Nikon D5000 is Official!
The D5000 is official:
Nikon D5000 Officially Announced / Shown
From the release:
NIKON’S D5000 DIGITAL SLR CAMERA EXPANDS POSSIBILITIES FOR PHOTO AND HD VIDEO CREATIVITY WITH D-MOVIE MODE, VARI-ANGLE LCD MONITOR AND 19 AUTOMATIC SCENE MODES
…Easy one-button Live View activation now features Subject Tracking autofocus (AF), which automatically locks onto a moving subject…
…Subject Tracking AF maintains focus, making the D5000 ideal for capturing fast moving children and pets. In addition to Subject Tracking AF in Live View, the D5000 features Face Priority AF, which automatically detects up to five faces in a scene and focuses on the closest subject; Wide Area AF, which offers a large AF area for optimal hand-held shooting; and Normal Area AF, which provides pinpoint accuracy when shooting with a tripod…
…The D5000’s D-Movie Mode allows users the exciting ability to record HD movie clips (1280 x 720) at a cinematic 24 frames per second with sound …
…With the broad range of automatic Scene Modes, including Sports, Portrait, Candlelight, Silhouette, Autumn Colors and more, D5000 is the perfect camera for anyone looking to make inspiring images in challenging photographic conditions…
…Price and Availability
The D5000 outfit, which includes the AF-S NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens, will be available at Nikon Authorized dealers beginning in late April 2009 at an estimated selling price of $849.95.** For consumers who want to configure their D5000 system or for photographers who need an additional D-SLR body for an existing system, the D5000 will also be offered as a body only for an estimated selling price of $729.95.…
So basically another consumer-grade SLR with movie mode, NOT full-frame- the notable features seem to be the articulated (not fixed) LCD and some updates to the autofocus tracking to make it easier to use in movie mode!
Still confused about the model number though- maybe we’ll be seeing single digits for Pro bodies, triple digits for advanced amateur to pro range, and double and quadruple digits for consumers?
Tags: d5000
April 14th, 2009 at 20:58
>>Still confused about the model number though- maybe we’ll be seeing single digits for Pro bodies, triple digits for advanced amateur to pro range, and double and quadruple digits for consumers?
The old scheme didn’t make sense – it went 1 digit, 3 digits, 2 digits down the line.
D2, D3, etc., Pro
D100, D200, D300, D700: Semi-pro
D40, D60, D70, D80, D90: Amateur
I think you won’t see any more 2-digit model numbers. I suppose Nikon could have released a D45, D65 and D95, but that would have “sounded” like minor updates to existing cameras.
So I think what we’re going to see now is:
Single digit: Pro
Three digits: Semi-Pro
Four digits: Amateur
The only problem with that is why did Nikon start the new nomenclature at 5000? If they intend to have an equal number of cameras “below” it and “above” it, it makes sense, but if not, they’re only leaving room for four more major updates (6000, 7000, 8000, 9000) unless they plan to number these like Coolpixes in which you have almost no freaking idea what the number means. And in the semi-pro FX line, they’ve only got room for a D800 and D900. In the DX line, they’ve only got room for a D400, D500 and D600. So what happens after that?
I think they’re going to start new alphas: DX and FX. But if they come out with an DX100, that’s going to be confused with the original D100. But unless they start giving the cameras alpha names, they might not have a choice.