The Nikon D60 - Packing in More in a Lighter Body
Reviewed on 30 January 2008

Just a few days before the 2008 PMA, Nikon finally stopped the agony and confirmed the rumours of a new D60. The announcement came in the evening and we clamoured to see if the Nikon D60 was indeed a replacement to the hugely successful D40x and what goodies we could expect to see in this newcomer.

The Nikon D60 is undeniably an improvement on the D40x while sharing many of the best qualities of the D40x: a 10.2 megapixels sensor, ISO sensitivity between 100-1600, an almost instantaneous start-up of 0.19secs and the same 2.5-inch LCD. New features include the Vertical LCD Info, which in short means the LCD information tilts when the Camera is turned on its side, making it easy to read and change information when you are taking portraits and profile shots. The Viewfinder also comes with Eye-sensors, which detects when you’ve put your eye to the viewfinder and automatically turns the LCD off, a little trick that saves energy, so you can get the most shots out of one battery.

Perhaps the most exciting change is the addition of Image Sensor Cleaning. Nikon only introduced it with the D300, but just as many of us were hoping, it’s been added it into the D60, and not to be outdone with just cleaning the sensor with a quick shake, and it’s also introduced something called the Airflow Control System. This basically utilises the internal airflow caused by the movement of the reflex mirror to help blow dust off the sensor when taking photos. When coupled with the Image Sensor Cleaning, this should further minimise those pesky dust spots on photos.

In trying to make the D60 more interesting, Nikon has brought in some interesting functions like the Active D-Lighting which retains details in highlights and shadows and a new Stop Motion Capture which will take up to 100 photos and put them together to make a movie, a pretty fun feature which is a first for DSLRs. The new model improves on some features of the D40x, such as a wider range of easy-to-use scene modes, a revised shooting data monitor display, and a range of in-camera editing functions, including some RAW processing options.

The D60 is still pretty much limited to AF-S and AF-I lenses which precludes it from using some older versions of lenses, but Nikon is also releasing a new lens, the 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR AF-S DX, which has Vibration Reduction built in and is compatible with the D60. Just to firmly Elbow the D40x out of contention, the D60 is actually a tad lighter then the D40x which was 522g, the D60 weighs in at 495g.

Coming soon in February ahead of the Canon EOS 450D, buyers of entry level DSLR cameras would no doubt have their eyes lighting up in anticipation of the hands-on reviews. With Nikon squeezing in more features into a lighter body, the Nikon D60 will no doubt be just as popular with buyers of the D40 and D40X who chose them for their light weight and solid performance.