Nikon's new entry-level DSLR is compact, functional, and bundled with a VR lens, but do the D60's pictures stack up to Nikon's pedigree?
Review summary of the Nikon D60:
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 The Nikon D60 offers a 10-megapixel APS-H sensor and an optically stabilized lens, all for an excellent, entry-level price. As always, Nikon has designed the D60's body within an inch of perfection, and the camera has all the prosumer features that you'd expect of DSLR, including a fast burst-mode and full RAW support. Image-quality wasn't quite as exemplary as the camera's particulars - there were some major diffraction issues - but overall detail, color, and noise were excellent, and Nikon's 'D-Lighting' remains a great dynamic-range booster. All in all, the D60 could be a superb introduction to DSLRs. Release: April 2008. Price: $750.
Pros: Bundled with new VR lens. Fast operation. Good overall image quality, especially for the price. Great body.
Cons: Severe diffraction in some cases. Narrow ISO range.
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Full Nikon D60 Review:
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Design - Excellent
The entry-level Nikon D60 is designed exactly as it should be: it retains the functionality of a prosumer without being overwhelmed by the nitpicky controls of a professional SLR. The body itself is compact and sturdy, certainly not something that feels susceptible to falling apart, and it has an appreciable heft that lends it an air of purpose and durability. A deeper grip and / or rubber padding might also have suited the body, but as-is it's still a comfortable, well-designed exterior.
Nikon has reduced the camera's button layout to a minimum. In fact, there's only a four-way controller, six buttons, and a dial-control on the back, as opposed to the plethora of functions on the back of a high-end SLR. For its intended niche, this is a sensible decision; after all, a photographer spending $4,000 on a body might need a dedicated bulb-release, but less obsessive users should have more than enough control with Nikon's streamlined approach.
The D60's standard kit comes with an 18-55 mm Nikkor lens with VR technology, Nikon's variant of optical image-stabilization. The lens is similarly well-built and features switches to easily alternate between manual and automatic focus and, in the rare instance when image-stabilization would be undesirable, to switch VR on and off. The zoom and focus rings aren't the most comfortable we've used, but they are outfitted with rubber grooves to prevent slippage.
Features - Very good
First and foremost, the Nikon D60 kit offers 10 megapixels, an optically stabilized lens, and an APS-C sized imaging-sensor, all for under $750. Thus the D60's lack of extraordinary features is immediately forgivable, considering the strength of its basic components. That said, the camera's feature set doesn't include anything especially piquing, such as trickle-up standbys from the point-and-shoot market (face detection, auto shutter, panorama assist, etc.), nor does it have Live View.
Then again, even with an entry-level DSLR some expertise is assumed, and thus the D60's lack of P&S aides is largely irrelevant, while the importance of Live View remains debatable. The D60 provides everything you'd expect from a low-end DSLR, including a capable burst-mode (3 fps), full RAW support and complete control over image manipulation, from saturation to sharpening to hue. Like most Nikon DSLRs, the D60 also has support for AdobeRGB and two separate sRGB colorspaces, one standard and the other optimized for landscapes by tweaking color-balance.
The ISO range is a bit constrained, from 100 to 1600 and a separate 3200 mode that has to be manually selected, though the shutter-speed range is phenomenal, from bulb up to a sports-friendly 1/4000 seconds. The D60 also features our favorite Nikon feature, ‘D-Lighting,' an intelligent dynamic-range booster that retrieves detail from blown highlights and crushed shadows without jeopardizing contrast. Best of all for its position in the SLR market, the camera also has an automated sensor-cleaner that wipes away dust on startup and shutdown, which is vastly preferable to dealing with specialty cloths and cleaning solutions.
Interface - Very good
The D60 is the latest in a long, revered line of SLRs from Nikon, and it does little to rock the hallowed boat. Shutters and apertures are selected via the dial control, and shooting modes are cycled via the mode-wheel. Quick access to secondary parameters, like white balance and ISO sensitivity, is provided via a shortcut button. The camera even provides a graphical representation of current shutter and f-stop settings: on the left of the screen, an icon of an aperture expands and contracts in tune with the current f-stop, and around that a bar shortens and lengthens in sync with the current shutter speed.
Speaking of displays, the optical viewfinder is a welcome relief from the tortures of electronic viewfinders and bleary LCD screens. Though it inherently lacks the instant gratification of a Live View screen, the infinite resolution and 'frame rate' of an optical display has yet to be topped.
System settings are available in the main menu, itself comprised of five sections each with 5 – 15 settings. Nikon provides plenty of control without going overboard into professional territory, and most of the options are unsurprising. There is one function that splices together a series of photos into stop-motion video, which seems unnecessary. If Nikon is going to make a singular concession to compact-esque gimmickry, then why not do it with something more useful, like a smile shutter?
Image quality - Very good
Noise test [100/200/400/800/1600/3200]
Being a Nikon, it's no great surprise that the D60 handles noise superbly. Noise is overall tightly packed and unnoticeable until ISO-400. At 800 noise becomes visible at sub-100% zooms, and at 1600 it becomes a problem for serious applications. The ISO-3200 setting is largely a wash, which presumably explains why it's not automatically selectable, though we still don't see why Nikon mysteriously had to label it "Hi 1," nor why the camera doesn't correctly record the ISO level into JPEG metadata when using ISO-3200. It's as if Nikon is trying to cover up the setting's existence.
Indoor D-Lighting test [off]
Indoor D-Lighting test [on]
This pair of samples demonstrates the effect of D-Lighting in low-light scenarios. Take note of the shadowed region at the top and the overall balance of light along the wall: with D-Lighting there's more detail in the former and more consistency in the latter. Furthermore, the D60 is actually more photon-sensitive when using D-Lighting, to the point that exposures are boosted nearly a half-step, making it an excellent choice for low-light situations.
Outdoor D-Lighting test [off]
Outdoor D-Lighting test [on]
This pair evidences the effect of D-Lighting in natural, day-to-day shooting. Here we see less of an effect: the underexposed covering on the right side is lightened only slightly, though there is considerably more cloud-detail in the sky. Overall the image's dynamic range has been pinched, and, in our opinion, D-Lighting made for a drabber photograph. This goes to show that it's not quite a "set it and forget it" feature, and we suspect it would best be left off permanently for RAW photographers, who can accomplish as little or as much (possibly much more) contrast tweaking in development.
Edge test
Surprisingly, this is a disastrous edge-test for the D60. Detail is strong and colors are accurate, keeping in mind the desaturation of the overcast sky, but there's not a single, clean, contrasted edge in the entire picture. Along the covering on the right is an obvious halo, not to mention a less prominent, but still visible one on the building-tops in the background. Regardless, it's the edges on the left that give us pause: here we can see some of the most aggravated diffraction we've ever seen, to such an extreme that it looks like the output of an unconverged television. We're much more inclined to blame this on the lens than on the sensor itself, but either way this is disappointing.
Scene test [18m]
Scene test [55m]
Much better are these two scene tests, which demonstrate the Nikon D60's level of detail and superb color-rendering. Unfortunately, the lens-diffraction is still present along edges, but at least it's not immediately visible when zoomed-out. It should also be noted that D-Lighting was activated for both shots and resulted in a more pleasing dynamic-range; when turned-off, we were forced either to underexpose the buildings or overexpose the sky.
Price and availability
The Nikon D60 will start selling for $750 () in April 2008.
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