How would you change Nikon's D3000?
By Darren Murph 
posted Oct 16th 2009 11:56PM
posted Oct 16th 2009 11:56PM
posted Oct 16th 2009 11:56PM
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Slow night for comments, I guess.
I don't own this camera, because I can't view it as a compelling "upgrade". I don't think that it is that for anyone, though- it really adds nothing to the existing line. A few more megapixels, a stripped down interface... I'm still baffled as to whether there is any advantage at all over the D60.
As to the kit lens, though? Awesome lens, one of the best zoom lenses you can get without spending over $500.
I agree on the lens, it is a great lens. I don't see a point for this camera. Sure, it does have a bit more MP's compared to the D40 but has worse high ISO performance; Up to a full stop by some accounts. I would have loved to see Nikon follow the same strategy with that they did with the D3S and bring out a 6.1 megapixel D3000 but with a stop better ISO performance than the D40.
It would be nice if it could autofocus with older nikon lenses. Nikon just needs to add the internal focus drive motor thing in there and I can see this would be a perfect dslr.
Enable the same intervalometer (time-lapse) functions as the D300!
There's no excuse for any camera today not to offer this simple feature. Not only has Canon not learned this, but Nikon could move even further ahead in this area by allowing mirror lockup for an entire time-lapse sequence. That way you don't have the mirror assembly slapping up and down hundreds of times unnecessarily.
Well i have bought the D3000 and have had a couple days to play with it. I am very happy with the camera, It's my first Dslr. and the photo quality is very very good.
Use D300's sensor
Get the D5000.
D300 can't take a movie.
D300's sensor is cheaper than D300s' sensor.
The lens is the standard kit lens: pretty great for under 200 bucks.
The D3000, on the other hand, offers no compelling reason for me to upgrade from my D60. However, if I didn't have a DSLR and was choosing one, I'd definetely get the D3000.
guide mode seems kinda lame. i was tempted to buy a nikon before i eventually went canon. reason i was tempted was because a salesperson (he was nikonian) told me about how nikons basically have the user guide built into the camera's software.... long story short, bought a canon and read the user guide in a couple days, never needed it to be bundled with the software.
You should have tried out a higher end Nikon then. The D3000 is for newbies who do find DSLRs confusing. Hence the manual built into the camera.
ADD AN "i" to it........
lasers.
I don't know.
Give me one and I'll let you know.
Let me use it to cook ants.
1080/24/30p without the jello. Mic jack, headphone jack and full manual control.
I have the D60. They could have done without the freakin huge frame. Its ugly, old and overdone. And its uncomfortable compared to the 80/90.
i bought this camera for my photo class in college recently and i love it. the image quality is way better then the d40 and d60 that the other students have in my class.
Hi, since you not only have one of these, but also get to see many other camera's that your students have do you think this is indeed the best camera for a first time DSLR user??
I have 4 o5 5 35 mm minolta bodies and a TON of minolta lenses, but for the last 6 years or so have been using a Kysoera which I choose because of the 2.5" screen and some other features at the time were pretty good in comparison.
I wasnt' sure when I bought that one that I wanted to give up my 35 mm, but have never looked back or used them again. But I miss some of those features, and I REALLY miss using, multiple lenses and would really like to use some of my higher lenses for distance etc.
Do you know if lenses that fit Minolta's would work with the D3000, some of my lenses are other brands, but of course all work with Minolta's some are manual and some AF.
@Sealady
Unfortunately, the only dSLR's that might mount your old Minolta lenses are Sony's. If the Minolta lenses are autofocus, then they should mount fine, but if they are manual focus, the bayonent will actually get in the way of the mirror.
FULL FRAME
At first I was a little turned off by the lack of mini screen, but after a while I really started to enjoy the simplicity of the camera. I'm the editor for my yearbook and we just picked up a few of these for basic shooting as well as a few others. We now have the whole Nikon line-up represented (except the D3s of course). I have to say by having to learn the subtle differences in these cameras for the purpose of training people the D3000 really is a great value for what you get. No, it will not run with the D80 or D90, but it is not meant to. Personally I think it does a fantastic job at what it was intended for.
As for the lens that came in the kit, it serves our purposes just fine. The 18-55mm is all we need for classroom and hallway shots. Would we ever use this body or lens for sports shooting? Obviously not. While it does have a "sports" mode, I have found that may be most used for capturing jumping shots in daylight.
All and all I really rather like the camera. It is a fantastic way to introduce newcomers to the Digital SLR world. The visuals on the screen for adjusting aperture and shutter speed are fantastic training tools as well.
If you are looking to dip your toes in the photography world, give this one a shot, at worst leave you'll it in "auto" and still have a brilliant 10MP Nikon d SLR.
What kind of school do you attend?! My school could barely afford one used D40! And here you guys get the whole damn lineup! Gah!
Schools of the private variety sometimes have access to funding that public ones find difficult to match...
Exactly! The problem is that private schools still have access to public funding which stinks.
I have no problems with the rich having their own schools, but let them fund it entirely themselves. Why force people whom can't afford to send their children to private school into helping pay for those who can.
Sorry for the mini-rant...
Whoa, how times have changed. I started out with a Pentax K-1000.
My film Nikon 8008s still does a great job, 20 yrs old!
Using Nikon glass is definitely a plus. Most Nikkor lenses really are worth it.
If the higher ISO settings don't cut it... this body may be for the *extrememly* casual shooter only.
@calgaryalta
I think what he was saying is private schools usually have more money to spend on expensive cameras than public schools. I know for a fact my private high school got NO public funding whatsoever, so the administration was always focused on fundraising in order to be able to give financial aid, build new classrooms, and pay the teachers (less salary than the local public school, unfortunately). I have heard of private grants and donations being given, but never of public, government funds being given to a private school.
@ rdb
They do in canada, specifically in Alberta....maybe its different in the states? Are you in the U.S.A. ?
I own a D3000 and really enjoy using it. The screen is amazing and probably my favorite feature. I actually picked it over the D5000 for this reason. However, I really would love to see AEB and PC control included in this model. Nikon has included PC control is many lower end cameras for years and left it out of the 3000. Those are my only major issues with it.
I want a speedy ADR.
It's pretty useless on the D3000.
I meant 3 freaking seconds to process an image.
The playback is slower than the D40. WTF.
Other than that. It's a great camera.
What are the differences between D3000 and D60? They have almost equal price. Would someone please clarify?
D60 is the older model with a very basic AF system and a previous gen CCD sensor. The proper replacement for it is the D5000 while the D3000 is more of a D40 replacement.
The D3000 is to replace D60/D40.
D5000 is meant to complete with low end Canons I think the EOS XTI. (Live View and Movie)
I just purchased this camera last weekend and I love it so far. My first D-SLR. Upgraded from an old Sony Cybershot. Even as a relatively novice user, I find the guide mode somewhat useless. I suppose there some who will benefit from it but it is a bit gimmicky for me. I really dig the built in user manual feature though. It's nice to have a quick reference to some of the features that I am unfamiliar with. I was tempted by the D5000 but ultimately I feel like it was worth the couple hundred in savings. I have a dedicated HD camcorder so it wasn't important to me to have movie mode on a still camera. I am happy I got a great D-SLR thats easy to use without breaking the bank. No regrets here.
Built-in autofocus motor. Most people buying these have no idea what an AF-S or AF-I lens is, and they'll rely on the AF system, and, as much as I love my D300s, it's overkill for a lot of things. Even my D90 backup body is way too much for a night out with friends.
I agree. Might be paying a bit more for in-body AF, but you save money on lenses.
Nikon won't put a motor in their lower end bodies. Don't waste your time waiting for it. Their business model is to make people upgrade to higher end bodies and the lack of the in-body motor arises from that.
Most of the target audience of these cameras would never go beyond the kit lens and the matching tele anyway. If that doesn't suffice, Nikon has AF-S variants for pretty much every lens they're likely to use with these bodies (Except for the 50 f1.8, but there is the AF-S 50 f1.4G and the AF-S 35 f1.8G to make up for that somewhat).
I suspect the lack of a motor isn't going an issue for most of those people. If they even buy another lens (that is besides the one they got in a kit), it will most likely be a zoom. And most Nikon zooms have been updated to AF-S.
Ugh... this comment system really gets on my nerves sometimes.
Most people are content with their kit lens so I think you're right... it won't be a problem for most people, however I wish Nikon would update a few of their lenses to AF-S. The 80-400mm is a good example of a lens that would be awesome on a D3000/D40/D60 but simply won't autofocus.
Turn it into a D700
id run over it in my lifted f150 to flatten it out and make it more portable
I got my first dslr D3000 two weeks ago. So far I'm pretty happy with it. It has so advantages over D40(which is hard to find new) and D60. I think it's a natural choice for newbees like me. I think it's a great camera, easy to work with it. The 18-55 kit lens is also great, especially for indoor situations.
Cheers
D3000 : seriously, have Nikon sold more than three of these? Yawn. There's a reason it's derisively known as the D40x Mk III.
Take a D60 and increase the number of AF from 3 to seven = D3000. Not really enough to compete with the Pentax K-x.
Pentax fanboys: Seriously, are there more than three of you?
Apologies to actual Pentax users though. I have a Pentax film SLR and really dig their gear (Even though I'm a Nikonian), but ill-informed statements like this just beg to be thrashed.
I'll informed? Pentax fanboy?
I'm a Nikon user for Pete's sake!
The Pentax K-x kit and Nikon D3000 kit sell for the same price where I live.
D3000:
10MP CCD
slightly better kit lens
AF assist lamp
AF points display in viewfinder
nicer looking LCD graphics and menu system
K-x
12MP CMOS sensor, far superior high ISO performance
live view, 720/24 HD video (D3000 has no liveview or video output of any kind)
4.7 fps (vs. 3.5)
various neat tricks, in camera HDR and face detection being relatively useful given its intended market.
slimmer, better built, better ergonomics (subjective, but I've handled both and I'm a long time D40 user so would be biased to the D3000 in anything)
Tied:
Standard AA batteries (K-x) vs. custom Lithium (nikon) ... personally I prefer the smaller custom battery pack of the Nikon, but AA can be found anywhere so in emergencies its a nice feature.
Nikon has VR in the lens, Pentax has SR in the body. VR works slightly better, but SR works in all your lenses.
Fanboi-ism left at the door, that's as plain and fair as I can make it. It's when I saw the ISO3200 results from the K-x that my jaw hit the floor. Video and live view is all well and nice to have in the bag, but at the end of the day the K-x also has the better sensor and by a wide margin too.
I just bought this camera last week, and I must say...I loved it!
As a first-time D-SLR user, I was pretty intimidated by all the what-zits and whoo-zas I keep hearing from professional photographers. I had a very difficult time convincing myself to pay a few extra hundred dollars just to buy an oversized camera with features I neither understand nor know how to use.
The Canon D3000 made that jump a lot easier. Granted, the tutorial mode got pretty tiring pretty fast, but without it I probably would've just kept using the auto feature. I was able to learn photography basics in just a day.
Only regret was that if I new how easy it was to use a DSLR, I probably would've gotten a D5000. But of course, I wouldn't be in this spot if it weren't for the tutorial mode.
It's a must by for novices going from a point-and-shoot to D-SLRs. But as an upgrade, I suggest you give this a pass.
It's a Nikon my friend. Don't commit blasphemy!:D
I'd suggest that you start investing in good glass and only when you truly feel that you've outgrown the body, jump on to something like the D90.
Always remember that lenses are a long term investment. Bodies lose their sheen and value pretty fast. Lenses don't.
No I suggest you stick with the kit lens and get to know it.
Only invest in new lenses when you are consistently unable to make the shots you want.