Nikon D60 preview

Peter Budai (Petur) - January 29, 2008. 05:00 (CET)

Kattintson ide a magyar változatért

It may sounds strange, but there has been a new DSLR for every week in 2008. At least in average so far. This is the fourth week of January, and we have seen the fourth new digital SLR camera this year. The newest player of this league is Nikon's latest entry level DSLR camera, the Nikon D60. Yesterday we had a few hours to play with this camera and the new lenses Nikon has announced together with the D60.

Yesterday we have been invited to Nikon's Hungarian office for a short introduction of the new SLR camera and lenses. Since the time was very short, we had to concentrate on the most important changes. The Nikon D60 was not even a final camera, just a pre-production sample, so we were not allowed to keep any of the images we took. But we promise it will be put through its paces. Until that, here are our first impressions.

Sensor and image processing engine

The Nikon D60 is the successor of the popular Nikon D40x camera. This camera sports a very similar (if not the same ? we couldn't get this confirmed) 10.75 megapixel, 23.6x15.8 mm CCD sensor as it's predecessor. The effective resolution is 10.2 megapixels, what gives a 3872x2592 pixel images at the highest setting. The imaging processor is new in this range, but the EXPEED processor has already shown its abilities in the D300 and D3 models. This promises not only better quality images, but faster operations as well.

Automatic sensor cleaning

Besides the new image processing unit, this new camera is finally equipped with an automatic sensor cleaning system. This is the first time Nikon is using such technology in an entry level DSLR camera. The system consists of two important parts. The camera tries to avoid the sensor to get dirty by controlling the air flow inside the camera. This can keep the dust particles away from the sensor. If they still get to the sensor, an ultrasonic cleaning unit, similar to those used in other cameras will shakes off the dust from the sensor's surface. The dust is than collected by an adhesive strip, what can be periodically replaced by Nikon service centers (no replacement period is determined yet). The cleaning can be initiated at any time from the menu, but can be set to run during every start-up and/or shut down operation.

Viewfinder

The viewfinder is the same old pentamirror type viewfinder, we have seen in the Nikon D40x. Our quick comparison has shown, that they have the same size and brightness. The information display in the viewfinder is slightly modified, so it is now capable of showing rangefinder like focusing information. If the Rangefinder display is enabled in the menu, in manual focus mode the exposure bar in the viewfinder will show how much the focus ring needs to be turned in which direction to get the right focus.

Ergonomics and controls

The Nikon D60 looks exactly like the old D40x. We have put the two cameras side by side, and they look almost identical. The hand grip, and all the details on the body are the same with three minor exceptions.

  • The eyepiece of the viewfinder has a different shape.
  • One of the buttons above the shutter button has got a new function. It used to turn on or of the information display on the LCD panel, but it now controls the Active D-Lighting function. This function can processes shadows and highlights differently during shooting, allowing more details to appear in those areas. Active D-Lighting can be familiar to higher end Nikon users.
  • The LCD automatically turns off when the photographer is viewing through the viewfinder. The sensors of this function are located under the viewfinder.
Nikon D60 on the left, D40x on the right
Nikon D60 on the left, D40x on the right
Nikon D60 on the left, D40x on the right
Nikon D60 on the left, D40x on the right

LCD monitor

The size and the resolution of the LCD remained the same, it only got smarter. Now it displays the information differently depending on the orientation of the camera. If the camera is turned to portrait mode, the information will turn to the right direction as well.

Changes in the software

Most of the new features of the software appear in the Retouch menu. I would mention two of them here:
RAW conversion

RAW images can be processed inside the camera, and images can be saved in JPEG format. We get a simple RAW editing interface. We can change the resolution, the image quality, the white balance, exposure correction, and even the color effects (e.g. Vivid, BW, Sepia) in the NEF processing menu.

D80 on the left, D60 on the right
D80 on the left, D60 on the right
Stop Motion Movie
This function of the Retouch menu provides the means to create small animation movies. Images taken in this mode are put together and saved as a 160x120, 320x240 or 640x480 pixel resolution movie. The speed of the movie can be changed from 3 to 15 frames/second.

Too bad, the Hungarian version of the menus could not make it to this Nikon either.

Price and availability

Although we are sure, this camera will be successful on the market, we would have probably called it a D45 or something similar, instead of using a name that has been taken by Nikon's main competitor. We consider the D60 as a patched version of the D40x. The price of the camera with the 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR kit lens is expected to be €699, when the camera hits the streets at the beginning of March.

New Nikkor lenses

We also got the chance to try Nikon's newest lenses on a D300 body. Here are our sample photos:

leggyakoribb 10 keresés

First look: Panasonic DMC-FZ18 preview

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Nikon D40X image samples

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Review: Dust removal systems / sensor cleaning

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Review: Fade resistance test

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