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The latest entry-level DSLR to come out of the traps is the Nikon D3000, a 10.2-megapixel body armed with a new Guide Mode to take the mystery out of advanced photography. Read our full Nikon D3000 review to see if it can turn you into the next David Bailey.
Don’t know your aperture from your AEL? Well, Guide Mode explains the lot, all on the D3000’s rear LCD screen – just hit the guide button and you’ll bring up some text detailing what each feature does and how it’ll effect your photos. It’s a nice touch that should help transform the greenest of DSLR noobs into confident shutterbugs in no time at all.
Looks and control layout-wise, the Nikon D3000 is strongly reminiscent of the D5000. The D3000 lacks video, however, and there’s also no live view mode on the 3-inch screen. That means you’ll have to frame your shots the old-fashioned way: through the nicely-sized optical viewfinder. There are a generous 11 autofocus points available, and switching between them is very simple as they’re “tied” to the rear cursor button. We’d have liked to have seen a dedicated ISO button (you have to dip into the menu to change it), but aside from that most functions are quickly adjustable.
The D3000’s body is lightweight and compact, although not quite as dinky as the Olympus E-620 or Sony A380. It sits better in the hand (or at least our hand) than either of those, however, thanks to the chunky grip.
The mode dial on the D3000 is similarly chunky, and features all the usual priority modes (shutter, aperture, program and full manual) plus fully automatic and a host of scene presets that jig the settings to suit the likes of portraiture, landscape or sports photography. There’s also a Guide selection (again, tailored towards the beginner and offering simple, explanation-equipped options).
Photo quality is excellent with the bundled 18-55mm kit lens, which focusses near-silently and helps deliver sharp snaps drenched with colour. High ISO shooting works out fairly nicely (a Nikon trademark), with noise keeping reasonably low until you push the D3000’s sensor into the upper reaches of its capabilities (it offers 100-1600 ISO).
Returning to the kit lens, we did notice that it’s slightly prone to flare when shooting towards the sun (there’s no hood supplied). If you do decide to upgrade to other Nikon or third party lenses you’ll need to choose carefully if you want to keep autofocus as an option: like other Nikon entry-level DSLRs, the D3000 lacks a built-in autofocus motor so lenses without their own will need to be focussed manually. On the plus side, the lens’ VR anti-shake tech is very effective, allowing you to take sharp shots at 1/15 of a second at times.
Overall we reckon the Nikon D3000 is an unfussy, solidly built and user-friendly DSLR. If features like live view and HD video don’t matter to you it makes a perfect first step into advanced photography.
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[...] Read our Nikon D3000 review now There’s plenty more to endear the Nikon D300s too. It’s incredibly easy to frame basic shots, with either the excellent viewfinder or the pin sharp 3-inch screen slapped on the back. Likewise the 720p video looks classy as hell, although our major quibble here is that Nikon hasn’t ramped things up to 1080p. Seeing as you’re paying £1,500 for the body only, it’s a miss that really should have been thought of, especially as compacts from Panasonic already rock similar tech. The fact you’ll need to pre-focus video before pressing record is also a big fail for us. [...]