The new D3000 is Nikon's attempt to continue the corner on the "cheapest entry level DSLR" market. It comes into the market place at a cool $599, which includes the camera and the 18-55 mm kit lens. That is very attractive, considering only a few short years ago, the price of the D40, a 6-megapixel camera was just short of $1000 when it came onto the camera scene. Technology improvements and obviously competition have had their effects on lowering the price of the most inexpensive DSLR cameras.
But there is already an entry level camera in the Nikon stable. It is the Nikon D5000. So what are the differences between these two cameras, and which one is the better buy?
Starting with the basic specifications that always get the headlines, the D3000 has a 10.2 megapixel image sensor compared to the 12.3 image sensor of the D5000. While many people are driven to buy the newest camera with the most megapixels, it is not as significant a difference as the marketers would have you believe. A 10 megapixel image is capable of producing monstrous prints of just about any size you would want.
Other differences of note are listed here:
(D3000 listed first) vs (D5000 listed second)
Sensor size: 10.2MP vs 12.3MP - slight Advantage D5000
LCD: 3.0" with 230K pixels vs 2.7" with 230K pixels - tilt LCD screen - slight Advantage D5000 because of the tilt screen
Live View: no vs yes - Advantage D5000
Continuous frames: 3fps vs 4fps - slight Advantage D5000
Video: no vs Yes 1280 x 720 (720p) 24 fps with mono sound - Major Advantage D5000
Price: $599 vs $729 (both cameras have the same Kit Lens included) - your call based on the above features
Image quality: equal - Advantage D3000
From the differences listed, the Clear Advantage goes to the D5000. However, one must consider their own needs. The price difference is about $130, and the major feature causing that price difference is the Video capability of the D5000. So, the bottom line will be the whether or not the buyer has a desire for Video in their camera. Many folks who are moving up from a point and shoot digital camera have become accustomed to having that capability. However, camera purists will be looking for a camera that has two things, The first is the ability to change lenses as shooting requirements change (hence the DSLR), and the second is the ability to control the cameras shooting setup by manually selecting the priority mode, such as Aperture or Shutter speed.
Are you willing to spend an extra $130 for the video capture feature?
