiveView, for instance.) It definitely ain’t the swingin’ deal the D40 was three years ago. Me, I’ll keep plugging away with the D40 until there’s something clearly better at a price I’m willing to pay.

P.S. It’s still a few days until August 4th, but compare today’s introduction to the (supposedly) leaked Nikon roadmap.

Tags: d40, d5000, d60, d90, nikon

I can’t see the appeal of the new Nikon D5000 DSLR camera

Saturday, April 18th, 2009 | Photos | Permalink | 1 Comment |

Even though I’m not ready to buy a camera right now I was looking forward to the new Nikon D5000. It was pitched as a replacement for the D40 (which is what I use ) and D60.

The appeal of the D40 and D60 is that they’re small, lightweight, and inexpensive - perfect for someone like me who wanted something more than a point and shoot but less than a pro DSLR. Yet in size and weight the D5000 is much closer to the D90.

The D5000 is also much closer to the D90 in price than I’d like. Where the D5000 is similar to the D40/D60 is mostly in the negatives:

• No focus motor for older AF lenses
• Cheaper pentamirror instead of a brighter pentaprism
• Lower resolution rear LCD
• No top LCD
• No second command wheel
• No battery grip/portrait grip option

I like my D40. I like the size, the weight, and the fact that it didn’t cost an arm and a leg. What I really want is a D40 with one of the third generation sensors and a few more features. This isn’t that camera. This is a cheaper D90 with some nifty features like the swivel LCD, but without many of the D90 features that would actually help me take better pictures. I’ll pass.

Tags: d40, d5000, d60, d90, nikon

Nikon D5000 and 10-24mm DX lens

Monday, April 13th, 2009 | Photos | Permalink | No Comments |

The release is supposedly imminent. Check it out at NikonRumors.

Bali-angle LCD, 2.7 inch? [Swivel LCD]

D movie image editing and enhanced scene mode

Silent Mode AF

11-point target tracking AF

ISO3200high sensitivity support

Megapixel count is undetermined, but presumably at least 12 MP.

LATER: DP Review has full specs and a comparison with the D90 and D60. Sensor would seem to be the same as the D90. The D90 has a pentaprism vs. the D5000’s pentamirror, and the while the D5000’s LCD is on a swivel mount it’s about a fourth as many number of pixels as the D90.

Price is about $300 hundred dollars different, with a lens on the D90  that’s worth about $200 more. Granted, the D5000 is new and hasn’t been marked down yet, but if I were buying today and wanted the kit lens I’d be tempted to get the D90.

Tags: d40, d5000, nikon

No Nikon D5000 at PMA

Wednesday, March 4th, 2009 | Photos | Permalink | No Comments |

That was a letdown.

The D40 is being shown as discontinued all over the place. The D60 is still available. We saw a palette of them at Sam’s Club last weekend.

Previous item on D5000.

Tags: d40, d5000, nikon

Rumor of a Nikon D40/D60 replacement: the D5000

Saturday, February 21st, 2009 | Photos | Permalink | 3 Comments |

Nikon Rumors broke the rumor about a Nikon D5000 being introduced at PMA in a few weeks.The D5000 is expected to be positioned between the D60 and D90 in price and features. Most people are guessing the D40 will be discontinued and the D60’s price lowered.

Rumors slash reasonable assumptions are that the D5000 will be the size of the D40 and D60, seeing as how the next size up is already occupied by the D300 and the still-new D90. That would likely mean it won’t have an autofocus motor, a top LCD, or the option of a portrait grip. If you want those features, or a second command wheel or Nikon’s Creative Lighting System, you’ll probably have to pony up for a D90. The advantage over the D90 would be size, weight, and price.

The main upgrade over the D60 will be the sensor, which will almost certainly be the same excellent sensor as the D90. That would mean 12 megapixels with fantastic ISO performance, LiveView, video, and dust control. If the D5000 has the D90’s 3″ 920,000 pixel rear LCD that would be even better.

One feature I’d like to see move down to the D5000 is exposure bracketing. That’s a pretty basic digital camera feature which the D40 and D60 lack. Heck, my point and shoots had exposure bracketing. Without it HDR photography is all but impossible.

P.S. Nikon ran out of numbers in the DX0 line, so they had to go to DX000. How dumb would it be, then, to go straight to D5000? Any model number below that would be assumed to be a lesser camera. They should go with D1000 to prolong the usefulness of that namespace.

Tags: d40, d5000, d60, nikon