I have had this camera for almost a year now and can honestly say that I love it, although I am not a professional photographer figuring out this camera has been somewhat easy. It even came with a dvd that was created by a profession photographer which shows you how to get the shots you want. I will say that all of the shot options can be overwhelming, so I often just leave it in auto mode and let the camera focus the shot. I now have several hundred pictures that look like a professional took them. People often ask who did the pictures of my kids and are astonished when they find out it was me.

BrenLuk

Summerville, SC

I've had Nikon Cameras for 25 years or more and their optical and mechanical components cannot be beat. This camera lives up to the name. I've been using a "point and shoot" Nikon L1 with overall good results, but it lacked focus control and an eye-level viewfinder to track rapid action or just to be able to see in bright ambient light. This kit will use almost all of my existing accessories, filters and hoods as well as some of my wilder lenses in full Manual mode. I've only had it for a couple of months now and I'm still getting used to the controls, but I''ve got some outstanding shots I would never have gotten with a P&S.

allpa

Delray Beach, FL

I am an amatur photographer that is working on going to pro route.  I bought this camera is March of 2010 and have used it multiple times to take nature shots and portraits.  First off the camera is relatively easy to use right out of the box.  Charge the battery and off you go.  The first night I had it, my fiance took me up on a mountain to take some sunset pictures and he liked what I was getting so much that he turned around and asked me to take some photos of his Corvette!  You can either set the camera's aperature and such yourself or use one of the premade settings.  I have done both and must say that the premade settings get as great of a picture as setting the settings yourself.  I also love the swivel out lcd.  It makes taking self portraits or family portraits so much easier.  I even bought a wireless remote to do these portraits.  Be warned though, it does take some getting used to to use the wireless remote.  I've had to read and reread the book that came with the camera multiple times to remind myself how to do it.  Otherwise, the camera takes nice, crisp, clear photos and I have even made some poster sized prints from the pictures I have taken with this camera.  They have come out looking stunning!  As for the video feature of this camera.  I don't use it much (bought the camera to take photos, not videos), but the times I have used it, the videos have turned out great.  It was also easy to use the camera as a camcorder. For anyone that is into photography and wants a step above a point and shoot, this is a wonderful camera to get!   

enigmasolver

Alamogordo, NM

**The good:** Very good photo quality; fast; video capture; articulated LCD; nice kit lens. **The bad:** Small, dim viewfinder; middling video quality; too easy to accidentally change focus points.   both lenses are very helpful for wide angle and telephoto pictures. LCd Screen of camera is very flexible.

Amitgaud

San Jose, CA

I bought this camera about 17 months ago so you're getting a review based on quite a bit of usage.  I take a lot of photos and video - roughly 6,000 with this new camera since the time I got it in July 2009.  I absolutely love this camera and would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a quality digital camera.  Even if you're not a photographer, you can set it to "auto" and take amazing pictures - fast & easy.  The video component is sharp, clear and well worth the feature.  One of my favorite things, being that it was very hard for me to make the switch from 35mm to digital, is the eye piece option.  You can use the traditional digital screen to take pics or you can use the eye piece view finder - which is something that I love about this camera. The lenses are amazingly clear and sharp - the camera is easy to focus and the flash has a decent distance.  The picture quality and the color clarity are fantastic. I can't say enough about this camera - I verbally recommend it to people all the time - I am just so pleased that I purchased it and the wonderful use I've gotten out of it already.

LB2667

New Oxford, PA

The Nikon D5000 is the first DSLR that I have ever owned but not my first camera. My first was a Canon Powershot G6. While I enjoyed using my G6, I am so excited to be using my Nikon D5000. Not only does it take great photos, but I love the fact that I can change lenses. I also love the "?" button because it gives you information about what each setting means. Another great feature is the swivel LCD monitor. Plus, this camera is so easy to navigate and it gives you many options for settings so that you can get that perfect photo. It is just what I needed to capture the many joys in my life.

mel4him777

Parkville, MD

After searching high and low for the perfect digital SLR camera, I found the Nikon D3000 to be the best camera on the market. That was 2 years ago. Nikon has stepped up its game since then. They have released the Nikon D5000, which does everything the D3000 does, but even better. With 12.3 megapixels, 19 auto-exposure scene modes, and D-movie mode with sound this camera is a photo-journalist's dream camera. Photography-lovers will not want to put this camera down. All the usual features that came with the D3000 such as Built-in-image sensor cleaning and continuous shooting are now a little bit better. Make that a lot better. You'll be taking pictures that fall into every category. From landscape to Indoor, Night to Action, no matter the lighting or background, the D5000 has all the adjustments you need to take a great picture.

babylee25

Clarkston, GA