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Photography Monthly

10.02.09

Nikon D60 Review

Words by Julian Lass

Nikon is keen to grow in the budget DSLR area and one way of doing this is to lure compact users into this lucrative market. This is the market that may be put off by the higher price of the Nikon D300 but still wants the same top image quality, access to great optics and user control.

Enter the D60, which may look the same as the Nikon D40X and the D40 but harbours some good changes under the bonnet. It also affirms Nikon’s commitment to countering Canon’s dominance in the DSLR arena as it borrows technology, like the EXPEED image processor, from the D300 and D3.

There’s some stiff competition for the D60, including Canon’s recently announced EOS 450D. But does the D60 offer prospective users enough to convince them to buy it?

If you’re familiar with the Nikon D40X, you’ll realise just how lightweight and compact the D60 is. It also feels robust enough to withstand many knocks and bumps and its cute size grew on me so much that I took to spending minutes at a time caressing it. It’s not as light as the Olympus E-510, say, nor is it as serious as the D300. If dinky is a word you can use to describe a camera, then that’s the word that I’d suggest.

Camera set-up is exactly the same as with the D40X and there’s an impressive range of features to be found on the D60. Most are accessed in-menu on the rear LCD using the multi selector to its right. This menu access only system does mean there is a distinct lack of direct access buttons and if you want to change simple things like ISO, white-balance and file quality, it all has to be done on the LCD. To be honest, most of the options are straightforward to access.

Overall then, handling is easy-peasy and so it should be. This is not a camera designed to scare off potential users but a camera to warmly welcome them into the DSLR fold. There is a Function (Fn) button to the left of the lens barrel that allows you to control one of these options, among others, and you can select this in the Custom Settings menu.

One quibble is that if you’re searching quickly for one option, say to switch to continuous shooting mode, it takes a while to scroll up and down before locating it. I’m no good at memorising numbers and as each entry is numbered, I’d urge Nikon to come up with a faster access solution, perhaps based around icons or similar.

Main features like Image Quality, White Balance, ISO and Active D-Lighting are found in the Shooting menu. The rest is in the Custom Settings menu, which is lengthy. There are no fewer than 19 custom functions in the Custom Settings menu, offering advanced features that are sure to appeal to compact users wanting more control and established DSLRs users alike. I was initially confused by Custom Setting number 19, which is termed Rangefinder. When you select this option and you’re manually focusing a lens, a scale indicating focus distance pops up in the viewfinder. It’s useful though it’s not available in manual exposure mode.

Focus is quick and accurate, thanks to Nikon’s latest autofocus sensor and drive speed is a respectable three frames-per-second. With a SanDisk Ultra II SD card, I managed 100 Large Fine JPEGs. Shooting a fast moving subject in Raw is probably not advisable as you’ll likely miss most of your shots. When shooting Raw+JPEG, the D60 managed six shots and the buffer took about eight seconds to clear fully.

The AF system is restricted to just three sensors, though you have the choice between auto and manual sensor selection. The AF is very fast and copes well with many situations, excluding plain, featureless walls. My preference when focusing is always single point mode, choosing the centre focus area. That way I know where the camera’s focusing rather than it making the decision for me.

You can swap between focus areas using the four-way rocker switch, but I found it easy to accidentally change the focus area and longed for a lock to keep it fixed. Autofocus is disabled with lenses other than Nikon’s AF-S and AF-I range as these house an autofocus motor. Shame, as all lenses are supported on the Nikon D80 and this capability would really make the D60 a cracking camera.

Exposure is handled well by Nikon’s 3D Matrix metering. I used it in a wide variety of situations including strong backlighting that fools most meters. It did err on the side of underexposure in this situation, but the results were perfectly usable. As always, I like to use the camera on manual mode, taking readings with a spot metering.

That’s all supported by the D60. To get back to auto with 3D Matrix metering requires a twizzle of the mode dial. Raw files converted using Nikon’s supplied View NX were well saturated. View NX allows you to batch process Raw files to JPEG, TIFF 8-bit and TIFF 16-bit formats. I processed six NEFs to TIFF 8-bit in 50 seconds on a Fujitsu Esprimo Laptop. More demanding users could purchase Nikon’s Capture NX, £120, or use Capture One v4 or Adobe Camera Raw.

Budget cameras often suffer from noise, but the D60 doesn’t fall into this category, performing well up to ISO 800. The HI I setting that takes it to an ISO 3200 equivalent is really noisy and I rarely used it. The D40X started at ISO 200, so the D60 offers some extra pull. Comparing ISO 100 and ISO 200 shots taken on the D60 doesn’t reveal a great deal of difference at normal viewing distances but up close ISO 100 images are definitely smoother.

White-balance is good in a variety of situations and the reason is the D60’s 420 pixel RGB sensor that is said to measure white-balance more accurately. I used it in mixed lighting in a pub and under street lighting; in each situation, the D60 came up trumps. When shooting Raw you can change the white-balance later but it helps and saves time to get it right first.

The vibration reduction kit lens is an attractive feature. It works well, giving you the chance to handhold down to 1/20sec and 1/15sec if you gently hold your breath. This is fantastic for low-light shooting and provides the advantage of a more expensive, wider aperture lens. The lens does exhibit barrel distortion and there is fringing towards edges at wider apertures. This can always be corrected post capture.

I swapped the kit lens after a while and used the 28mm lens mentioned in the What else to buy panel, below. With the D60, it forms a lovely, compact team and I grew used to manual focusing. That said, I do think a lack of autofocus on this type of lens is poor.

The D60 offers some other features like in-camera retouching and a movie function where you string a series of shots together to play in sequence. I had a brief fiddle with these and they work as advertised, but I feel this kind of thing is gimmicky as you can retouch in Elements, say. Others may disagree.

NIKON'S ACTIVE D-LIGHTING

The D60 offers you the chance to boost shadow detail in shots using the Active D-Lighting feature. It’s best used in contrasty conditions – like with this backlit tree.

The first shot was taken on manual exposure mode with Active D-Lighting off and with an exposure of 1/60sec at f/11. I then turned on Active D-Lighting before taking the second shot at the same exposure. The lighter shadows are obvious in the foreground and the tree’s also been affected. The sky, however, is unaffected. Whether it’s an improvement is down to subjective taste.

SPECIFICATION

Price:    £530 with AF-S DX 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR
Distributor:    nikon.co.uk
Resolution:    10.2-million effective pixels
Lens mount:    Nikon F
magnification:    1.5x
Sensor:    23.6 x 15.8mm RGB CCD
Autofocus:    Three areas
Exposure:     3D Color Matrix II meter system centre-weighted and spot
Exposure modes:    Flexible program, shutter-priority, aperture-priority, manual; compensation +/- 5EV in 1/3 steps
ISO range 100 to 1600 in steps of 1 EV with additional setting one step over 1600
Shutter speed:    30-1/4000sec, flash sync 1/200sec, plus B
White-balance:     White Balance Auto (TTL settings white-balance with 420-pixel RGB sensor), six manual modes with fine-tuning and preset viewfinder 95% coverage, dioptre adjustment
Monitor:    2.5in 230,000pixel TFT LCD with eye sensor
Integral flash:    Manual pop-up with button release, GN 12 file formats JPEG (Fine, normal, basic), NEF Raw
Image:     EXPEED Processor
Storage media:    SD, SDHC drive system Up to 3fps
Interface:    USB 2.0
Battery:    Rechargeable Li-ion EN-EL9
Dimensions:    126 x 64 x 94mm (wxhxd)
Weight:    805g with lens, battery, card

PROS AND CONS

Impressive features, great build quality, compact size, great user control, good for beginners

Everything’s menu accessed and the grip’s too small for me but that’s about it

THE VERDICT

There’s a lot to love and a superb amount of user control mixed with good auto functions for the less experienced user Yes! I like this camera. A lot. I also like its compact size for street photography. It’s more unobtrusive than many DSLRs and people are less likely to notice you using it.

How it fares against the forthcoming Canon EOS 450D and the Pentax K200D I’ve yet to discover, but the D60’s lack of Live View is a glaring omission. I can only think that Nikon is updating the D80 and reserving this feature for that future camera.

That aside, there’s a lot to love and a superb amount of user control mixed with good auto functions for the less experienced user. If you are looking for an upgrade but can’t quite justify the D300, start with the D60!

from £398.00 at

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