Nikon D60 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S DX VR Nikkor Zoom Lens by Nikon
|
Our Price: $949.00 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $389.99 (click here) Category: Digital Camera See more digital camera details and other models |
|---|
Digital camera reviews of Nikon D60 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S DX VR Nikkor Zoom Lens
Digital camera Review: Extremely Happy
Summary: 5 Stars
Have been Nikon user for years. Got the best price for a D60 by far.Today at work I noticed a pro Photog using a D100. He told me in my price range it was the best camera I could buy.Digital camera Review: Fantastic Images, Lightweight and Well-Built
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a great camera, and don't let anyone tell you it's only for beginners. The images that the D60 produces easily rival that of more expensive cameras. When you spend less money on the D60, you are sacrificing a few bells & whistles but not necessarily image quality.
It has all the manual settings you'd expect in an SLR and a very easy-to-navigate (and nice-looking) menu system. The LCD screen is big and bright, and the viewfinder is great as well.
What it's missing (at least when compared to higher end models) and why you don't necessarily need those things:
- No auto-focus on non-AF-S/AF-I lenses. Unless you already have a bunch of old Nikon lenses, this shouldn't be a problem. Just make sure any lens you buy in the future is an AF-S or AF-I.
- No Live View. This is only just becoming standard on higher end cameras and on the ones I have tried I have found it very "clunky" anyway. "Live View" is a hallmark of compact point & shoot cameras, and I think that's where it belongs... at least for now. SLRs are just made for shooting with the viewfinder. It just feels better on a camera like this. If you *need* Live View, look at the Sony SLRs. They seem to implement that feature best.
- Only 3 auto focus points. The D80 has 11, the Canon XSi has 9, blah, blah, blah. Three is enough for most people... heck, one is enough for most people. Yes, having more is nice, but honestly if you are a beginner and don't understand what the benefit of more AF points might even be, you don't need them.
- No exposure bracketing. A helpful feature for making HDR images, but even then it is not necessary.
Those are the biggies. I have my own little nit picks, like:
- No dedicated buttons for ISO or white balance (you can program the Fn button to do it, but it's nice to have a seperate button).
- RAW+JPEG setting only allows you to record a "basic" quality JPEG.
- The ViewNX software supplied with the camera sucks for processing RAW images. If you are going to shoot RAW, get something better like Nikon's CaptureNX, Adobe Camera Raw for Photoshop or Lightroom, or something similar. If those aren't in your budget, RAW Therapee is a great open source RAW processing application. It's light years better than ViewNX in this regard, and it is 100% free of charge!
Now for the major perks:
- The D60 inherits features like Active D-Lighting and Expeed processing from the (much more expensive) D3 and D300 pro SLRs, which the D40 and D40x do not have. Look those things up to see what the benefits are. D-Lighting is subtle, but effective.
- The new kit lens with VR (vibration reduction, Nikon's term for image stabilization) which allows for sharp pictures in lower light conditions when using slower shutter speeds. The D40/D40x have a non-VR version of the same lens. In my opinion, this is the best "kit" lens when compared to what the competition is currently offering (in terms of overall image quality).
- Auto focus assist lamp. Trust me, it's a simple little thing but you'll love having it.
- FAST auto focus (even with those three piddly AF points =)
- Big, bright LCD and viewfinder.
- Superb build quality. Feels much more "pro" in your hand than it's plastic-y competitors.
- Great high ISO performance. Perfectly usable shots at ISO 1600. ISO 3200 is worse, but you could still use it in a pinch and get decent results and small prints. I've printed a couple 8x10s from ISO 1600 shots that look fantastic.
- Which brings me to the most important feature: stellar image quality. Go find sample images online and see for yourself. Forget those chart & graph test shots. Look for real-world samples of real people/things -- that's where you'll really be able to see the D60 shine!
I love my D60. I have been shooting with it every day since I bought it a month ago and have no regrets. It truly is a great camera to learn on for the SLR beginner, but is just as good for those of us with a little experience who are on a budget and don't see the above "cons" as deal breakers. Just buy the thing and go make some beautiful photos!
Digital camera Review: Fantastic camera!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is my first SLR camera which I've had for six months now. Bought it as a kit that included the 18-55 mm lens. Also bought the following accessories: 55-200 mm lens, infrared remote controller (ML-L3), Tiffen lens covers, carrying case, and Busch's Nikon D60 guide.
This is a fantastic camera for an SLR beginner, very easy to use. The technical pros/cons can be found in other reviews, so I'll just mention two small dislikes: the autofocus lens can be tricky to use, especially at night when the lens can't decide what to focus on (can be fixed by turning the AF lens off), and the camera doesn't shoot videos.
This is my first Nikon camera I've owned (always used Canon before) and am very happy with it. Highly recommended to other beginner SLR users.
Digital camera Review: For a novice photographer, I made the right choice.
Summary: 5 Stars
This is an awesome camera for a beginner, easy set up, easy to use. I just started taking pictures for airliners.net and it's a light weight camera for a quick point and shoot. I highly recommend this DSLR.Digital camera Review: GREAT CAMERA!
Summary: 5 Stars
I received this camera for Mother's Day this year(2009)and I love it! It is so much better than I could EVER have imagined! I love that I can take incredible up close pictures with it and the settings are easy even for a novice to understand! I have had many compliments about the clarity of my pictures now I am starting to believe I am actually a good photographer! :) This camera is a great one for someone stepping up from a point and shoot but is not too simple to take more sophisticated pictures.