DCRP Review: Nikon D60

The Nikon D60 is an entry-level digital SLR aimed squarely at consumers. It has a friendly interface with numerous help screens, in-camera photo editing, and very vivid color that borders on unrealistic. You also get a dust reduction system, snappy performance, Active D-Lighting, and solid build quality. There are quite a few downsides, though, including a limited selection of autofocus lenses, a small viewfinder, no live view, and poor bundled RAW editing software. The Nikon D60 isn't my favorite entry-level digital SLR -- mainly due to its soft, over-saturated photos -- but it's certainly worth a look.

If you've seen the D40 or D40x, then you've seen the D60 -- it's the same body. As entry-level D-SLRs go, the D60's is quite well put-together. Its made of high grade plastic, with the only questionable part being the flimsy door over the memory card slot. The D60 doesn't have the biggest right hand grip out there, but it's better than what you'll find on cameras like the Canon EOS Rebel XSi and Olympus E-420. While the most important controls are easy to reach, I'm not a fan of the poorly located buttons on the left side of the camera.

Like the D40x before it, the Nikon D60 has a limited selection of autofocus lenses. While most of Nikon's new lenses have built-in autofocus motors, there are still quite a few in their collection that do not (especially wide and standard primes). It's a good idea to go over your lens collection to see if they support AF-S or AF-I before you buy the D60. Whatever lens you attach to the D60, there will be a 1.5X focal length conversion ratio. One of the new features on the camera is dust reduction, which Nikon attacks on two fronts. The first one is familiar -- the camera shakes dust off the low-pass filter when the camera is turned on and off. The second method is unique to the D60, and it involves funneling air (and dust) through special holes near the lens mount. On the back of the camera you'll find a 2.5" LCD display, which is only used for menus and viewing photos you've taken -- there's no live view here. The D60's optical viewfinder is on the small side compared to much of the competition.

Jeff Keller

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