Nikon D5000

[Sean Michael]

I just bought the D90's little brother, the D5000. Picked up a factory refurb with 18-55mm VR kit lens for $524.

For the uninitiated, the D5000 has the same imaging guts of the D90 & D300S (same sensor, EXSPEED processor, active D-lighting, etc.) packed into a D40/D60 body.

With the D5000 you lose a few control buttons and the 960k-pixel LCD vis-a-vis the D90. It shoots stills at 4 fps instead of 4.5 fps. D-Movie video is the same 720P.

The D5000 boasts a few more scene modes for newcomers & an articulating 230k-pixel LCD screen. The articulating screen is especially useful for video (shame it isn't the same resolution as the D90 screen, though).

One upside of the D5000 is that it's compatible with D40 batteries. The aftermarket Targus D40 battery grip (now available at the closeout price of $30) also works perfectly with the D5000! So you can you use two batteries simultaneously via the battery grip, or even AA batteries if you prefer.

The D5000 is certainly not the holy grail of video DSLRs, but it may be the best deal at the moment. I haven't had much time to play with mine just yet, but my first impressions are positive. More posts as events warrant...

[Jay Birch]

My wife has one of these.... have you found a way to "cheat" the video mode into getting 1/48th like you could on the d90?

[Ted Ramasola]

The camera is in its element in outdoor daytime shoots.

[Zim]

I like that screen> I would like to see that on other models. Good price too!

[Tracey Lee]

I reluctantly sold my D300s to get a D5000 and some better sound equipment...so far no regrets at all. I am very happy with the image quality and with Mattias's plug in...the image is just as good imho, love the articulating screen, and it's not too hard to focus with...it's an under rated camera. And now I have good sound equipment to make my film with :)

[Sean Michael]

To answer the question about shutter speed, I suspect that whatever "cheat" works with the D90 will also work on the D5000.

Here's a little more info about the Targus battery grip. The model # is TG-BGD40.
Fit & finish looks like a factory Nikon product. Great functionality - you can use one or two Nikon batteries, or even AA batteries. It enhances grip without adding much weight. You can still rotate the D5000 swivel screen downward about 160 degrees.

There's also a vertical shutter release on the grip. I rarely use this feature, since it simply acts like a remote, using the infrared sensor on the camera. (So there's a bit of a lag between depressing the button and snapping the pic.) Still, it's nice to have the option.

Although made for the D40, it fits the D5000 perfectly (same basic camera body). Best of all, since the D40 was discontinued, they are selling these battery grips at a $100 discount. Best $30 you will spend on your D5000...


http://www.amazon.com/Targus-Digital-TG-BGD40-Battery-Nikon/dp/B0019FR68Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1265145027&sr=8-1-catcorr

[damonb]

My wife has one of these.... have you found a way to "cheat" the video mode into getting 1/48th like you could on the d90?

Whaaa?! You can make the camera behave that precisely? How?

[Tracey Lee]

I found my hoodman lcd shade I used to use on my xha1...it fits the d5000 screen perfectly!

[wccooper]

So I'm looking at purchasing a dslr and am heavily considering either the D90 or D5000. The D5000 doesn't seem to have the duel wheels for iris and shutter control. How does it deal with these controls (buttons similar to Canon?) and is the solution as simple and ergonomical?
I've tested a D90 and liked the feel but the D5000 is so similar at a better price. Thoughts

[Sean Michael]

The D5000 has one shutter/aperture adjustment wheel. When the camera is in manual mode, the wheel controls shutter speed. But when the exposure compensation button is pressed, the wheel controls aperture instead.

Whether you really "need" two adjustment wheels depends on how you use the camera. It's not really an issue for me.

[dust'n the callipygous]

I found my hoodman lcd shade I used to use on my xha1...it fits the d5000 screen perfectly!

i'm selling mine for $15 if anyone's interested. it's the hd300

[Tracey Lee]

You can do decent handheld work with the D5000:

9280903

[Sean Michael]

Here's a link some may find interesting. The DXOMark site compares RAW image quality from various camera sensors using various scientific metrics. Via their testing, the D5000 sensor slightly outperforms the D300S. (A conclusion that strikes me as quite surprising.)


Here's a case study pitting the D5000 against the Canon 550D. Some of the analysis takes "pixel peeping" to a whole new level, but suffice to say that the D5000 comes out looking good.

http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/eng/Insights/Canon-500D-T1i-vs.-Nikon-D5000

I've been very pleased with my D5000 so far. I will upload some footage when I get a chance.

[Sean Jeong]

Here's a link some may find interesting. The DXOMark site compares RAW image quality from various camera sensors using various scientific metrics. Via their testing, the D5000 sensor slightly outperforms the D300S. (A conclusion that strikes me as quite surprising.)


Here's a case study pitting the D5000 against the Canon 550D. Some of the analysis takes "pixel peeping" to a whole new level, but suffice to say that the D5000 comes out looking good.

http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/eng/Insights/Canon-500D-T1i-vs.-Nikon-D5000

I've been very pleased with my D5000 so far. I will upload some footage when I get a chance.

Don't know much about D90's but I had to stop by after seeing your name... Is that really your name because my name's Sean Michael Jeong. :grin: Just felt like sharing this piece of information.

[Sean Michael]

Ha! Yep, that's my real name. A few years ago there was a pro wrestler named Shawn Michaels... I sometimes get his email. :grin:

[mattsand]

that's a great comparison site. it confirms my fear that the newer cameras with great video like the 7d and gh-1 actually have quite crappy sensors compared to the d90 and d5mk2. the dynamic range and tonality in particular aren't nearly as good, which is what i've always had against them, clipped desaturated highlights, video like curves, uneven noise patterns. a pity. good thing the d3x beats the shti out of all of them on all accounts. amazing actually. i need one.

[Lammy]

Despite the worser results than the D90, the 7D and now the 550D is still better ranked/tested than the D80/D70 and the D1/D2 and Pentax K20 - and I love stills from those cameras.

I'd be interested in reading analysis page for the actual production model of the Canon 550D and the Nikon D3S when they do.

I love the colours and depth of the D90/D5000, but the softness and unfriendly pal flicker irk me these days to not want to go back to it for video. I cry. One simple little manual exposure firmware fix Nikon please, and I wouldn't be selling you.

[Michael Carter]

Regarding the dual control wheels - the D70/80/90 have two, the smaller cameras have one -

For video shooting, no biggie. If you shot a lot of stills, if you shoot manual, if you do a lot of run & gun stills or shoot sports/events... they're pretty necessary. At the risk of sounding "pompous" I'd say it's a pro vs. consumer feature - you just can't shoot manually very fast without them both.

Some of the smaller/consumer Nikon DSLRs also lack the little top LCD where all the settings are displayed. Again, hard to shoot manual without this, where you change ISO, white balance, shooting mode, metering, etc.

The other feature on the D90 that's a massive improvement IMHO is the "info" button, allowing you to get the top-LCD display on the big LCD. That's been a massive thing for me... in a dark studio, or with the camera up high on a tripod (I had mine clamped to an 8-foot ladder the other day, while dialing in an existing light + packs & heads scene, and triggering with the remote) it makes it way easier to tweak settings quickly. Don't know if that's on other cameras - it wasn't on the D80 or 70.

[John Godden]

Here's a link some may find interesting. The DXOMark site compares RAW image quality from various camera sensors using various scientific metrics. Via their testing, the D5000 sensor slightly outperforms the D300S. (A conclusion that strikes me as quite surprising.)


Here's a case study pitting the D5000 against the Canon 550D. Some of the analysis takes "pixel peeping" to a whole new level, but suffice to say that the D5000 comes out looking good.

http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/eng/Insights/Canon-500D-T1i-vs.-Nikon-D5000

I've been very pleased with my D5000 so far. I will upload some footage when I get a chance.

You meant 500D ..................... I think.

The 550D specs are well beyond both the 500D and D90.

cheers
JohnG

[Sean Michael]

Oops, yep... 500D.

[runningwaterproductions]

It's been officially 1 month I've spent some time using the D5000 and it is AMAZING. Just like Lee, I've saved money from getting this and now I can get audio equipment.

The only situation I have to counter is probably how to do slow motion with this camera. It was always easier to do 30p to 24p slowmo. Anybody have some recommendations or tips for the d5000 slowmo situation?

[Michael Carter]

Slowmo with Nikon Dmovie?? Twixtor...

I've spent a lot of time with my D90 - it's just a butt-kickin' still camera - it's subtle, but the changes in the image from D80 - D200 really have something going on.

For video? Man, it needs as much contrast as you can get in the scene - if you look at the handheld stuff earlier in this thread, you can really see that "flat smush" look that DMovie leans toward. Contrast & some color saturation really helps, mainly I think it just takes your mind's eye off of the softness.

I tried keying D90 footage and it's, umm, challenging. Really challenging (beats the heck out of the DVX though).

Friday my Rebel T2i (or D550) arrives - yeah, I bit the bullet, as early reviews say it's indistiguishable from 7D footage, and you get full manual control (though you can't dial-in WB numbers like the Nikon, I believe you can manually balance... but tweaking the temperature in increments is another great DMovie helper). I'm not dumping Nikon - I have too much awesome glass and a lot of my income is from still shooting. So I got the lens adapter and I have a pretty major video shoot coming up. No AF with my Nikon lenses, I did get the wide kit lens though, I'll stick a new thread on here somewhere at some point and detail my Canon-Nikon experiences.

$799 for the D550 body - shoots 1080p at 24 & 30fps, and 60fps at 720 - so I can use the DVX-style slomo trick without the godawful resolution loss - pretty psyched. (My wife is not psyched. "So you're selling that D90 you just bought?" "No baby, but I'm not buying a Scarlet yet, isn't that cool?"

[vinimaz]

I am about to buy a D5000 and I have a doubt: what class os SDHC I need to shoot both photo and video? Class 4 is enought or I need a Class 6?

One more thing: what is the clip length? How much time can I shoot with a 16Gb SDHC card?

[Michael Carter]

The manual states a class-6 card; I bought a few, they're not expensive. I tired class 4 cards from my D90 and they seemed fine - for paying work I'd go with the class 6, cards are cheap these days.

For clip length, can't say - I did a commercial shoot and never ran out of time, but these were short takes. You can download the owner's manual from Canon's site, it will answer your questions about length and file sizes, card capacity, etc - it's all in there.

[vinimaz]

Thank you Michael.

Other thing: Somebody know any comparison between NIKON D5000 and PANASONIC LUMIX GH1? How about the lenses?

[mattsand]

i shot a feature on the d90, 40 hours of material total, and we never had a problem with the ultra cheap 8gb kingston cards we used. i don't know what "class" they were, i just know they cost like $20 each almost two years ago.