It probably is a great camera. For me, though, it appears the emphasis on video capabilities has affected some still photography features. The left hinge seems to have eliminated and/or relocated some of the typical Nikon left-side control buttons, leaving me to assume you have dig thru menus to get to some of them. The mode select dial is on the right top of the camera, and the normal top right LCD is gone. (I guess the D5000 was the same in this regard). The deal breaker for me, though, would be that there is no front command dial. I guess this single command wheel is also a standard "feature" of the D3100/5000/51000 series. Presumably one has to assign (waste) the programmable function button to toggle the rear command wheel between aperture and shutter speed. No thank you very much.
It does seem that it is by far Nikon's most capable Video DSLR though. I am not in the target market for this camera.
A friend is in the market for a still photography DSLR. He held off waiting to see what the d5100 offered, but seeing the compromises in favor of video, dismissed it immediately. He'll go D90 or D7000.
Message edited by author 2011-04-05 15:00:32. |
