The Nikon D5000 in depth : 720p video, swivel screen

An SLR with a swiveling screen: that’s a wish we often make, given the great freedom given by an articulated screen on an SLR, and the new framing and comfort possibilities this offers, while shooting as well as while viewing. Once folded, the screen is facing the camera, so only its back will take the shocks and scratches often experienced by cameras always tucked in holdalls. On the D5000, Nikon engineers chose a screen with a hinge located on the bottom of the body, an unusual location. It can move freely on both axes, which makes the articulated screen even more appreciated daily (Some SLRs have screens that rotate on 1 axe only).

 

 

As a drawback, the screen of the D5000 only measures 2,7" for 230 000 pixels – however this is not really a problem when you use it, and it fine OK to give up on some fractions of inches and triple resolution Vs the freedom of a swivel screen.  

 

Here’s its main asset in terms of ergonomics: an articulated screen. The hinge on the bottom is rather unusual.  

 

 

If the screen of the D5000 gives a very nice framing latitude, it makes the body a bit thicker.

The Nikon D5000 is so advanced that, as if to adjust to the free-hand framing induced by the swivel screen and by the habits of "image consumers" targeted by the D5000, the camera offers a 4th autofocus mode in LiveView (on top of: large range, normal, face priority): the AF with subject tracking. This new mode can find again the initially-tracked subject even if it has moved out of the frame, once the subject is back on the screen. But although the autofocus of the LiveView mode seems efficient in photo, it does not work in video and you will have to focus by yourself... ancient practice. 

 

The new battery EN-EL4a of the D5000 can be used in a D60. For pics and videos storage: SD or SDHC cards.

Indeed the D5000 offers video, but unfo it only offers 720p, while we would have expected full HD like on the Canon EOS 500D, and it shows the same limitations as the D90: no autofocus in video, mono sound and image in 720p. When the D90 was a success being the first DSLR with video, the D5000 misses on the progress made since then by its competitors, headed by the Canon EOS 500D with Full HD 1080p video. Sure, the video of the Canon EOS 500D only offers 20 fps in 1080p (Vs 30 fps in 720p) Vs 24 fps in 720p for the Nikon D5000. It is certain that Nikon will offer a more up-to-date video mode, in Full HD 1080p, with autofocus and better sound, but Nikon surely keeps this more efficient video mode for its D400, which should be released soon. However it’s worth noting that the D5000 offers an HDMI output with an image displayed in either 1280 x 720 or 1920 x 1080, to match your hi-def TV.  

 

HDMI output with a resolution of either 1280x720 or 1920x1080.

The Nikon D5000 appears while Nikon’s SLR range which up to now respected a certain hierarchy: the D300 is superior to the D90, itself superior to the D60, the D5000 breaks this logic because it doesn’t really fit in between 2 cameras, but aims at a new target, slightly different from amateur photographers targeted by the D90 for example: the D5000 is designed for "image consumers", this new type of photographers which came up with digital convergence, which produces a great number of pictures or videos with various tools: SLR, compact, cellphone or camcorder. Therefore the D5000 is not Nikon’s entry-level product, as we could have thought by interpreting too quickly the meaning of its name, and as for photo functionalities it stands in between the D60 and the D90.

 

The Nikon D5000 is dedicated to an audience who particularly likes scene modes. The scene mode detection is well-designed: you scroll through the different available modes with the dial on the body, and for each of them, the screen displays a photo to illustrate the end result, it’s self-explanatory. The D500 offers a bit more scene modes than the D60. Some of them, on top of acting on the aperture/speed couple, add digital effects – e.g. the high-key and low-key modes.

Here are the new scene modes that appear on the D5000:

 

Various result programs on top of scene modes on the D5000.  

 

 

The Nikon D5000 here with the new wide- angle AF-S 10-24mm G ED lens, with SWM motorization

The famous Picture Control Nikon is of course present on the D5000, and if you have another Nikon you can retrieve your own rendering settings to integrate them to the D5000, thus reproducing homogenous photos on both cameras. The Picture Control Nikon is a bit like the "Image styles" by Canon. 

 

Once folded, the screen is protected

Being play is a characteristic of the Nikon D5000 and the retouching menu of the D5000 is particularly well-equipped to deserve this adjective. It’s worth noticing a "blur" mode which adjusts to your framing mode:

 

During an intimist ceremony, in a museum or just to remain discreet while taking pics, the Nikon D5000 offers a triggering mode called "quiet". This mode with muffled triggering requires some practice: when you push the trigger, the mirror rises as usual, but the motorization gets slowed down. Once the pic taken, the mirror doesn’t get back in place as long as you keep pressing the button, leaving you enough time to put the camera in your bag or under your shirt to deaden further the noise of the mirror coming down (it is again slowed down twice).  

 

In the context menu of the D5000 you can chose the "Quiet" triggering mode.

 

Seriously built, the D5000 seems robust. Its format is neither compact nor bulky.

The Nikon D5000 will be in stores early May. 

The Nikon D5000 will therefore be facing to a Canon EOS 500D gifted with 15 Mpix Vs 12 for the for the Nikon, and especially a more finalized video mode with autofocus and full HD 1080p. The D5000 will have on its side a 20% less expensive price and an extremely useful articulated screen.