Nikon D5000

	Color Summary
• Solid color accuracy results overall • Flesh tones reproduced nicely, along with blues and greens • Some color shift in reds and oranges
	Product Tour	Page 3 of 21	Noise

Color Accuracy (15.21)

The Nikon D5000 did very well in our color accuracy testing, with only the Canon Rebel XS performing significantly better. Flesh tone reproduction is very good, and so are the blues and most green hues, with some minor color shifts in the reds and oranges. Our test images were somewhat oversaturated, at 104.5%, but not enough to catch your eye in an actual photograph.

Our color testing is designed to test accuracy rather than attractiveness (you can always tweak color values to suit your personal preferences later, and better to start with an image that reflects what you actually saw through the viewfinder). As with other Nikons, the D5000 employs the company's Picture Control System which offers presets for Standard, Neutral, Vivid, Monochrome, Portrait and Landscape. We shot the X-Rite ColorChecker chart in each mode under bright studio lighting and calculated the color error using Imatest software. Neutral proved the most accurate setting, so that's what we used for scoring purposes, and in the chart below. Click here for more on how we test color

The following table shows patches from photos of the ColorChecker chart taken with the Nikon D5000 and four additional cameras for comparison purposes, each in its most accurate color mode. The color names are those used by X-Rite.

	Camera Color Comparisons
	Ideal	Nikon D5000	Canon Rebel T1i	Canon Rebel XS	Nikon D90	Pentax K2000
Dark Skin
Light Skin
Blue Sky
	Ideal	Nikon D5000	Canon Rebel T1i	Canon Rebel XS	Nikon D90	Pentax K2000
Foliage
Blue Flower
Bluish Green
	Ideal	Nikon D5000	Canon Rebel T1i	Canon Rebel XS	Nikon D90	Pentax K2000
Orange
Purplish Blue
Moderate Red
	Ideal	Nikon D5000	Canon Rebel T1i	Canon Rebel XS	Nikon D90	Pentax K2000
Purple
Yellow Green
Orange Yellow
	Ideal	Nikon D5000	Canon Rebel T1i	Canon Rebel XS	Nikon D90	Pentax K2000
Blue
Green
Red
	Ideal	Nikon D5000	Canon Rebel T1i	Canon Rebel XS	Nikon D90	Pentax K2000
Yellow
Magenta
Cyan

NOTE: Because of the way computer monitors reproduce colors, the images above do not exactly match the originals found on the chart or in the captured images. The chart should be used to judge the relative color shift, not the absolute captured colors.

The chart below shows the relative scores for the cameras in our comparison group.

Color Score Comparison

NOTE: We updated our testing and scoring procedures in January 2009. For comparison purposes, we re-tested several cameras we'd reviewed in 2008, producing the scores shown in the chart above for the Canon Rebel XS and Nikon D90. However, the scores in the original reviews for these re-tested cameras remain unchanged, for consistency's sake.

Color Modes (4.00)

Nikon offers its Picture Control system, with adjustments that affect saturation and hue along with sharpening, contrast and brightness. There are six presets, Standard, Neutral, Vivid, Monochrome, Portrait and Landscape. These Picture Controls and their customization options will be discussed fully in the Picture Effects section below. Here we want to look specifically at their effects on color reproduction. In the table below we have same-size samples from photos of the X-Rite ColorChecker chart taken with the D5000 at each Picture Control setting (except Monochrome). The leftmost column shows the colors from the original chart.

The overall color accuracy was nearly the same in Neutral (the most accurate mode) and Portrait, though Portrait enhanced the red values and boosted saturation to 109%. Landscape mode pushed saturation way up, to nearly 129%, boosting green and orange values, Standard mode was very similar to Portrait in color reproduction but with even higher 113% saturation. And Vivid lived up to its name, with saturation at 134% and significant shift in blue, green and red values.

	Color Mode Comparisons
	Ideal	Standard	Neutral	Vivid	Portrait	Landscape
Dark Skin
Light Skin
Blue Sky
	Ideal	Standard	Neutral	Vivid	Portrait	Landscape
Foliage
Blue Flower
Bluish Green
	Ideal	Standard	Neutral	Vivid	Portrait	Landscape
Orange
Purplish Blue
Moderate Red
	Ideal	Standard	Neutral	Vivid	Portrait	Landscape
Purple
Yellow Green
Orange Yellow
	Ideal	Standard	Neutral	Vivid	Portrait	Landscape
Blue
Green
Red
	Ideal	Standard	Neutral	Vivid	Portrait	Landscape
Yellow
Magenta
Cyan

NOTE: Because of the way computer monitors reproduce colors, the images above do not exactly match the originals found on the chart or in the captured images. The chart should be used to judge the relative color shift, not the absolute captured colors.

As expected, the Nikon D5000 supports both the sRGB color space that's appropriate for most situations and the Adobe RGB color space, with its wider color gamut.

Long Exposure (11.38)

In our long exposure test, which measures both color accuracy and image noise levels at several shutter speeds, the Nikon D5000 turned in very strong results, just a hair's breadth lower than the Canon Rebel XS overall and significantly better than the competitively priced, video-enabled Canon T1i.

To test long exposure performance, we shoot the X-Rite ColorChecker Chart at low light levels (20 lux or below), at shutter speeds ranging from 1 second to 30 seconds. We shoot with long exposure noise reduction turned on and turned off. This feature works by taking a second exposure with the shutter closed, then mathematically eliminating the noise found in the second dark exposure from the original captured image. Since image noise is inherently random, we've found this noise reduction feature rarely does much good and, in many cases, actually produces a lower-quality final image. For the D5000, though, long exposure noise reduction did produce improvements with shutter speeds of 10 seconds or slower, and didn't impact color reproduction. Click here for more on how we test long exposure.

 In the following chart, the bars represent color error, so a shorter bar indicates better performance. As seen here, color accuracy varied little as shutter speeds got longer, a good result.

Nikon D5000 Long Exposure Color Error

Image noise hovered around 0.8% across the range of shutter speeds, with very little variation. Again, this is a very strong performance. Bars in this graph represent noise levels so, again, shorter is better.

Nikon D5000 Long Exposure Noise

The following chart shows the scoring results for our group of tested cameras, with the Nikon D90 nearly identical to the Rebel XS at the head of the pack.

Long Exposure Score Comparison

NOTE: We updated our testing and scoring procedures in January 2009. For comparison purposes, we re-tested several cameras we'd reviewed in 2008, producing the scores shown in the chart above for the Canon Rebel XS and Nikon D90. However, the scores in the original reviews for these re-tested cameras remain unchanged, for consistency's sake.