Nikon D60 Digital Camera Review

Viewfinder (7.75)
The view through the D60's optical viewfinder is somewhat dark, thanks to the use of a mirror pentaprism instead of a more expensive glass pentaprism. Magnification, at 0.80x, is lower than other Nikons (the next step up on the food chain, the D80, offers 0.94-percent magnification) though we could see the entire image while wearing glasses. The optical viewfinder shows 95 percent of the recorded image, the standard spec for most DSLRs. The diopter control can be adjusted from -1.7 to +0.5m, with stronger adjustment available via accessory diopter adjustment viewfinder lenses sold separately. 

At the bottom of the viewfinder a wide range of shooting details are displayed in clearly legible yellow over black. There are 25 items in all, including focus points, focus status indicator, shutter speed and aperture, shots remaining, flash ready indicator, battery level, and so on. In fact, all information shown on the rear panel while shooting is also displayed in the viewfinder, so you never have to look away from the subject while shooting.  

Sensors beneath the viewfinder turn the LCD off when you hold the camera to your eye.

Live View
The option to see what you're aiming at on the camera's LCD screen in addition to the optical viewfinder is becoming increasingly popular in SLR camera design. It's a feature with special appeal for those making the jump from a compact camera to an SLR, who are used to shooting while holding the camera at arm's length. And while SLR veterans are used to the secure, wiggle-free positioning of a camera at eye level, there are certainly circumstances where the freedom to move the camera instead of your whole body to frame a shot proves useful. With that in mind, manufacturers are increasingly building this feature into SLRs at several price levels, including the inexpensive Sony A300 ($700) and Canon's Rebel XSi ($800). Unfortunately, Live View isn't available on the D60 – in fact, it doesn't enter the Nikon line until you reach the $1,799 (body only) D300.

The 2.5-inch LCD is unchanged from the Nikon D40x. 

For shooting purposes, the information display can be set to one of three formats: classic, graphic, and wallpaper. The classic mode replicates a straightforward numeric LCD display, with full readouts on shooting mode, shutter and aperture settings, battery strength, remaining exposures, flash settings, exposure compensation, Active D-lighting status, metering, autofocus, focus and release modes, ISO setting, white balance mode, image size, and image quality.

The wallpaper mode mimics the layout of the graphic display, but without the aperture/shutter speed graphic. Instead, the user can select a photo stored on the camera to be used as a backdrop. 

The D60 relies on an internal sensor to flip the display from portrait to landscape based on the horizontal or vertical orientation of the camera, a welcome solution to the difficulty reading the D40 or D40x screen when shooting in portrait mode. 

The rear display toggles between classic and graphic mode.

The built-in flash offers several modes:

Overall, the D60 pop-up flash is worth having for convenience sake, but is no substitute for a full-fledged external unit. In shots of a light-colored wall from seven feet away, the illumination is noticeably uneven; brighter in the center and quite dark in the corners. This pattern makes it suitable for quick portraits or as a fill-flash when shooting a nearby subject outdoors, but inadequate for group shots. The D60 flash has a maximum guide number of 43 feet at ISO 100.

The earlier D40 and D40x models offer a maximum flash sync speed of 1/500 second, a significant benefit when using fill-flash for shooting on a bright day outdoors. Unfortunately, the D60 throttles back this performance spec to 1/200 second.

The system pops up the flash automatically in Auto, Portrait, Child, Close-Up and Night Portrait modes. For other modes, a small button to the left of the viewfinder pops the flash up and engages it. One of the Vari-Program settings on the mode dial lets you quickly keep the flash from firing, without bringing up the on-screen settings menu. 

Flash compensation settings range from -3 to +1 EV in 1/3 EV steps, and work with the optional SB-400, SB-600, SB-800 and SU-800 flash units, as well as the built-in flash.

The relatively high flash position helps minimize red-eye.

The kit lens for the D60 moves up to an AF-S DX Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR model, which incorporates Nikon's vibration reduction technology for image stabilization. Several cameras competing in this class, though, including the Sony A200 and the Olympus E-510, have adopted in-camera sensor-shift stabilization, providing the benefits of shake reduction with any lens.

As for compatibility, the D60 doesn't include a focusing motor, meaning only AF-S and AF-I lenses (which incorporate their own focusing motors) will be fully compatible with the camera. Type G or D AF Nikkor lenses can be mounted on the camera and focused manually, while non-type G or D AF Nikkor lenses also lose support for 3-D color matrix metering. If you already own a range of Nikon lenses, this is a significant consideration. On the other hand, for most prospective D60 buyers, the wide array of available AF-S close-up, telephoto, and zoom lenses should prove perfectly adequate, though there are holes in the lineup when it comes to wide-angle and low-aperture support.

Lack of a built-in focusing mirror limits
compatibility with older lenses.