Review on Nikon D60 DSLR Camera with 18-55mm Auto Focus-S Nikkor Zoom Lens, f/3.5-5.6G by Noel Pilla

I've had the D60 for two months now and have only got to know it enough to feel competent to write a *useful* review about it. Out-of-the-box reviews cannot provide a good, clear understanding of what you are holding in your hands. I love it. Now I know what IT likes and doesn't like and how to fix my mistakes. Pros: 1. Fairly lightweight 2. Durable3. Very fast loading time.4. The battery lasts amazingly long due to the energy saving (Camera lasts all day? No problem!). Wise advice: either turn it on or off. Don't switch back and forth. "On" and in sleep mode, it saves more power than turning it off if you take pictures occasionally. This may be due to the sensor cleaner (cleans on startup and shutdown).5. He thinks about as fast as you.6. Acceptable buffer size for multiple shots on the go.7. Most of the controls are intuitive (still SOME menu searches though. Some important crap is just buried in the menu). Does *amazing* things with grey-blue lighting. His favorite situation is cloudy or partly cloudy/overcast day.9. The noise level is acceptable up to at least 800 ISO, which is nice. However, they insist. However, the result is still usable, which is an achievement.10. SDHC Compatibility - I'm using a 16GB card.11. Active D-Lighting comes in handy if you still shoot in JPG format. Almost completely useless when using RAW. Be prepared to use your buffer and capture multiple images of the same subject for redundancy; It tends not to always pick the spot you want to focus on. *Especially* when using dynamic range mode with autofocus. Sometimes I feel like all I can do is blurry images, faster than ever. If I take more, I'll probably get a usable one. Cons: 1. Often chooses weird/crazy exposures, ISO levels, etc. if left on Auto. I once selected 760 ISO in full daylight. WHY? God knows. Typically, underexposure of a photo will result in an error. It's at least "more fixable" than overexposure, so that's your silver lining. 2. Oversaturates the yellow/orange spectrum and produces photos that are consistently too "warm".3. Looks good in low light regardless of ISO. If you get so frustrated that you set it to "HI" (3200), give up. However, when it finds its target, it captures it well. . The flash isn't impressive (other than impressively BRIGHT), especially with the limitations it imposes with an external flash (and how it concludes you need it even in full daylight), but overall you'll get by just fine without it . To open the flash, just hold it down. That's what I do LOL 5. Nikon Transfer software sometimes has problems; It often blocks and freezes when transferring data from HDHC cards the size I'm using. I suggest buying a card reader ($8-$15 depending on how feature rich you want it. Maybe Targus Digital TGR-CRD25 Universal 25-in-1 Memory Card Reader/Writer) for less general frustration . If you do NOT have a card reader, you will not be able to access the card from the camera. That means there's no way to get your info off the card if you have a problem. You CANNOT bypass Nikon Transfer if it goes wrong. Information is only transmitted in one way - from the camera to the computer. The camera doesn't show up as a drive on either Mac or PC, and not just THIS, your virus software might pop up thinking Nikon Transfer is a trojan (it's downloaded immediately after you plug in a camera or card reader with NEF on it This makes the virus scanner windows steam).6. It's very hard to believe that what you see in the camera preview is what you see on your computer. This is mainly because it is NOT trustworthy. With that in mind, I wouldn't recommend relying on in-camera editing software either. Do not use this function. Get ready to shoot in RAW and learn how to use the digital darkroom. I'm using Adobe Camera Raw, although I suspect Nikon's own software translates the information better in some cases. It just depends on what you want your finished product to look like. Unfortunately, if you let the camera create your photo as a JPG, you're stuck with the stupid choice it made and can't "fix" the error. Do not do that. Trust the color reproduction of this camera! :P It's *so* much better to just clean it up in the mail. - With all of this: IF you shoot in RAW and spend time post-processing your photos, the work it does is mind-blowing. This little camera can do an amazing job if you take the time to edit your photos afterwards. Luckily, if you have a digital photo lab (Nikon's own programs, Adobe's or otherwise), you'll find it very easy to update. You won't want to go back once you feel the freedom RAW gives you. Do not worry; it just sounds complicated. This camera is a gem for the price. It may sound finicky, but I'm only pointing out places where it means MORE WORK FOR YOU. If you're willing to put in the effort, this is just an amazing little friend that can go anywhere.