If you're a photographer like me, and you want to shoot macro pictures, you have probably realized by now that you actually don't need an expensive DSLR camera, but rather you should invest in a more expensive macro lens. If you are on a tight budget, this will probably be a wise choice to choose a less expensive camera body and invest your money on a high optical quality macro lens. I have decided to check several Nikon DSLR cameras to go with the Nikon 105mm f2.8 VR macro lens. I've decided to base my purchase, by reading reviews on dpreview.com. Dpreview.com is a trusted site for true and unbiased information and opinions about digital SLR cameras. We will be comparing Nikon D5000, D90, D40 and Nikon D60 Digital SLR Cameras.
Nikon D90 To The Rescue!
First of all, I wanted to check out the Nikon D90 SLR camera. Dpreview.com already has an in-depth review about the Nikon D90. What I wanted to do, is to see how to D90 compares to other entry-level Nikon DSLR cameras like the D40x and the D60 and even the D5000 DSLR from Nikon.
Nikon D90 vs. D300
So let's see what dpreview has to say about the Nikon D90. I jumped right into the JPEG comparison on that specific review, to see how the Nikon D90 compares to the more expensive Nikon D300, in order to get a glimpse on how good is the D90. It seems that the image quality is somewhat the same, even though the Nikon D300 is a bit sharper when shooting in JPEG mode. Of course the D300 is much more expensive than the D90 camera. What I've learned from this comparison, is that the D90 can produce excellent, high quality images in comparison to the D300 (with the same lens). Another thing I've noticed is that the D90 probably has a stronger AA filtering, compared to other DSLR's like the Canon 450D and the Nikon D80.
Dpreview gave the Nikon D90 a Highly Recommended rating. The things that I like in the D90 are the high resolution LCD monitor, excellent viewfinder, and activity D-lighting feature, great build quality, responsiveness, an auto focus assists lamp, low noise in high ISO sensitivities. So you can see, for its price it seems like a pretty good bargain.
Nikon D90 vs. D5000
Now let's check out the Nikon D5000 entry level DSLR camera. This is a much cheaper camera, in comparison to the D90. It costs almost 3 times less than the D90. However, the question is "can it produce the same image quality?", let's find out!
Dpreview.com also reviewed the Nikon D5000 camera. So let's jump in into the JPEG comparison page to see how the Nikon D5000 is in comparison to the Nikon D60. The D60 costs around $200 less than the D5000 entry level SLR. I thought that in that price probably be a bargain, and I can invest more money probably on a better macro lens. It seems that the JPEG output of the D5000 is a bit softer in comparison to the D60 and a quote: "it doesn't (D5000) look super-punchy like the entry-level D60.." (dpreview.com).
So you can see that the D60 produces some very nice images. Now let's see how the D5000 is in comparison to the Nikon D90. First I want to mention that the D5000 and the D90, use the same sensor. The JPEG output of those two cameras is virtually identical. So the thing that you should ask yourself now, should I spend around $200 more on the D90?
Nikon D5000 Pros
To on so this question we need to find out what the Nikon D5000 has to offer besides great image quality. I went to the dpreview conclusion page to read more about the pros, and here are some of the most significant ones: Excellent image quality, very impressive high ISO performance, twist and swivel screen (but only 2.7 inches and 230,000 pixels), automatic correction of chromatic aberration. It seems that the Nikon d500 is a pretty good camera and even got a Highly Recommended rating from dpreview. I was pretty upset to see that Nikon has decided to put to low resolution LCD screen on the back of the camera. Furthermore, I was disappointed not to see the activity D-lighting feature.
Nikon D90 is OUT!
After reading those two reviews, I think that I've checked out both the Nikon D40, D60 and the D5000, because they think that in most cases, I once see any real differences between one of those cameras and the D90. Let's not forget that I need it for macro photography and I want to spend more money on a lens than on the body itself.
Nikon D60 is OUT!
Okay, let's continue on to read dpreview's Nikon D60 in-depth review. So it is now the Nikon D40 vs. D60 vs. D5000. Here are some of the most important conclusions found on dpreview conclusion page: good resolution and detail (not excellent as the other two), dust removal system, very reliable metering, auto focus assists lamp, active D-lighting. So there high ISO performance is not the best in its class, in comparison to the other two and the D90, no depth of field preview button. Actually, I think that I'm quite disappointed. With those conclusions, the D60 is out, and now we're left with the D40 and the D5000.
Nikon D40 vs. D5000
In order to get answers for which digital SLR camera is better when comparing the D40 vs. D5000, I have decided to Google it and see if there are other articles, which compared this to cameras head-to-head. I have visited Ken Rockwell iso-comparison page, where it compares the D5000, D40, D3 and D3000 cameras.
Just by looking at the images I can see that the Nikon D5000 produces better images than the D40, and it even looks that image quality is very close to the Nikon D3 at 400 ISO. I'm quoting Ken Rockwell: "The D3 and D5000 have similiar levels of detai, much better than the D300...", pretty impressive ah! -- The D5000 has just got two extra points.
The Winner: Nikon D5000
After that conclusion and by watching the images posted by Ken Rockwell on his website (but not just that), I came to conclusion that the Nikon D5000 is a great camera. I can write more about it, but I think that the best entry-level camera in terms of price and performance is the Nikon D5000 DSLR.
Why to Buy Nikon D5000?
- 12.3MP Effective Pixels (CMOS sensor)
- Low noise (very impressive high ISO performance)
- Active D-Lighting
- Excellent image quality (Even when compared to Nikon D3)
- Bright viewfinder
- Cheap
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