Tech Blog

[#1]

Continued from part 1.

Focus!

Like it's bigger brothers (D300s, D700, etc.), the D3000 has the ability to move the focus point around using the small directional pad on the back. Mind you the D3000 only has 11 focus points, while the D300s has 51, but I was still positively surprised to find this feature on Nikon's bottom entry-level DSLR. Way to go! In my photography I use this feature extensively. It gives you the freedom to frame a shot and at the same time have control over where the focus is in the composition.

↓ Directional pad on back of camera.

↑ Getting the composition right with off-center focusing. 

Other entry-level cameras (such as the Sony a330) merely let's the camera 'guess' where you want to focus, or you have to dive through a couple of menus to change the focus points. Not so with the D3000 where you can change the setting on the fly.

Baby Got Back!

↓ D300s and D3000 (don't mind the dirty windows).

Lining the Nikon D3000 up next to the D300s you quickly see the pedigree. The two cameras (almost) share the same buttons and layout. The size of the LCD is also 3" for both cameras. Nice. Only difference is that the D300s screen is 920K resolution and the D3000 is 230K resolution. In real life, the difference means that the images display nicer, more sharp and more in-detail on the higher resolution screen. Obviously, that is preferable as it becomes easier to cheek for sharpness, colours, etc. but you can easily get by with the 230K screen.

Personally, I am used to shooting with top LCD cameras, so it took some shots before pressing the <info> button became natural to see and change the shooting settings. Once you have it down, you press once to see the shooting settings, and once more to change them. Nicely implemented, but relatively it doesn't stand out. The Sony a330's implementation was just as good.

↑ <info> button and shooting settings screen. Intuitive setup.

Note, that the D3000 screen doesn't fold out. Not a big deal to me, and something I mostly see a use for with video-enabled DSLRs where it is nice to be able to fold out the screen for video shooting.

Auto-ISO, and I mean auto

Nikon has the best auto-ISO implementation I have come across. It was one of my favourite features when shooting with the D300, and finding the exact same feature in the D3000, I was like: "wow!". So why is this such a big deal? Well, basically it's sort of an ISO autopilot. You set the maximum ISO and the minimum shutter speed, and just forget about the ISO value. Then, as you set the aperture or shutter speed, the camera matches the ISO value to the lighting in the frame. Pretty nifty and very, very useful.

Speaking of ISO, the D3000's ISO performance is very respectable. If you can nail the exposure (on the bright side), you should have no qualms about using it all the way up to the maximum ISO of 3200. Mind you it will have some grains, but for 4x6" printing and sharing online, it's just perfect. 

↓ ISO 1600 (left) and 3200 (right)

↑ 100% crop of above images (ISO 1600 on left and ISO 3200 on right) shot in RAW.

Compared to the Sony a330, the noise characteristics are very similar at the maximum ISO of 3200. This makes sense since both cameras are 10 MP CCD sensors of the same 'heritage', as Sony produces part of Nikon's sensors.

↓ ISO 3200 with Nikon D3000 (left) and Sony a330 (right).

The next step up in sensor quality is the D5000/D90/D300s 12 MP CMOS sensor. I personally prefer that sensor over the D3000's. That doesn't mean that the D3000's sensor is bad, it is just not as good as the D5000/D90/D300s one. You can still produce great images with it, though.

↓ Bees and birds, eh! butterflies. Caught handheld with the D3000 in natural light with the Nikkor 105mm f2.8 VR Micro lens. 

Read the 'final judgement' in part 3.

Message Edited by klausboedker on 09-24-2009 11:33 PM

[#2]

Looking over several cameras and choosing one for someone who has outgrown point and shoots, I came back to the Nikon D3000. By no means will this model blow away the seasoned photographer, however it does cover the basics and more. We picked it up and tried it out over the weekend.