Richard,

Sounds like you have a pretty good idea of what you want. If you want to quickly change shutter AND aperture in Manual mode then the D90 has a rear thumb wheel and front index finger wheel to adjust both. It also has a DOF preview button.

Truth is I’ve never had good luck with the tracking autofocus on my D90. There just are enough AF points to reliably track a moving subject. I shoot almost exclusively in continuous AF with a single AF point selected and the AE-L/AF-L button configured to lock focus while held. This allows me to always have continuous focusing, but I can still lock focus and recompose if needed.

The D7000 would be a completely different story and I’d likely trust it to track subjects for me.

For quick action you’ll be served well by the D90 or D7000. The D7000 has a more sophisticated AF system and can shoot a little faster (6 FPS vs 4.5 I think). About a $450 difference between the two so that all depends on your budget.

Another thing to think about is lens selection. Most of the cheap lenses start at f/3.5 and get to f/5.6 or even f/6.3 in a hurry. Zooms with a f/2.8 constant aperture can easily cost more than your body.

When you say you “don’t need all the gizmos” are you talking about autofocus and metering or things like HD video and other misc features?

Andrew

Nikon D7000 at Amazon

The Nikon D90 was released about 2 year ago and the D300 almost 3 years ago (D300s replaced it about a year ago). There’s a pretty big gap between these two price points. The D90 was an incremental upgrade from the D80 and lacked most of the “professional” features of the D300s. The D300s is a beast and has more in common with the D700 then any of the lower priced models. Now we have the D7000 thrown into the mix and boy does it mix things up.

I honestly think the D7000 is one of Nikon’s most significant releases in recent years. The big step in price between the D90 and D300s really priced out amateurs and hobbyists who might have wanted a little bit more than what the D90 offered. The D7000 is priced smack dab in the middle of that gap. As amateurs like myself delve further into photography and hone or skills we become more demanding of our equipment. The D7000 represents an opportunity for shooters like me to get access to professional features for $500 less than previously possible.

So for an extra $300-400 over the D90, what are we actually getting (in my approximate order of importance):

• 39 AF sensors and 11 cross type (compared to 11 and 1 on the D90)
• 2016 pixel meter sensor (twice that of the D300s and 4 times that of the D90)
• Magnesium alloy body
• U1 and U2 recall modes
• Ai indexing tab for use with older Ai lenses
• Improved rubber grip
• 1/250 flash sync speed (up from 1/200 on D90)
• Double the minimum shutter speed (1/8000 vs 1/4000 on D90)
• Quiet single frame advance mode
• Ambient white balance option for AUTO WB (suppose to handle warm lighting better or at least not try to correct to white)
• 100% viewfinder coverage
• 6fps (up from 4.5fps on the D90)
• 4 more megapixels (16.2 up from 12.3)
• Full 1080p video at 24fps
• Dual SD card slots
• Lower ISO 100 now available
• External mic input
• 14-bit A/D converter from the D300s

Odds are if you are looking at the D7000 then you have lenses already and just want to get the body, but it is available with the 18-105mm as a kit. Another option is to get the body only and then add on the very nice Nikon 18-200mm VR instead.

Nikon D7000 at Amazon

Update 5/09/2011: D5100 was announced at the beginning of April. See what’s new and some of my thoughts at this post: Nikon D5100 DSLR – What’s New and Impressions

The new D3100 really shakes up Nikon’s lineup of lower priced DSLRs. In my previous comparison between the D90, D5000 and D3000 I had a hard time recommending the D3000 and the extra money was well spent on the D5000. The D3100 changes this recommendation.

Major revisions to the D3100:

• New 14MP CMOS sensor – big improvement over the D3000′s ancient CCD sensor
• 1080p24 video – nonexistent on the D3000 and better than the D5000 and D90
• Autofocus while recording a movie – a first on any Nikon DSLR, before you had to lock focus before recording and tweak it manually
• Live view mode – brought over with the video features
• Automatic chromatic aberration correction – This is big, fixes fringing in your pictures before they are saved, previously only on the D90 and D5000
• Customizable function button

The D5000 is essentially obsolete now. The D3100 and D5000 have comparable sensors now and the inclusion of better video capability makes the decision between the D3100 and D5000 simple; until the D5000 is updated just get the D3100.

A lot of features from the D90 have been pushed down to the lower price points and the one thing that really sets the two consumer segments apart is the inclusion of an AF motor on D90. If you are going to use lenses without built in AF motors then the D90 (or it’s soon to be announced replacement) is still your only choice. If I was just starting out though, I wouldn’t hesitate to get the D3100 which beats the D5000 in bang for your buck.

You can get the Nikon D3100 from Amazon at a very competitive price.

If you have the minimum shutter set to something faster like 1/60, it will start bumping the ISO once your light drops off a little, especially with slower apertures like f/5.6. What’s your minimum shutter setting at? Which lenses are you using? The consumer lenses with f/3.5-5.6 apertures are fairly slow even wide open. In falling afternoon light this combination of slower aperture and high minimum shutter could cause AUTO ISO to kick in unexpectedly.

To complicate things a little further, if the flash is on, it ignores AUTO ISO and sets the ISO to the normal ISO setting (200 in my case) and it uses the “Flash shutter speed” (custom menu e1) as the minimum shutter. I have that set to 1/30 most of the time.

D3000

When the D5000 came out Nikon needed something new to fill in the low end of their line up. The D3000 is pretty much the exact same camera as the D40x and D60 that previously held this spot. Aside from a .5″ larger LCD screen, there’s not going to be much difference between them. If you’ve never touched a DSLR before and your budget is tight, then this is a good place to start. It will be a good solid camera, but until Nikon refreshes it with a new model I don’t think the D3000 offers the best bang for your buck.

Amazon has the D3000 with 18-55mm VR kit lens for about $465.

D5000

The D5000 is a big step up from the D3000 in terms of technology and functionality. The most visible difference is the tilt and swing LCD screen, but I don’t think it’s that big of a deal. Internally, the D5000 has a much newer CMOS sensor than the D3000. This is the same sensor in the D90 and it provides much better performance at higher ISO settings. It also inherited built in chromatic aberration correction from the D90 which removes fringing that can appear in brightly lit shots. You also get the ability to take video.

At this point, features are starting to trickle down from improvements being made on more expensive models. If you are more serious about photography, but still relatively new to the DSLR world then this is a good option. The added features are well worth the extra money.

Amazon has the D5000 with 18-55mm VR kit lens for about $685.

D90

The D90 sits at the top of Nikon’s consumer DSLR line up. From here there’s a fairly big jump to the prosumer D300. There’s two things that really set the D90 above the D5000: controls and lens compatibility.

Without getting into every little difference in controls I’ll just highlight two. The first is the D90′s front scroll wheel. The D5000 and D3000 both have one on the back for your thumb, but the second wheel on the D90 gives you quick access to changing other settings. In manual mode for example, one wheel controls the aperture and one controls the shutter. On the D5000 and D3000 you’d have to fiddle with menus to set one of them. In Program mode, which I shoot 95% of the time, the back wheel can tweak the shutter/aperture ratio, but I configured the front wheel to set exposure compensation which normally requires a simultaneous button press.

The next control difference is the inclusion of a customizable shortcut button on the front of the camera next to the lens mount. This can be hit with your index or middle finger to bring up a menu of shortcuts to the menu items you use most. I have a couple things like ISO and White Balance menus on there that I access frequently enough to not want to dig through the entire menu system. Both of these additional controls are big for me and I don’t think I’d want to move to a camera without them.

The other thing to consider when comparing the D90 and it’s D5000/D3000 counterparts is lens compatibility. The D90 includes a built in AF motor which means it is compatible with older AF lenses; the other two do not. On the D5000 and D3000, the only lenses that will autofocus are the ones with AF-S built in which isn’t a big deal if you plan to stick with the 18-55mm or other newer lenses. If you wanted to shoot something like the older but excellent 50mm f/1.8 then the D90 is your best option.

If my discussion of the D90 went over your head then that’s a good indication the D5000 is more than enough camera for you. The D90 provides good bang for your buck if you are going to get serious about photography. The kit includes an 18-105mm VR lens which will give you more reach than the 18-55mm. You also have the option of getting the D90 body by itself and then adding on whichever lens fits your needs the best.

Amazon has the D90 with 18-105mm VR kit lens for about $1035. The D90 Body is about $780 by itself.

For St. Patrick’s Day we had dinner and hung out with friends and babies. Lighting was fairly low with a chandelier fixture in the dining room and one floor lamp bouncing off the ceiling in the living room. Even wide open at f/1.8, AUTO ISO was getting bumped up to keep the shutter above 1/40 second in some shots. Combine that with babies who don’t politely sit still for pictures and you have yourself a difficult shooting situation. Take a look through the gallery:

From St. Patty’s 2009

With one of the kit lenses or even the 18-200mm VR, most of these shots wouldn’t have been possible. I had some ISO to play with on some, but most of them are hitting 1600 or 3200. If I stepped up to a minimum f/3.5 lens, my shutter would have dropped even more and my “keeper” rate would have dropped from 10% to maybe 3-5% without adding flash.

I’m extremely pleased with the lens. I swore off pixel peeping so I’m not going to go into boring details or shooting test charts. All I cared about initially was if the lens let me get indoor shots without using flash all of the time. If you’re happy with the DX format (and happy not spending thousands more on a new FX body and lens) then I suspect you’ll find the image and build quality of the lens more than satisfactory. What surprised me is that I’m starting to like the 35mm f/1.8 more than the 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 VR AF-S DX .

One thing to consider with lenses is the size and weight. Compared to the 18-55mm the 35mm isn’t a whole lot smaller or lighter, but next to the 18-200mm it is night and day. I got the 18-200mm as a walk around, jack of all trades lens and now the size and weight have become deterrents to taking it out with me. The 18-200mm weighs 1.23 lbs. The 35mm weighs 0.45 lbs. The D90 weighs 1.6 lbs by itself. That’s a lot of weight to carry around all day on vacation or on a night out and I’d rather have 0.78 lbs less most of the time. The other difference is the 35mm situates it’s weight closer to the body of the lens. The 18-200mm is front heavy and more awkward to carry around, it usually ends up pointed straight down with the zoom fully extended when I hang the camera on my shoulder.

I could never use the 50mm f/1.8 as a walk around lens because it was simply too long. I use the wider end of the 18-200mm more than I use the long end so I don’t think I’ll miss the extra reach. The 35mm f/1.8 isn’t perfect, but it is such a well rounded lens that it might replace my 18-200mm and never leave my camera. At $200 I think it packs the best bang for your buck in the entire Nikon DX lens line up.

I got my Nikon 35mm f/1.8 at Amazon.

The 50mm becomes a 75mm with the DX crop factor and the 35mm becomes a 52.5mm. The difference between the two focal lengths is quite apparent when viewed side by side:

Getting up close and personal with a subject is a little easier now since the 35mm focus 5-6 inches closer than the 50mm. That difference more than makes up for the difference in focal length.  Here we can see the 35mm (top) was able to reproduce a slightly larger view of my lamp:

So far I’m very happy with the lens. It’s lightweight, pumps out some great pictures wide open and focus quickly. I love my 18-200mm, but I see this spending a lot of time on my D90. Focus noise is also much lower. The 50mm f/1.8 is fairly noisy and when it hunts for focus it can give a nice thud when it hits infinity. 52mm UV filter is on my list to buy to protect the front glass. Look for some more pics and comparisons coming up.

Quick shot of my home theater system in difficult light. The D90′s white balance is much better and the Active D Lighting brings up shadow detail on the front of the speakers without blowing out the window.

Quick outside shot. Color on the D90 is just better overall. No idea what the D70 is doing with the sky.

Zooming in at 100% shows some more significant differences. The bigger sensor translates to more detail, but the D90 also includes built-in chromatic abberation correction. In the D70 image, chromatic abberation rears its ugly hard along the roof and on the very right side of the trim. The D90 corrects this with magic.

Another tough indoor shot. Active D Lighting brings out detail in the chair and the bricks on the left.

Wow 100% view of my checkbook! Testing a little low light/high ISO performance here and the difference is just night and day. When the D70 cranks up the ISO its color performance plummets. The D90′s performance here is incredible compared to what I’ve had to live with on the D70. Before I’d be wary of shooting at ISO 1600, now I wouldn’t think twice.

Last little comparison highlights low light performance again with the compact Canon SD700 thrown in for a sense of how different point and shoots and dSLRs are. The SD700 does a good job with white balance, but the noise at just ISO 800 is appalling. The D70 fails miserably on white balance here (indirect sunlight bouncing into the kitchen) and the level of chroma noise further degrades the image. The D90′s sensor handles chroma noise much better which results in a more useable picture.

Just putting the D90 in “Program” with AUTO ISO and AUTO WB (tweaked warmer with A3) results in much more useable shots. In fact, since switching to the D90 I haven’t had to process an image in Photoshop. Now I can import straight into Picasa, crop, make any other quick tweaks and export straight to the web or out for printing.

Amazon has a very competitive price on the D90, but if you order one somewhere else be sure to stay away from the shady Brooklyn photo dealers.

D70 meet your replacement. The D90 is slight shorter and includes a customizable function button below the autofocus assist lamp. The mic for recording video is over on the right. Nothing else to see here really. Think of the D90 as a mullet: business in the front, party in the back.

The D90′s 3 inch LCD simply dwarfs the D70′s diminutive 1.8 inch screen and boasts a much higher resolution. The D70′s bracketing button moved to the side under the flash button and shooting mode moved to the top panel. The delete button takes the spot in the top left and is replaced with a nifty INFO button that brings up the current settings on the LCD and gives quick access to some settings. The autofocus sensor selector lock is more compact and the 4 way directional pad gets an OK button (performs menu selections, resets autofocus sensor to the middle and starts recording video in Live view). The top panel now sports the exposure mode, exposure compensation, shooting mode and autofocus mode buttons.

The other big visible change is the viewfinder. Using my SD700′s macro mode I actually got a shot of each viewfinder to compare the size of each. The D90′s viewfinder is noticeably bigger. Like the LCD, bigger is better here.

Not readibly visible are a lot of interface changes inside the menus. It is now possible to save and name customized picture settings, store 5 preset white balances and setup a custom menu with all your frequently accessed items. All of that makes changing settings much easier. On the D70, I got things where I wanted 2 years ago and left all the settings alone because they were a pain to adjust and then remember what to switch them back to.

Some prelimanary shots and tests of the D90′s “Active-D lighting”, high ISO performance and built-in chromatic aberration correction up next. If you’re already sold, grab it from a reputable dealer like Amazon.