entry level?
It's hardly an entry level piece of kit when the body alone is £799 rrp..
Entry level is still served very well by the aging but fantastic D40 which produces stunning images for its sub £300 price.
Just weeks after Canon launched its entry-level 500D Digital SLR, Nikon has responded with its latest entry-level DSLR shooter: the D5000. Nikon_D5000_01 Nikon's 12.3Mp D5000 DSLR Although only fitted with a 12.3Mp sensor – Canon’s 500D has a 15.1Mp sensor – the D5000’s most notable feature is its 2.7in “Vari-angle” LCD …
sorry, should have written £720, not £799.
Still if you look at the specs, the camera is missing some fundamental functions for this price point.
It doesn't have an inbuilt focus motor, so you'll need to use AF-S lenses, which is limiting.
It also doesn't have a second controller wheel, so manually changing aperture and shutter speed at the same time isn't possible.
It looks on paper very much like a bridge camera you can change lenses with.
Firstly, the inability to use pre AF-S is a pretty minor drawback and, secondly, no-one ever changes two parameters on the camera SIMULTANEOUSLY. All single control wheel cams have a push-and-turn method of changing other functions, the second wheel is really just an ergonomic nicety. Comparing this sophisticated DSLR to a bridge camera is utterly ridiculous.
Frank Bough: "nobody ever changes two parameters on the camera SIMULTANEOUSLY"
You've been able to change the aperture and shutter speed on Rollei TLRs SIMULTANEOUSLY with one lever for at least seventy years. And users of manual aperture lenses on 35mm SLRs have been adjusting aperture and shutter speed SIMULTANEOUSLY for almost as long.
Have you tried patting your head and rubbing your stomach SIMULTANEOUSLY to improve your dexterity?
I often do change aperture (front wheel) and sensitivity or shutter (back wheel) on my Pentax K10D , almost simultaneously. Being able to do it without using any buttons is just more comfortable than on the camera with one wheel, e.g. my older Pentax *istDS.
Two wheels is often a sign of a digital camera for slightly more advanced photographers. From my experience beginners sometimes get confused by these.