For the longest time – about two years actually – the Nikon D40 was my go-to camera when tech-phobic DemystifyingDigital.com readers asked me for a recommendation on an entry-level digital SLR. Though I've liked Canon's digital Rebel cameras, particularly the new Canon Rebel T1i, the D40 was super compact, took great pictures and, most importantly, was a snap to use for total beginners. Though the D40 is now being phased out, I'm happy to report that the replacement for that camera, the new 10.2-megapixel Nikon D3000, is a worthy successor that already ranks high on my recommendation list for first-time DSLR buyers.
Though I've really enjoyed shooting with the Nikon D3000 during the last few weeks of testing, there is one major caveat to my recommendation which I'd like to state at the very beginning of this review. While novice photographers will likely enjoy the D3000 for it's ease of use, good image quality, and it's sub-$600 price tag, anyone with even a modicum of experience using a DSLR should aim a bit higher. Either the Canon Rebel T1i or Nikon D5000 – both of which can also shoot High-Def movies – are better, slightly more sophisticated digital SLRs. Nikon has made the D3000 so simple that experienced users will likely grow quickly frustrated with this camera.
For anyone who is looking to learn the basics of photography, however, the D3000 is about as good of "a digital SLR with training wheels" as you can find right now. And at a low price point ($599 with a lens) that puts it in line with advanced point-and-shoot models, the Nikon D3000 should help convert a whole new group of users from compact cameras to DSLRs. Let's take a look this small, earnest, and refreshingly helpful camera.
Body Image
Though the D3000's camera body has a slightly different shape than the D40, the layout is pretty much identical. The D3000, like its predecessor, is of the "extra small" variety of digital SLRs and anyone with larger hands – like this reviewer – will find it a bit undersized, particularly the slivery grip. For those with smaller hands, such as most female users, this shouldn't be a problem though.
Buttons and controls on the D3000 have been kept to an extreme minimum. For instance, like a lot of Nikon's entry-level DSLRs, there's no top LCD screen. I, personally, found this annoying but I doubt first-time users will be thrown. All the camera's settings – stuff beginners might not immediately care about such as shutter speed, aperture, ISO – are displayed on the 3-inch LCD screen and changes adjust in real time.
By the way, that bright, clear LCD screen on back which has a 170-degree viewing angle, is great for reviewing settings and images while taking pictures outdoors, even in bright light. Unlike the D3000's step-up cousin, the D5000, the LCD doesn't flip out and swivel. I love "vari-angle" screens since they make taking photos from interesting angles a lot easier. Keeping it off the D3000 was probably a cost-saving measure and a way to differentiate it from the step-up model.
Oh, and the D3000 has no Live View mode which lets you preview your images on the LCD screen rather than through the optical viewfinder. Beginners actually may have liked Live View on this camera since they're probably used to it from compact cameras. There's also no high-definition movie capture mode as is also on the D5000. The D3000 is for taking photos in the traditional manner and that's about it. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Let Me Guide You
One major difference on the D3000 from its predecessor is the new Guide Mode which can be accessed on the control dial. Turn it to GUIDE and the camera will walk novices through some of the basic steps to taking more creative pictures using the D3000's manual controls.
For example, most advanced photographers know how to subtly blur or "defocus" the background of a portrait to bring attention to your subject's face. For beginners, all they have is the canned "Portrait" mode which does the work for you – with varying results – but doesn't tell you how. Guide Mode is designed to walk you through the steps by leading you to Aperture Priority mode and telling you to adjust the f/stop to a lower number to "soften the background." The result is a simple education in the basics of photography. Nice, right?
Other brief tutorials in the D3000's Guide Mode tell you how to freeze motion for people and vehicles; take "macro" close-ups, or turn off the flash. I really appreciated that Nikon has offered this mode on the D3000 though, I have to say, I found scrolling through the various Guide menus a bit confusing.
For instance, go to Guide Mode and you're given three options – Shoot; View/Delete; Set up. Then pick Shoot and you're given more options: Easy Operation; Advanced Operation, Timers & Remote Control. (And make sure you decide quickly or the camera's power saver settings will black out the LCD and you have to start from the beginning.)
After you make your selection – whether it's Sleeping Faces which switches to "Child" mode and turns off the flash, or Landscape which, duh, turns on "Landscape" mode – you can go right to shooting. Of course, the reason for all this hunting and pecking in Guide Mode is that the D3000's screen, though large, is still too small for displaying in-depth tutorials on one page.
One feature I wish had been included in Guide Mode is an explanation of Nikon's "Active D-Lighting." This feature automatically adjusts for high contrast shooting conditions –
such as when your subject is extremely backlit – by lightening shadows to bring out hidden detail. I find it to be an essential tool in most shooting situations and I hope beginners turn on Active D-Lighting and use it.
Nonetheless, Guide Mode is a good effort by Nikon to address the needs of new photographers through simple menu-based photo education. I do wonder though if consumers will actually use it.
Straight Shooter
As mentioned before, the low-featured D3000 is all about taking pictures and that's still what photography is all about, right?
Like the D40 before it, the D3000 is a great "no-brainer" digital SLR with a responsive and quiet shutter that begs to be pressed. I think first time digital SLR users will love taking photos with it. On the other hand, I was often flummoxed by the menu-driven control of the camera. Important settings which I change all the time on the fly such as ISO, or simply switching from single-shot to continuous "burst" shooting mode, takes more time on this camera.
But like I said, the D3000 wasn't designed for me, it was designed for my mom. And as a mommy (or daddy) cam, it's splendid. Nikon has upgraded the D3000 kit, including a 18-55mm VR (Vibration Reductions) lens in the package which helps cut down on camera shake. During testing, I used the D3000 in a variety of shooting situations and was pleased at how it responded to different conditions.
While strolling along Broadway in upper Manhattan, I stumbled onto a cigar-making shop and when the owner saw me with my camera, he beckoned me inside. Though the lighting was low and, ahem, a bit smoky, the stabilized VR lens helped me shoot at slower shutter speeds with less blur. I had also cranked the camera's ISO to 1600 – which makes the image sensor more responsive to light in dim shooting conditions – and was able to get some nice portraits of the cigar maker without turning on the flash.
Though my photos weren't as clean of image noise – those ugly distorted pixels you sometimes see in low-light, non-flash shots – as I would've expected from a more expensive camera, I think DSLR newcomers will be very happy with the results, especially when stacked against a point-and-shoot model.
(Click on this cigar-maker shot to see the full resolution image.)
Ready for a Close-Up?
I also shot a lot of close-up "Macro" shots with the D3000 of flowers in a nearby garden. I've always been impressed with the macro capabilities of Nikon cameras/lenses – even the small point-and-shoot models – and the D3000 with its AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens carries on that tradition. The lens has an 0.9-foot minimum focus distance which was great for capturing close-ups of flowers, fauna, and bees buzzing around.
(Click on this flower shot below to see the full resolution image.)
What I didn't like was the camera's habit of overexposure in close-ups which tended to blow out some of the detail in the delicate petals of flowers. This, again, seems to be a consumer-focused tendency of the D3000 since many casual photographers tend to prefer brighter photos. Thankfully, the D3000 didn't deliberately oversaturate the colors in my images which is another tendency of some consumer DSLRs.
The camera's snappy 3 frames per second shooting speed – combined with the responsive shutter – make the D3000 a great camera for photographing small children or capturing some sporting events. I used it to shoot Little League baseball games and was able to freeze the pitcher's motion as he delivered the ball to the plate. (If you don't know how to do this, the Guide Mode will tell you to choose a shutter speed faster than 1/200th of a second.)
The camera's 11-point autofocus system was also quick and, generally, accurate. I wouldn't want to use the D3000 to photograph racecars but for cyclists or skateboarders, it's fine.
Final Thoughts
Overall, though there are more features on the D3000 than the D40, along with the requisite bump up in resolution (the D40 had a 6MP sensor), shooting with the new camera isn't a whole heck of a lot different from the old one, and that's a good thing. There's a good reason the D40 is one of Nikon's most popular cameras of all time – it just worked. And thankfully, Nikon's taken an "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" attitude with the D3000.
The biggest change with the new camera is the built-in photography help in the D3000's Guide Mode. Though these tutorials aren't quite as easy to get to as I would've liked, they do provide some good basic instruction for DSLR newbies, making the D3000 an excellent "gateway" camera for anyone interested in making the leap into advanced photography.