Nikon D3000

Lens & Sensor

The kit lens is an 18-55mm Zoom-Nikkor VR, with maximum aperture of f/3.5 at the widest setting and f/5.6 at full zoom; about what we expect to find bundled with an inexpensive SLR. The photos below show the relative framing when shooting at the widest, longest zoom and midrange positions.

Zoom Ratio Examples
18.0 mm	35.0 mm	55.0 mm

The D3000 delivers 10.2-megapixel effective resolution (gross resolution is 10.75 megapixels), a huge jump from the 6.1-megapixel D40. This camera also incorporates Nikon’s advanced dust reduction technology, which both shakes the low pass filter in front of the sensor and manages airflow to remove dust from the area — no dust removal system was built into the D40. In addition, it’s possible to take a dust off reference photo for use with the optional Capture NX2 software.

Viewfinder (7.75)

The pentamirror viewfinder offers approximately 95% coverage,with magnification at approximately 0.8×. The diopter adjustment ranges from -1.7 to +0.5m-1.

A grid pattern can be overlaid on the viewfinder display. The lines are light and unobtrusive, and very useful when trying to line up a shot precisely, particularly when shooting a scene with buildings or other visible reference points. We turned the grid on and left it on.

Here’s what you’ll see when peering through the viewfinder:

Display(s) (4.90)

The LCD measures 3 inches diagonally, a nice step up from the 2.5-inch D40 and D60, though resolution is still limited to 230,000 dots. The brightness level is adjustable, with seven available settings.

The LCD information display offers two different styles. The Graphic layout has some fancy typefaces and a diagram visually representing the current aperture and shutter speed settings. The Classic layout looks more like a traditional monochrome LCD readout, abandoning the left-hand diagram in favor of larger, more legible readouts for aperture, shutter speed and number of photos remaining. You can even choose to have one style for shooting in auto or scene modes, the other for PASM modes. Whichever view you prefer, pressing the Information button turns the display into an interactive menu system for quickly changing shooting settings.

One feature we particularly savor when shooting with the D3000 is the way the information display pivots to a vertical format to match the camera orientation when shooting in portrait mode. It’s correct no matter which end of the camera points up or down, and makes settings changes much faster and easier. It would be nice if the playback display did the same, but we’re grateful for the current implementation.

Secondary Display

As with most low-cost SLRs, there is no monochrome LCD on top of the camera to make settings visible from above.

Connectivity (2.50)

An AV out jack and industry-standard mini USB port for data are both found under a tight-fitting cover on the left side of the camera. What’s missing in the box, though, is the cable required for video output, which Nikon sells for $12, and Amazon for $10. There’s no video recording mode on the D3000, so leaving the cable out isn’t a mortal sin, but it does feel a bit chintzy for a $600 purchase.