Strengths:Price and Picture Quality
Weaknesses:Nikon's corporate marketing strategy cost you exta, no DOF, no "custom quick settings"
Posted Mar 19, 2006 - I am sure that this camera will surprise you in a nice way – many times. Although it is aimed at an aspiring amateur, it produces award winning images. I hope that my review will give you some insights on which you can draw your own conclusions. I hope to be as objective as it can be but then again – everything is a subject to author’s bias.
Having tons of Nikon equipment, logically I was locked into Nikon’s products. Being able to use most of it was the key selling points here. I needed a DSLR as I was really tired of the lack of control over your point-and-shoot photos but at the same time I really love the results of traditional film cameras. After some time with it I can state that the images are sharp and phenomenally accurate in color transcription. I can’t say enough good things about it – you ought to test drive it for yourself. The auto focus seems to be accurate and quite apt in sports photography! I am quite pleased with some of the “quick setting” operations controlled though the command dial – quite useful for changing situations (not to be confused with the multiprogram dial -- that's another story).
Now with some of the good points out of the way, I made my own list of things that I see as potential drawbacks (or in need of improvement).
First and foremost, lack of Depth of Field Preview makes this model sometimes difficult to work with and quite useless for serious macro photography. Non-the-less I have managed to take some amazing close-ups). If you know that you can’t live without the DOF preview, then don’t buy this camera. Personally, I am getting used to not having it – I can always go to my film SLR if I want to go that route. The camera is not as big and bulky as the D70 (or D100), but still not as small as I would like it to be. Going from the N80/75 to this one I felt the difference in size (and grip). The built-in flash seems to be little overpowering however, you can change the output values to suit your needs. In regards to the menus – In my opinion they are ok, although I could see some improvements in their layout.
I think the one item that I have hard time getting over is the ability to switch between metering modes (matrix/center/spot) – currently the only way to do is to hunt through the menus instead of implementing it as one of “quick dial” functions or a dial similar to the ones on D100 or D70 & D200.
As a final note – I purchased this camera with the outfit lens (18-55) and I don’t regret it. The outfit/set is a bargain. I strongly suggest considering the extra cash, at least to the 18-55 lens to cover the digital wide angle needs (keeping in mind that the camera has a 1.5 multiplier for 35mm lenses). However, one note about the DX ED lenses – I like the image quality as they produce little darker, more contrasty images compared to other Nikkor lenses.
Overall, in my opinion I do not regret buying this camera – I was very pleasantly surprised by the quality of pictures. I hope that the reliability will match the brand’s name. If you are on a market for a DSLR – test drive this camera, shop around, compare by all means and do the bottom line tests. All things considered this camera was a real bargain for under 800.
*** Dec 22nd***
3 months after first review and 5000+ pictures later, I believe that I might be outgrowing this product. Few more items are worth mentioning that came up since the last review.
PROS:
The digital sensor is amazing. With correct exposure (manual most of the time) the pictures are breathtaking in quality.
The instant power-on and no shutter lag are fabulous. I can never see myself using anything else if a spirit of the moment matters.
CONS:
The Nikon marketing strategy of locking metering for NON-CPU lenses is simply pathetic. It leaves you running with a light meter in your hand or relying on your expertise. Can you say 1950's all over again? The small plus here is that you will get to learn A LOT about exposure....
The lack of DOF is painful. I ran into many situations where I would want to check the DOF.
In order to bracket your exposure you have to hunt through the menu -- there isn't a quick switch for it. Painful.
None-the-less, I still love this camera but I see myself upgrading when the funds become available.
*** Feb 19th***
Hats off to the metering system - it seems to be very hard to fool!
*** MAR 19th***
Spontaneously got a D200, but this one will always stay in my bag too! Got to play with Rebel XT too! :)
Noticing significant price drop from the originally released price I believe that this is THE camera if you are willing to venture into DSLR photography without breaking the budget. I paid 780+ for an outfit with 18-55 lens and I felt like it was worth every penny of it. If you have extra few bucks or don't want to have to lug multiple lenses, consider getting the body only and the 18-200 lens instead of the 2 lens outfit when the price levels off.
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