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NIKON D60
CALL IT A SUPER-TWEAK OF NIKON'S D40X, WITH EVEN MORE IN-CAMERA IMAGE ADJUSTMENTS.
EASE OF USE: The tiny D60 is easy to grip but not that easy to use in anything but auto modes. For instance, the clumsy flash exposure compensation involves two buttons and a dial (or you can set it with a menu). Menu organization can be odd. Viewfinder magnification is on the low side, and data can be hard to see. But startup is speedy, shutter lag minimal, and AF fast. Many menu items have help screens, and you can bring up sample photos to see the effects of controls. The 2.5-inch LCD is respectable, but there's no live view. Rank: 5
CONTROL: The D60 is the postproduction champ of inexpensive DSLRs. A favorite feature is the in-camera conversion of RAW files, which lets you tweak things like color balance, hue, contrast, and sharpness, before saving as JPEGs. Other fixes include D-Lighting (Nikon's dynamic range adjustment), redeye removal, Quick Touchup (which works something like Auto Levels in Adobe Photoshop), and filter effects. You can even make a stop-motion movie from a series of still frames. However, you can save only Basic quality JPEGs in RAW + JPEG capture, and the only way to set Adobe RGB color space is to use a custom image profile. The burst rate for Fine JPEGs is slow for this class. Rank: 5
SYSTEM FLEXIBILITY: Nikon is the other 800-pound gorilla here, along with Canon. If you can think of a lens or accessory, Nikon probably makes it. But not everything's perfect: The D60 will autofocus only with AF-S lenses, and you can't control accessory units wirelessly with the D60's built-in flash. Rank: 1 (tie)
WHAT'S MISSING: A better in-the-box RAW converter than ViewNX -- the optional Capture NX2 software is superb, but it'll cost you up to $180. And that wireless flash control via the pop-up.
NICE SUPRISES: Would you believe a self-cleaning sensor and software dust deletion and (a first) a momentary air puff near the sensor to remove dust? It has all three.
TEST RESULTS
IMAGE QUALITY: Excellent at ISO 100-1600. Resolution of 2050 lines was in the middle of this pack, but its best-in-class noise control gave it better resolution in JPEGs at high ISOs than even the 14.2MP Sony. Moderate noise at ISO 3200 dropped overall image quality to Extremely High at that sensitivity -- but that's still pretty good. Rank: 2
IMAGE STABILIZATION: With an average gain in handholding leeway of 1 to 3 EV, it ranks second to the Canon or Sony.
AUTOFOCUS: Essentially tied with the very fast Sony in speed and sensitivity (down to -1 EV). But, with only 3 AF points, it can't touch the Canon in across-the-frame tracking.
CIPA BATTERY RATING: 730 shots per charge, 50% with flash. SIZE/WEIGHT: 5x2.5x3.7 in., 1.22 lb, body only, with card and battery. CARD: SD/SDHC. PRICE: $580, street, body only; $700 with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR AF-S DX Nikkor zoom lens. INFO: www.nikonusa.com.
OLYMPUS E-520
IT'S ONE OF THE LOWEST-PRICED DSLRS TO HAVE BOTH LIVE VIEW AND IMAGE STABILIZATION.
EASE OF USE: A very ergonomic camera to grip, the successor to the E-510 gets a bigger LCD: 2.7 inches. This serves as the control panel, and you can scroll around it fairly quickly to access common settings. Its Perfect Shot Preview shows a grid of photos previewing what you'll get with various settings. Live view is simple to access, and provides three AF options -- but all of them involve at least a couple seconds delay in firing.
While the viewfinder has pretty good magnification, it's still tunnel-visioned, and eyeglass wearers in particular had a tough time seeing the data display without losing some of the finder image. The menus, while logically arranged, can take a lot of scrolling to find some settings. And we found it frustrating that the switch from auto- to manual focus is in a menu. Rank: 4
CONTROL: The E-520's image stabilization has three modes -- normal, and then two for panning with the camera held vertically or horizontally -- a first for sensor-based stabilization. Burst rate of 3.5 fps nominally ties it with the Canon, but it slows down after fewer shots than the Reb XSi does when set for Fine JPEGs. RAW images can be converted to JPEGs in camera, but to make various picture adjustments on the file you have to first change the camera settings -- a clumsy procedure. The camera has good weathersealing. Rank: 5
SYSTEM FLEXIBILITY: Olympus produces an array of fine optics and accessories, including two flash units with wireless TTL capability. But the drawback of creating a ground-up system is that it will have fewer pieces than competing camera makers for the foreseeable future. Rank: 5
WHAT'S MISSING: Direct RAW editing controls with preview of the effects.
NICE SURPRISES: In live view, you can have the entire control panel overlaid on the image as a transparency. The image-editing software that comes with the camera provides lens-distortion correction.
TEST RESULTS
IMAGE QUALITY: Similar to the E-510's, though improvements in noise suppression resulted in Excellent image quality for both JPEGs and RAW files at ISO 100-1600. Resolution hung on to nearly 2000 lines through ISO 1600. Rank: 3 (tie)
IMAGE STABILIZATION: Our testers average a handholding gain of 1 to 2.5 stops, tied with the Pentax in third place.
AUTOFOCUS: Similar in speed to the E-510, which isn't surprising, the Olympus is a notch behind the Nikon -- which is still pretty fast. Sensitivity, though, goes down only to EV 0. It ranks fourth overall.
CIPA BATTERY RATING: 650 shots per charge, 50% with flash. SIZE/WEIGHT: 5.4x3.6x2.7 in., 1.05 lb, body only, with card and battery. CARD: CF and xD. PRICE: $600, street, body only; $700 with 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 ED AF Zuiko Digital lens. INFO: www.olympusamerica.com.
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