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Photography Monthly

27.01.09

Nikon D60 vs Olympus E420 vs Sony Alpha 200

There’s never been a better time to buy a DSLR. A feature set that would have cost over four figures a few years ago will now set you back less than £400 – a fact confirmed by this assembled trio; the Nikon D60, Olympus E-420 and Sony Alpha 200. A high-spec digital compact has never looked more unappealing.

A DSLR offers some key benefits over its point-and-shoot cousins. Okay, you do lose portability (although not much with these featherweights), but you gain access to a huge range of lenses and accessories, which means investments made now in lenses will pay dividends should you choose to upgrade the camera body in the future.

DSLR sensor sizes are also larger than those in compacts, which means greater quality, less noise at higher ISOs and greater control over depth-of-field. Then there’s the ability to shoot using the Raw file format as well as JPEGs, which will give you greater control over your images at the computer stage.

Plus, you also get a sophisticated multi-segment exposure metering system for improved exposures and a more versatile and powerful integral flash. Convinced? Right, let’s see which of this line-up is the best buy.

NIKON D60

NIKThe D60 is the most established player here, and features a 10.2 million pixel sensor and the EXPEED processor, also found on the D3. Despite its compact size, the D60 feels robust and overall build quality is good.

All the main camera settings are shown on the rear LCD, which turns on and off automatically thanks to the eye sensor below the viewfinder. The info display is detailed and you get a choice of how it’s displayed, while pressing the magnify button lets you move around the screen to change major settings.

Exposure modes on offer include the usual program, aperture- and shutter-priority and manual, as well as eight additional auto modes. Tricky lighting situations are well taken care of by Nikon’s 3D Color Matrix Metering II, which employs a 420 segment sensor. Nikon claims this extra sensor gives more accurate exposures by utilising depth information from the lens. Speaking of depth information, the AF system uses a three-point system to focus and you can choose to use all three or just one.

In terms of its own lighting, the D60’s pop-up flash raises automatically in Auto or a scene mode, or manually via a small button. The flash’s guide number of 12 (ISO 100/m) is adequate for most portrait situations and will pump detail into harsh facial shadows on sunny days.

In terms of keeping your images dust free, an Airflow Control System sucks dust away from the image path and the sensor vibrates.

For effects fans, Nikon has included some built-in picture modification features, including monochrome conversion, sepia and blue-tone effects. Nikon’s D-Lighting feature is also present, which increases the range of tones the camera can capture.

On to optical matters and the 18-55mm kit lens included wields a VR tag, which stands for Vibration Reduction. This uses an optical system to reduce shake at slower shutter speeds. By the way, a big omission on the D60, if you’re looking for it, is Live View. Here, only the Olympus E-420 offers this handy function.

SPECIFICATION

Camera:    D60 and AF-S DX Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR kit
Price:    £380
Distributor:    nikon.co.uk
Resolution:    10.2 million pixels
Image Size:    3872x2592 pixels
Autofocus:    3 area
LCD:    2.5in
Media:    SD, SDHC
Sensor:    23.6x15.8mm CCD (1.5x)
Exposure:     3D Color Matrix
System:    metering II (type G and D lenses)
ISO Range:    100-1600 in 1EV steps and Hi 1 (3200)
SIZE (WxHxD):    126x64x94mm
Weight:    524g body only

OLYMPUS E-420

This is the smallest and lightest DSLR on the PM test bench but still packs a wealth of features like a 10 million pixel sensor in the Four Thirds format. Although slightly smaller than the APS-C sized sensor used in the other cameras, the Four Thirds format has the advantage of allowing more compact lens and camera design.

Despite the amazingly low weight, build quality has not been compromised. The camera feels reassuring and solid in the hand, with a rubberised area where a conventional grip should be.

There’s also a Live View mode, activated by the Live View button on the rear. Autofocus in Live View operates in two ways. The first is AF Sensor mode, which drops the mirror to focus. This uses the main AF sensor and blacks the screen for between one and four seconds. The second is called Contrast Detection mode and this doesn’t black the screen. In this mode you can choose between 11 autofocus areas as opposed to the three standard AF areas.

In Live View and normal viewfinder ‘view’, exposure modes are the usual P, A, S and M and there are seven Auto and Scene modes. Metering is performed by a 49-zone multi-pattern system that should be good for any tricky lighting situations.

If you’re in need of a fill, the pop-up flash, with its guide number of 12 (ISO 100/m), is automatically raised in Auto or Scene modes or you can pop it manually. Once up, it sits 40mm above the top of the lens, which is reasonable enough to help prevent red-eye.

Dust removal is taken care of by Olympus’ supersonic wave filter, which shakes the sensor. Olympus also claims the E-420’s LCD gives twice the contrast, better colour detail and a wider angle of view than previous models, so outdoor viewing is easier.

If you like using built-in software, the E-420 features black & white and sepia conversion and red-eye removal. Finally, the kit lens doesn’t feature image stabilisation and nor does the sensor.

SPECIFICATION

Camera:    Olympus E-420 and ED 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 Zuiko kit
Price:    £350
Distributor: olympus.co.uk
Resolution:    10.0 million pixels
Image Size:    3648x2736 pixels
Autofocus:    Three-point (11 in Contrast Detection mode)
LCD:    2.7in
Media:    CompactFlash, xD
Sensor:    Four Thirds type 17.3x13.0mm Live MOS
Exposure:     49-zone multi-pattern,
System:    centre-weighted, spot
ISO Range:    100-1600 in 1EV steps
SIZE (WxHxD):    130x53x1mm
Weight:    445g body only

SONY ALPHA 200

This is the smallest and lightest DSLR on the PM test bench but still packs a wealth of features like a 10 million pixel sensor in the Four Thirds format. Although slightly smaller than the APS-C sized sensor used in the other cameras, the Four Thirds format has the advantage of allowing more compact lens and camera design.

Despite the amazingly low weight, build quality has not been compromised. The camera feels reassuring and solid in the hand, with a rubberised area where a conventional grip should be.

There’s also a Live View mode, activated by the Live View button on the rear. Autofocus in Live View operates in two ways. The first is AF Sensor mode, which drops the mirror to focus. This uses the main AF sensor and blacks the screen for between one and four seconds.

The second is called Contrast Detection mode and this doesn’t black the screen. In this mode you can choose between 11 autofocus areas as opposed to the three standard AF areas.

In Live View and normal viewfinder ‘view’, exposure modes are the usual P, A, S and M and there are seven Auto and Scene modes. Metering is performed by a 49-zone multi-pattern system that should be good for any tricky lighting situations.

If you’re in need of a fill, the pop-up flash, with its guide number of 12 (ISO 100/m), is automatically raised in Auto or Scene modes or you can pop it manually. Once up, it sits 40mm above the top of the lens, which is reasonable enough to help prevent red-eye.

Dust removal is taken care of by Olympus’ supersonic wave filter, which shakes the sensor. Olympus also claims the E-420’s LCD gives twice the contrast, better colour detail and a wider angle of view than previous models, so outdoor viewing is easier.

If you like using built-in software, the E-420 features black & white and sepia conversion and red-eye removal. Finally, the kit lens doesn’t feature image stabilisation and nor does the sensor.

SPECIFICATION

Camera:    Sony A200 and DT18-70mm f/3.5-5.6 kit
Price:    £270
Distributor:    sony.co.uk
Resolution:    10.2 million pixels
Image Size:    3872x2592 pixels
Autofocus:    9 points
LCD:    2.7in
Media:    CompactFlash, Memory Stick Duo (with adapter)
Sensor:    23.6x15.8mm CCD (1.5x)
Exposure:     40-segment honeycomb
System:    pattern SPC, centre-weighted, spot
ISO Range:    100-3200 in 1EV steps
SIZE (WxHxD):    131x71x99mm
Weight:    625g body only

WHAT'S IN THE BOXES

NIKON
Nikon Transfer
Nikon View NX
Nikon’s Transfer software moves files from your camera or card to your computer. Nikon View NX does the business of converting Raw files to TIFF or JPEG formats. It does what it says on the tin, but I feel Nikon is saving the best for its Capture NX 2 software, £130. Browsing and adjusting Raw settings is easy enough in View NX, but conversion times were the slowest on test.

OLYMPUS
Olympus Master 2.07 (PC/Mac)
Again, it does what it says on the tin. I used the Mac version, as with the other programs on test here, and found it painfully slow and counter-intuitive both to browse and convert images and frustrating to even try and see the name of a file. I didn’t get a chance to try it, but I do hope the Windows software’s better. If not, I’d recommend using Adobe Bridge or Lightroom or another Raw converter to do the job.

SONY
Picture Motion Browser v2 (PC)
Image Data Lightbox SR v1 (PC/Mac)
Image Data Converter SR v2 (PC/Mac)
Image Data Lightbox sorts through your pics with little fuss. Image Data Converter is what’s needed to convert Sony’s proprietary ARW Raw format to TIFF or JPEG. It did the fastest conversion on test and, though basic, was a delight to use. It also has the fastest browser and rendering of full-screen Raw images of the three.

THE VERDICT

The speed of change in the budget DSLR sector is astounding. The market’s moved on rapidly in the last six months and there are good points to award each camera plus a few niggles as well.

Although it’s hard to describe a £380 DSLR as expensive, the D60 is the priciest model here and it doesn’t offer any notable feature additions over its competitors. That said, it delivers a consummate picture-taking performance, notably on skin tones and under artificial light. It’s no slouch in the ISO category either and, of course, keys into the excellent Nikon range making for some tasty upgrading options.

The Olympus E-420 is so light and compact it’s a dream to carry around, plus it’s the only model in our trio to offer Live View. Handling won’t suit everyone, though, and in our tests ISO performance is the worst here.

That leaves the Sony, which delivers a great set of results and handles well, despite the rather plastic construction. Factor the Alpha 200’s sub-£300 price tag into the equation, though, and the scales tip in its favour – it’s our best buy.

from £398.00 at

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