Nikon D5000 review
Image quality
Nikon D5000 tone and exposure
Images have a great tonal range, and especially benefit from the D-lighting system to maintain shadow and highlight detail. In bright conditions the metering causes images to be slightly underexposed but this is more often preferable to overexposure and for instant results can be counteracted using the exposure compensation.
However, for the most part exposure is very even around the mid-tone using the evaluative 3D Matrix mode, and gave equally impressive results from centre-weighted and spot modes.
Nikon D5000 white balance and colour
For the most part the Auto White Balance setting produces bright, zingy colours without going over-board and appearing fake.
However, at higher ISO settings results tended to become slightly cooler. The Auto setting dealt with indoor and outdoor conditions equally well and rarely needed altering, though the wide range of white balance presets and the fine-tuning available for each mode mean that, should you wish, you could tailor your settings precisely to your liking.
Nikon D5000 noise
Low-light capability has been one of Nikon’s strong points over its recent models and the D5000 doesn’t let the side down. Despite a relatively stunted range of 200-3200, the results remain well detailed and free of colour noise, only suffering slightly in terms of warmth.
At the expanded Hi-1 setting, equivalent to ISO 6400, noise does start to become more apparent, especially in the shadows but even so this is still a decent performance.
Nikon D5000 Raw/JPEG
Both sets of images perform very well, even down to 300% magnification, and both appear sharp to the pixel. The Raw files do have a certain extra level of crispness though, perhaps helped by a greater level of darker tones to bolster the blacks, and smother tonal gradation as shown in the histograms.
The main advantages of the Raw file are that in their unprocessed form they allow a much great degree of adjustment and sharpening without degrading the image – should they need it. The camera comes with the View NX software for basic Raw conversion but for fine tuning the more advanced Capture NX2 is available at an extra cost.
Nikon D5000 sharpness and detail
The level of detail in the images is very impressive even at high magnification. For low-light it was possible to raise the ISO comfortably to ISO 800 without any significant loss in detail or sharpness. This combined with the vibration reduction motors in the 18-55mm kit lens made shooting hand-held, without risking camera shake, easy in all but the darkest environments.
Nikon D5000 D-lighting
The D-lighting system works to increase the dynamic range by boosting the shadow areas and holding back the highlights. The result is a more evenly toned image with greater detail, closer to as we would see it with our own eyes. The D5000 offers various levels of D-lighting, which can be selected manually, alternatively it can be set to Auto or turned off completely.
Nikon D5000 Movie mode
Shooting video on this camera can produce results far superior to most consumer camcorders. At up to 720P high definition and 24fps you can capture blisteringly sharp images. However, standards of video capture have been set very high in recent DSLRs and it would have been nice to see a full 1080P setting, or at least 30fps shooting speed. A lack of autofocus here, mainly due to potential noise to the microphone, means that you must pre-focus or use the manual lens ring.
Nikon D5000 review pages:
- Page 1: Nikon D5000 Review - Introduction
- Page 2: Nikon D5000 Review - Features page 2
- Page 3: Nikon D5000 Review - Design
- Page 4: Nikon D5000 Review - Performance and value
- Page 5: Nikon D5000 Review - Image quality
- Page 6: Canon 500D - Specifications / Spec
- Page 7: Nikon D5000 Review - Verdict
Nikon D5000 – other What Digital Camera links:
- Compare the Nikon D5000 to other DSLR cameras
- Nikon D5000 sample and test image gallery
- Nikon D5000 500D product shots gallery
Have your say!
Latest comments
May 10 13:27
Mick W.
Have a few problems with the value here. Nikons traditionally seem to sell closer to list price than Canons. Both this and the 500D arrived in stores almost simultaneously, yet the Canon with lens is already at least £20 cheaper than the Nikon (£40 less at Amazon at the time of writing). Both models remain overpriced and should be streeting at closer to £500 in my opinion, but both reviews should bear in mind fully the actual prices the cameras are available at. In particular, the Canon looks better value and the D5000 a lousy value compared to the D90. The lack of a vertical grip for the D5000 also seems silly in light of the moveable LCD. Very strange that Nikon should price this the way they have. The D60 continues to look dated and there's now a huge gap between it and the D5000 covering t a very popular price-point. Spec-wise, what could Nikon now fill this gap with?
May 26 12:22
Mat Gallagher
Hi Mike, The Canon did go on sale at least a few weeks ahead of the Nikon, and as the higher priced model it was bound to fall faster. Looking at the latest prices you can now pick up the Nikon D5000 for just £570 and the Canon 500D for £600 so your wish has almost been answered, and as it is now £100 cheaper than the D90 it's better value too. As the D40 has now been discontinued I'd expect the D60 to take up the budget position for a while longer - and at a street price of just over £320 it's bound to still attract plenty of new DSLR users.
June 29 10:46
Bipin Gupta
On your review for Nikon D5000, on the page for specifications, it is mentioned that D5000 has DOF preview. From my research around, I think this data is wrong. It does not have DOF preview.
August 25 07:43
Brice Bragato
Hi Mat, These informations were very intesresting. I'm looking for a DSLR and I'm still questionning myself between the Canon 500D and the Nikon D5000. One thing I would like to ask you is the capacity of the battery. My feeling is that the LCD screen of the Canon will use a lot because high resolution (comparing the D5000). What do you think about this point ? Thanks.