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Nikon's D5000 digital SLR camera

An entry Nikon D-SLR with a glut of features

  • An 11-point focus system helps make focusing fast, and autofocus tracking can also be done within the 11 points regardless of where your subject moves. There is also face detection.

  • The Nikon D5000 is light and easy to hold. It has large mode dial, a dedicated dial for changing the shutter speed, and the aperture can be changed by using the same dial while also pressing the exposure button. Any type of F-mount lens can be mounted on the D5000 body, but AF-S DX-format lenses are the best pairing.
    Other features include a built-in cleaning mechanism for the sensor, an airflow control system to keep dust off the low-pass filter, a silent shutter mode (which allows you to minimise the noise of the shutter when shooting sleeping babies, for example), and a native ISO range from 200-3200. Plenty of in-camera editing functions are available, too, which should be a particular hit with kids, as they can create colour outlines of their photos, blur them or distort them. There is a built-in distortion control to fix photos that have been taken with lenses that produce noticeable barrel roll. Photo navigation is also aided by the inclusion of a calendar mode, which can show you pictures taken by date; this can save you trawling through your SD card for photos taken on a specific date.

  • The Nikon D5000 has a flip-down screen that rotates so that you can easily take photos from up high or down low, as well as self portraits. Furthermore, because the screen flips down, it won't affect your hands' shooting position. Autofocusing works in Live View mode, and the screen is detailed enough so that you can see if your subject is crisp or not. You also have the ability to enlarge an area of your photo in order to focus more precisely. The screen can also be used to frame movies in Live View mode, and the camera body has a built-in microphone.

  • The Nikon D5000 has a 12.3-megapixel DX-format CMOS sensor and an EXPEED image processor. It has 19 scene modes to try out if you're not accustomed to changing manual settings. You can select a preset mode depending on what you're shooting, be it a night portrait, food, a landscape shot or a sunset. There is a D-Lighting setting, too, which helps bring out dark areas in backlit photos or photos that are shot halfway in the shade and in sunlight. It analyses the entire scene and adjusts the luminance of the darkened areas to make them stand out. It's like a form of built-in HDR (high dynamic range) photography.

  • Nikon's D5000 digital SLR camera is an entry-level model that's designed to be a simple introduction into the world of SLR cameras. It's a small camera body with a built-in flash, a flip-down screen and an F-type lens mount. It accepts all of Nikon's F-mount lenses, but has been designed to use AF-S (automatic focusing) DX format lenses. What's interesting, though, is the number of built-in scene modes that are available, and also the simple-to-use Live View mode, which can be used to frame your shots and record video at a resolution of up to 720p.

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