:+: Best DSLRs 2014 :+:

Nikon D3300

$596.95On Amazon

Best DSLR for Beginners

Replacing Nikon's popular D3200, the new D3300 offers intermediate-level performance with a beginner-friendly design and price. It shoots sharp 24.3-megapixel images and smooth 1080p video at a top-performing 60 frames per second — capabilities comparable to those of cameras costing hundreds more. Detail in photos is exceptional: We could read a tiny plaque on the corner of a house shot at a wide angle. Colors are not only rich, but faithful to how they appear in real life. There are some compromises for the price. The camera's 3-inch, 921K-pixel LCD does not tilt or rotate, and is not a touch screen. The D3300 also doesn't offer some of the advanced controls more expensive cameras have, but all the key settings are easy to access.

The optional 18-55mm lens is smaller and lighter than its predecessor and collapses to make the camera even easier to transport. The lens produces little distortion, but the D3300 can capture better images with even slightly higher-end glass. Being a Nikon, this DSLR has access to hundreds of lenses, allowing the camera's capabilities to grow as yours do.

Canon EOS Rebel T5i

$949.00On Amazon

Best Intermediate DSLR

If you’re familiar with f/stops, white balance and ISO and want to trade in your years-old DSLR for the latest tech, get the 18-MP Canon EOS Rebel T5i with an 18-55mm STM zoom lens. That "STM" stands for silent stepping motor. Now, when the camera autofocuses as you’re recording a video, the camera mics won’t pick up the noise of the lens moving. This is very important if you’re capturing a quiet scene.

Other standout features of the T5i include shooting 5 photos per second in burst mode and providing light sensitivity up to ISO 25,600 for shooting in very low light. Video recording is up to 1080p HD at 30 fps with stereo sound from built-in microphones. There are manual audio adjustments and a jack to connect an external mic, as well. Movie quality is quite good at 1080p/30 fps, but it’s not as good as the 1080p/60 fps of some competing cameras, such as Sony’s. One final bonus: Canon offers nearly 100 lens choices.

Canon EOS 70D

$1349.00On Amazon

Best Enthusiast DSLR

Those serious about taking their photography or video to the next level will love Canon's EOS 70D ($1,350 with 18-55mm EF-S IS STM kit lens). The 20-MP camera packs a CMOS imaging chip with "dual-pixel" focus technology incorporating fast phase-detection pixels into 80 percent of the sensor to speed up autofocus when shooting in live view mode (framing images on the LCD). In addition, a 19-point autofocus system in regular shooting mode, a top shutter speed of 1/8,000 sec (versus 1/4,000 for most other DSLRs) and an ISO light sensitivity range of up to ISO 25,600 make the 70D a versatile shooter for almost any situation, day or night.

When shooting video, the dual-pixel sensors lock focus on the subject you designate, keeping it sharp regardless of where it moves. This is the first DSLR autofocus technology comparable in accuracy to a skilled videographer using manual focus, making the 70D a superb rig for aspiring filmmakers. A flip-out, tilting 3-inch LCD touch screen lets you compose still and video at a variety of odd angles, and an LCD readout on the top lets you quickly check and adjust your settings. The EOS 70D is compatible with Canon's 103 EF lenses, plus many third-party lenses, to cover any shooting situation. 

Nikon D800

$2996.95On Amazon

Best Professional DLSR

You can spend well north of five grand for pro DSLRs such as the Nikon D3X or Canon EOS-1 Dx, but those behemoths are really for photo studios and professional sports coverage.

The Nikon D800 ($2,999, body only) has the same key feature of higher-priced competitors: a so-called full-frame imaging sensor that's the same size as a frame of 35mm film. The D800's massive sensor allows it to capture wider-angle shots than lower-end DSLRs and affords it a whopping 36.3-MP resolution — the highest for any full-frame DSLR.

The color accuracy is outstanding, and it captures the finest details. The D800 also captures full HD videos at 1080p/30 fps in the high-quality AVC format, which can directly output via HDMI to external recording devices for further editing.

Although quite hefty due to its dust- and moisture-sealed magnesium alloy body, the D800 is not intimidating. All the controls are clearly marked and within easy reach. This is one photographic tool that will take time to completely master, but while you’re “playing,” you’ll capture some of the best images you’ve ever seen from a digital camera.

Sony Alpha a77 II

$1,199On Amazon

Best Action DSLR Candidate

The latest salvo in the autofocus war, the new Sony Alpha a77 II shoots 12 frames per second for up to 5 seconds. That makes it one of the fastest DSLRs on the planet and by far the fastest anywhere near this price. (The Canon 70D, for example, shoots 7 fps.) Key to the a77 II's speed is Sony's variant on DSLR technology. Most DSLRs use a mirror that directs light into an optical viewfinder and an autofocus (AF) sensor, then flips out of the way to expose the image sensor. Sony uses a translucent mirror that bounces some light into an AF sensor with a record-setting 79 focus points while allowing most to pass onto the imaging chip. As a result, the translucent mirror doesn't have to move, and the camera can autofocus for every shot.

The 3-inch, 1.2MP LCD tilts and rotates for shooting from any angle, even selfie, and the 2.4MP OLED viewfinder is the equal of an optical eyepiece. The a77 II body offers plenty of physical controls for quick adjustments along with a solid handgrip — which you'll need to hold this 1-pound, 10-ounce (body-only) beast. 

♥♥♥ Camera buying guide ♥♥♥

The most important stuff

1. There is no spec that tells you which camera is best. A higher resolution (i.e., more megapixels) or bigger zoom range doesn't make the camera better. I'll repeat: you're never looking for the camera with the most megapixels or longest zoom.
2. Don't get hung up on making sure you've got the "best" in a particular class. The truth is, one camera rarely bests the rest on all four major critera--photo quality, performance, features and design. (You may have noticed how few Editor's Choice awards we give for cameras. That's partly why.) At least not at a friendly price. You want something best for you. And that may mean, for example, that it doesn't produce stellar photo quality, or at least photos that pixel peepers think are stellar quality.
3. Try before you buy. Make sure it fits comfortably in your hand and that it's not so big or heavy that you'll leave it at home. It should provide quick access to the most commonly used functions, and menus should be simply structured, logical, and easy to learn. Touch-screen models can allow for greater functionality, but can also be frustrating if the controls and menus are poorly organized or the screen can't be calibrated to your touch.

What type of camera?

If you don't understand any of the terms or their implications, jump down to the Key Specs section below.

Point and shoot (budget, ultracompact ) $50 - $300. Budget less than $200.
Who it's for	Key characteristics	Image quality and performance
Anyone who wants something a step-up from a camera phone.	Pocketable; lens fixed to body; zoom range usually less than 10x; small sensor; designed for mostly automatic operation	Good enough for snapshots and social media, short vacation and kids video clips, and fast enough for food and the occasional good shot of kids and pets in action.
Compact megazoom $200 - $350
Who it's for	Key characteristics	Image quality and performance
Those who want a step-up from a camera phone but frequently can't get close enough to get the photograph you want.	Pocketable; lens fixed to body; zoom range usually more than 10x; small sensor; designed for automatic and some manual operation	Better quality than a point-and-shoot, fast enough for kids and pets, short vacation and kids video clips.
Megazoom $350 - $500
Who it's for	Key characteristics	Image quality and performance
People who want one camera that can shoot both close ups and players' faces from the nosebleed seats.	Big, with a small sensor; lens fixed to body; zoom range usually more than 20x; designed for automatic and some manual operation. The less-expensive models lack an EVF. These are sometimes misleadingly referred to as bridge cameras, as in bridging the gap between a compact and a dSLR. But despite their size and appearance, they have nothing in common with dSLRs; on the inside, they're pure point-and-shoot.	Equivalent photo and video quality to a point-and-shoot, fast enough for the accidental action shot but mostly slow-moving subjects.
Enthusiast compact $400 - $1,100
Who it's for	Key characteristics	Image quality and performance
People who enjoy photography and like to play with settings but want something unobtrusive.	Fits in a jacket pocket; lens fixed to body; small zoom range; medium-to-large sensor; some models have reverse Galilean optical viewfinders; designed for manual with some automatic operation.	Photo quality good enough for those who want to get artsy and/or possibly sell their photos; short video clips; fast enough for shooting food but usually not action.
Entry-level interchangeable-lens camera (ILC) $400 - $600
Who it's for	Key characteristics	Image quality and performance
People who want something better and faster than a compact, but still want it as small as possible.	Small enough to fit into a pocketbook; interchangeable lens; sensor sizes range from compact-camera-equivalent to those you find in dSLRs; designed for automatic and some manual operation. Usually no EVF or EVF optional.	Comparable photo quality to an entry-level dSLR, better video quality than most compacts and point-and-shoots; fast enough for photographing kids and pets in motion.
Entry-level dSLR $500 - $1,000 (with lens)
Who it's for	Key characteristics	Image quality and performance
Anyone who wants better speed and quality than a compact and prefers shooting using an optical viewfinder.	Big, with a relatively large APS-C sensor; interchangeable lenses; TTL optical viewfinder, designed for either manual or automatic operation.	Comparable photo quality to an entry-level ILC, video quality varies significantly across brands, fast enough for photographing active kids and pets.
Prosumer ILC $700 + (with lens)
Who it's for	Key characteristics	Image quality and performance
People who enjoy photography and videography and like to play with settings and lenses but want something unobtrusive.	Small enough to fit into a pocketbook; interchangeable lens; sensor sizes range from compact-camera-equivalent to those you find in dSLRs; designed for manual and some automatic operation; has EVF.	Comparable photo quality to a prosumer dSLR, suitable for those who want to get artsy and/or possibly sell their photos; video quality varies significantly across brands, but can be good enough for indie videographers; fast enough for photographing active kids and pets.
Prosumer dSLR $1,000 + (body only)
Who it's for	Key characteristics	Image quality and performance
Advanced photographers who need speed and quality, as well as professionals with a tight a budget or who need secondary bodies.	Big, with a relatively large APS-C or full-frame sensor; interchangeable lens; designed for manual operation; has TTL optical viewfinder.	Comparable photo quality to a prosumer dSLR, suitable for those who want to get artsy and/or possibly sell their photos; video quality varies but can be good enough for indie videographers; fast enough for photographing sports-fast action.
Pro dSLR $1,200 + (body only)
Who it's for	Key characteristics	Image quality and performance
For people who need a reliable, durable, fully configurable and consistent camera that delivers best- quality images and perhaps fast action-shooting level performance.	Big, with a large APS-C or full-frame (or bigger) sensor, interchangeable lenses, optical viewfinder; designed for fully manual operation.	Photo and video quality that's good enough to sell to a knowledgeable buyer; performance fast enough to shoot sports or a bride fleeing the altar.

How much zoom?

A longer focal length lens lets you get closer without moving; for example, at 250mm you can see the observation deck of the Empire State building, while at 1000mm you can start to make out tiny people. In order to accommodate both wide-angle shots of an entire scene as well as long-distance close-ups, manufacturers have been making lenses with bigger and bigger zoom ranges. There are tradeoffs for this convenience, though. For one, it's hard to keep a subject in the frame when you're shooting at extreme telephoto. And a lens that has to be a jack-of-all focal lengths is generally a master of none of them. Generally, you probably don't need more than 20x.

10x zoom, 25 to 250mm

42x zoom, 24 to 1000mm

Key specs

Resolution
Generally referred to in megapixels. This number tells you how many pixels the camera uses to produce an image. Every modern camera has more than enough for any need. That's why it's not important as a spec. In fact, watch out for cheap cameras with high resolutions -- they usually lack the processing power to deal with the large images, which can slow them down.

Lens
There are two important specs related to all lenses: aperture and focal length(s). The lens' focal length, measured in millimeters, conveys the magnification of the image and the amount of scene covered by the lens (called the angle of view). As focal length increases, things look bigger and take up more of the frame. A lens that covers multiple focal lengths is a zoom lens, and the zoom spec is the ratio of the longest to the shortest focal length: a 20-100mm lens, therefore, has a 5x zoom. A lens of a single focal length is called a prime lens, and very flat ones are usually referred to as pancake primes. Note that the focal lengths as imprinted on the lenses of compact cameras will not be the same as the reported focal lengths; they don't reflect a multiplier that normalizes the length based on a frame of 35mm film, a reference point that adjusts for the multitude of sensor sizes in cameras. Sometimes called the crop factor, you really only need to think about it when looking at lenses for interchangeable-lens cameras.

• Ultra wide angle (less than 18mm) is good for very large scenes where lens distortion adds rather than detracts from the appeal.
• Wide-angle (around 18mm to 30mm) is good for group shots, landscapes, and street photography
• Normal (about 30mm to 70mm) is good for portraits and snapshots
• Telephoto (about 70mm to 300mm) is good for portraits and sports
• Super Telephoto (greater than 300mm) is good for sports, wildlife and stalking

The aperture is the size of the opening that lets in light, alternatively referred to as an f-stop or f number. The lower the number the larger the aperture. The largest aperture usually varies over the zoom range; lens specs generally list the maximum aperture at the shortest and longest focal lengths. Thus, when the spec is listed as 18-55mm f3.5-5.6, that means the widest aperture is f3.5 at 18mm and f5.6 at 55mm. As aperture size increases, the area of sharpess in front of and behind the subject increases; area of sharpness is called depth of field. Since wider apertures let in more light and give you more control over depth of field, wider is better.

A lens with a wide aperture is referred to as fast or bright and one with a narrow aperture is slow. Fast lenses are considered better than slow lenses; confusingly "fast" and "slow" have nothing to do with focusing performance. Also, watch out for lenses that start wide but get narrow very quickly. For instance, with a 24-120mm f2-5.9 lens you don't want the maximum aperture to jump from f2 at 24mm to f5.9 at 28mm.

Sensor size and type
Sensor size is the dimensions of the array of photoreceptors that create the pixels that become an image. Bigger sensors generally produce better photo quality, but the bigger the sensor the bigger the camera -- a larger sensor also requires a larger lens, more space for supporting electronics, and if the camera uses sensor-shift image stabilization, has an even larger footprint. Larger sensors are also more expensive to make, so the cameras are pricier.

Sensor sizes are usually indicated in one of two ways: actual dimensions in millimeters or with labels such as "1/1.7-inch." The latter is an old convention from the early days of digital video, and don't represent actual sizes; 1/1.7 inch isn't equal to 0.59 inch, for example. However, they are accurate in a relative sense -- i.e., 1/1.7 inch is smaller than 2/3 inch. The sensors in point-and-shoot cameras are small at 1/2.3-inch, and those in camera phones even smaller, typically 1/3- or 1/3.2-inch.

The most commonly used CFA, the Bayer pattern.

There are a few primary sensor technologies.CMOS is the most popular. A variant, BSI CMOS (backside illuminated) is popular for compact cameras because it allows for greater low-light sensitivity on a relatively small sensor. However, the image quality in good light usually doesn't quite match that of traditional CMOS sensors. There are some manufacturer-specific variations of these as well, usually with different arrangements of the on-chip color filter array (CFA), which separates the incoming light into red, green and blue primaries that later get recombined to form the colors in the image. The most common CFA is the Bayer array; some CFAs have extra green-capturing sites, because green carries the most detail information (it's a human eye thing), such as Fujifilm's X-Trans, and Sigma's Foveon-based technology stacks the filters so that each pixel processes each color primary.

Cheaper point-and-shoots still use CCD (charge-coupled device) sensor technology. Inexpensive CCDs don't deliver photo quality as nice as pricier CMOS sensors, but conversely, expensive CCDs like those used in medium-format cameras produce better photos. In general, CCDs are slow and poor for video.

Light sensitivity
A camera's sensitivity to light is specified as ISO sensitivity; the higher the number, the better the camera's ability to shoot in low light. However, as sensitivity rises so does the amount of noise -- those colored speckles you see in night shots. Cameras perform noise suppression to try to eliminate it, but that can result in smeary-looking artifacts. As a result, few cameras perform usably at the top of their rated ISO sensitivity ranges, making an unreliable spec. If you take it with a big grain of salt you can usually guess at the maximum usable sensitivity; for instance, a camera rated up to ISO 6400 will probably produce decent images up to ISO 800.

Viewfinder
While most consumer cameras these days have eliminated a viewfinder altogether, more advanced models still have them. They're useful when it's hard to read an LCD in sunlight, and holding the camera up to your eye forces you into a more stable body position for shooting. There are basically three types of viewfinders: the type that used to be found on film point-and-shoots which gives you a direct view of the scene rather than a through-the-lens (TTL) view called a reverse Galilean; an electronic viewfinder or EVF; and the TTL optical viewfinder found on dSLRs. EVFs have an advantage when shooting video, as you can't simultaneously view and record video using a TTL viewfinder, plus they can simulate what the photo will look like. On the other hand, optical viewfinders are better for shooting action, though they have a tiny blackout period between shots, an EVF can only show you the action once it's already happened, not while it's in progress. Some EVFs are better than others for this, however. Important viewfinder specs are percentage coverage, or how much of the scene they can display -- 100 percent is best, obviously -- and effective magnification, which tells you how big the image looks in the viewfinder. A good viewfinder will also have a diopter adjustment, to fine tune the viewfinder focus for your vision or for glasses wearers.

Image stabilization (IS)
This is what keeps your photos from displaying camera shake. There are two physical types: in-camerasensor shift and in-lens optical. While they perform similarly, optical IS seems to work a little better while shooting video, but sensor-shift means that for interchangeable-lens models you don't have to wait for the manufacturer to put IS in the lens and the lenses will likely cost less and be a little smaller. Cheaper cameras may have electronic IS, which uses a combination of fast shutter speed and higher ISO sensitivities to help with motion blur. Unfortunately, this increases image noise and is less effective in low lighting.

Battery life and type
Most cameras use lithium-ion rechargeable battery packs. While they offer greater battery life than readily available AA -- size batteries, they are generally designed for a specific make or model of camera. There are models using AA batteries, but they're usually lower-end compacts and larger megazoom cameras. When buying a camera, check out how many shots its battery has been rated for, a specification that has been standardized by CIPA.

Burst/continuous shooting rate

A measure of the number of frames per second a camera can capture, this spec can get quite confusing. Optimally, you want a high frame rate, at full resolution, with autofocus and autoexposure, for a reasonable number of frames. In order to report a high frame rate, the most common spec, companies play fast and loose with the other variables; so, for example, they'll say the camera does 10 frames per second (fps) -- but that's for 10 frames (i.e., 1 second), with exposure and autofocus fixed at the first frame, while the usable burst rate will be closer to 5fps.

Video
For typical vacation videos or videos of the kids, you want 1080/30p -- "1080" refers to 1920x1080 resolution, also referred to as Full HD, while "30p" stands for 30fps progressive video. These days, you should stay away from 60i -- 60fps interlaced -- as it has more visible artifacts than even 24p. If a camera offers a frame rate greater than 60fps, that lets you create slow-motion videos. As for codecs, the algorithms which compress and decompress the video, look for a real codec like H.264 or AVCHD, which are subsets of MPEG-4, rather than Motion JPEG. The actual video files have formats like MOV (QuickTime), AVI (Microsoft Audio/Video Interleave), MP4, and MTS (AVCHD). Video recording also has a bitrate, the amount of data it encodes per second of video; for this, higher is generally better. Because AVCHD is really a playback specification, it's a lot less flexible with respect to available bitrates than H.264 MPEG-4.

Shooting modes
Check out this discussion of the various shooting features.

Other features

GPS
If you love knowing exactly where you were when you took a photo, you'll want a camera with a built-in GPS (global positioning system) receiver. Typically found in rugged or higher-end cameras (add-on receivers are also available for some ILC and dSLR cameras), the GPS receiver uses satellite positioning to tag your pictures with location data. This location data can be read by software such as Google Earth or Picasa as well as photo-sharing sites to map where the photos were taken.

Depending on the camera's capabilities, the GPS may also be used to tag photos with landmark information, set the camera's clock to local time, track your path on a map as you shoot, or even help with basic navigation on foot.

The biggest downside is that it will drain your battery faster as it has to be left on so it can continue to update your location. It also won't work indoors or, in rugged cameras, underwater. It will add to the cost of the camera, too.

One last note: Though some models state that they tag video with location information, the data is attached to the video as a separate file instead of being embedded as it is with photos. Generally this means the location information can only be viewed if the videos are played directly from the camera or with bundled software.

Wi-Fi
A few years ago, digital cameras with built-in Wi-Fi didn't make much sense. It was basically no better than using a USB cable, and a really slow one at that. Now, with more people using smartphones and mobile hot spots, a camera with Wi-Fi offers more than just slow wireless backup.

The main function is still to wirelessly transfer photos and videos off the camera, but new models can back up straight to cloud services or networked computers as well as connect directly to a mobile device, so you can view, transfer, and edit shots, and then upload to sharing sites over your devices mobile broadband. Some models use Wi-Fi to remotely control the camera, too, using your mobile device's display as a viewfinder. It can also be used to piggyback on your smartphone's GPS receiver for tagging photos with location data.

Samsung's WB850F is one of several Wi-Fi-enabled cameras available from the manufacturer.

What this means is you can get things your smartphone's camera can't offer (e.g. better photo and video quality, a zoom lens, and more control) and still share on the go. Unfortunately, manufacturers currently use Wi-Fi as an upsell or add-on, so you many not be able to find the model you want with an option for Wi-Fi. In these cases, consider an Eye-Fi wireless SD card. These work like regular SD memory cards for storage, but also have a built-in Wi-Fi radio for wireless backups and transfers to Web sites, mobile devices, and computers.

Nikon DSLR History

Introduction

This is an historical summary and commentary of Nikon DSLRs. Click the links to individual reviews for details and comparisons.

A year in digital cameras is equal to 25 regular years. A camera introduced 2-1/2 years ago may as well be 62 years old. It's completely obsolete. A new D5100 for $675 has far better image quality than the old Nikon D2Xs which sold for $5,000 a few years before.

Contrast this to film cameras where my 4x5" Linhof Technika and150mm lens are over 50 years old, and still in the prime of their useful life.

This article reads backwards. The newest is on top.

Generations

There are vast differences in real image quality between Nikon's two generations of digital cameras.

Like most marketing organizations and repressive governments, camera makers keep most people in the dark by keeping them worrying about easy-to-understand things which make no difference, like pixels and ISOs which are easy to describe with just one number, instead of trying to teach people what really matters, which are the subtleties of how a picture actually looks.

Because camera makers have the masses worrying about pixels and bit depths, when Nikon makes significant advances, they're usually not obvious behind all the fluff.

The difference between generations is so significant that the best Gen 1 camera, the D2Xs, can't make pictures as good as the cheapest Gen 2 camera, the D90, in most real picture-taking situations.

First Generation

Nikon's first generation of digital SLRs started with the D1 of 1999 and continues in 2008 with the D40.

The first generation has only primitive picture and white balance adjustments.

Gen 1 cameras have an Optimize Image menu with crude controls allowing only two rudimentary options of "Enhance (+)" or "Moderate (-)" for saturation, and WB trims that extend only to ±3. There is no green/magenta adjustment for WB.

There were meaningless mentions of undefined modes I, II and III in the Optimize Image menu, but no clever dynamic range management as Gen 2 adds.

Gen 1 cameras are the D1 and D2 series, D40, D40x, D50, D70, D70s, D80, D100 and D200.

Second Generation

Nikon's second generation DSLRs started coming out in 2007 with the D3 and D300.

Second generation cameras offer the potential of significantly better real image quality because Gen 2 cameras add Nikon's Adaptive Dynamic Range (ADR).

Presuming its turned on, ADR allows Gen 2 cameras to render most real scenes much closer to the way our eyes see them, without all added contrast, blown highlights and blocked shadows common on film and Gen 1 cameras for most people.

If you're a pro who knows how, and actually controls his lighting perfectly, then you can get great results on Gen 1 cameras, but for most people who don't, Gen 2 cameras will give significantly better pictures.

The D90 has ADR on by default, and the D3, D700 and D300 need it turned on in the menus. I always shoot my cameras with ADR in NORMAL (or AUTO if available) for every shot.

Gen 2 cameras also are Nikon's first cameras to allow a full range of saturation and other image adjustments. Saturation and other values are set in direct units of up to ±3. These are set in the Picture Controls menus.

Gen 2 cameras have WB trims which extend 6 units in each direction, marked in blue and amber (not + and -) and allow green/magenta adjustment.

Gen 2 cameras offer five manual preset (gray card) WB storage settings, complete with icons and notes.

Gen 2 cameras magically and automatically correct color fringes caused by most lenses. If you're a tweaker, this alone significantly improves corner sharpness.

	The Gen 2 D90 is far, far better than the Gen 1 D200. I didn't have a D2Xs for comparison, but it would be the same as the D200. These shots are crops from the corner with the 18-200mm VR at 18mm. The D90 is as sharp as the D300. The D90 was focused elsewhere in this example.

Gen 2 cameras are using the increased in-camera processing horsepower to do all these tricks. If you're wasting your time shooting raw, you will have to hope that whatever software you're using to open raw files is as smart as what Nikon is building into these cameras for free. Many off-brands of software can't do any of this.

There was never much reason for raw, and in Gen 2, even less. It's quite likely that using raw with a Gen 2 camera and most, if not all, software, will throw you back into Gen 1 quality. It's not 2006 anymore. Most raw software does not do any of the clever things, like ADR, expanded color controls or totally automatic lens corrections, that are done in-camera.

Gen 2 cameras also have a super-sharp new 3" LCD screen.

Gen 2 cameras are the D3, D700, D300 and D90.

The D60 has ADR, but its stuck with the old Optimize Image menu and none of the other Gen 2 additions, so call it Gen 1.1 if you insist. I'm calling it Gen 1.

The D3000 has ADR and Gen II Picture Controls, but it has a crummier 3" LCD screen and does not correct lateral color fringes, so I'll call it Gen 1.5.

2014

Nikon D4S and 58mm f/1.4 G.

25 February 2014: 16 MP FX, 11 FPS, 47.3 oz./1,337g, $6,500.

The D4s is a D4 with a faster computer to allow more noise reduction to give a foolish ISO 409,600 setting, 11 frames per second up from 10, and a bunch of other small features changes. The D4S development was announced 07 January 2014 at CES 2014.

Nikon D3300 and 18-55mm VR II.

07 January 2014: 24MP DX, 16.2 oz./460g with battery and SD card, ISO 100 - 12,800 (25,600), 11-point AF, 3" LCD, 5 FPS, 1080p video, mono mic. $650 with lens; also comes in gray and comes in red for the same price.

A minor revision to the D3200 of 2012; adds a gray color version and 45g lighter; same AF and resolution as D3200.

2013

Nikon Df and 50mm f/1.8 Special Edition.

05 November 2013: 16 MP FX, ISO 50 ~ 204,800, 5.5 FPS, 3.2" 921k dot LCD, no video or mic, 27.0 oz./765 g with battery and card. $2,749, or $3,000 with lens. Also comes in black.

Unlike every other Nikon DSLR ever, the Nikon Df is a completely new camera, taking the ergonomic brilliance of the Nikon FE and stuffing the digital guts of a D4 into it. The Df is an all-metal piece of excellence with real knobs and buttons, not the push-multifunction-button-and-spin-dial cost-cutting baloney of Nikon's SLRs since the 1990s.

Nikon D5300 and 18-140mm.

17 October 2013: 24 MP DX, 5 FPS, 3" flip LCD, 1080p video, mono mic, 30.0 oz./850 g with battery and card. $799, or $1,400 with lens.

The D5300 is the same as last year's D5200, adding built-in Wi-Fi and GPS.

Nikon D610 and 24-85mm VR.

08 October 2013: 24 MP FX, 6 FPS, 3.2" LCD, 1080p video, mono mic, 30.0 oz./850 g with battery and card, $1,999.

The D610 is the same as the D600, supposedly with a "new shutter" that begets 6 FPS and a 3 FPS "quiet" mode.

Nikon D7100 and 18-105mm VR DX.

21 February 2013: 24 MP DX, 6 FPS, 3.2" LCD, 1080p video, stereo mic, 26.8 oz. (759g) with battery, strap rings and card.

New in the D7100 were OLEDs for finder data display, a weird 1.3x crop mode inside the 1.5x DX frame, the first "i" button for controlling recent settings.

2012

Nikon D5200 and 18-55mm VR.

06 November 2012: 24 MP DX, 5 FPS, 3" flippy LCD, 1080p video, 19.6 oz. (555 g) with battery and SD card. (USA release was delayed until 08 January 2013.)

Nikon D600 and 24-85mm VR.

13 September 2012: 24 MP FX, $2,099, 5.5 FPS, 3.2" LCD, 1080p video, 30.0 oz. (850g) with battery and SD card.

Nikon D3200.

19 April 2012: 24 MP DX, $700 with 18-55mm VR, 4 FPS, 3" LCD, 1080p video, 26.9 oz. (498g) with battery and SD card.

Nikon D800 and D800E.

07 February 2012: 36MP FX, $3,000 and $3,300, 4 FPS, 3.2" LCD, 1080p video, 35.1 oz. (994g) with battery and SD card.

The D800 completely rewrites the book, and obsoletes most of Nikon's DSLR line. Yipee!

Nikon D4.

06 January 2012: 16MP FX, 10 FPS, 47.3 oz./1,337g, $6,000. Pretty much only a D3¼ with less weight, more FPS, no big deal. What can be a big deal is the removal of the rear AF-area mode switch, replacing it with a button and dials instead.

2011

Nikon D5100.

05 April 2011: Nikon D5100. 16MP DX, 4 FPS, 3" flippy LCD, 1080p movies. $799.95, available May 2011.

An updated D5000.

2010

Nikon D7000.

15 September 2010: Nikon D7000. 16MP DX, 6 FPS, 3" LCD, movies. $1,199.95, available mid-October 2010.

New in the D7000 is two SD card slots, Nikon's first 2,016-segment RGB meter, two new programmable mode-dial positions, U1 and U2 (as copied from Canon's C1 and C2 instant-recall settings), a 39-point AF system, and two types of Auto White Balance.

Nikon D3100.

19 August 2010: Nikon D3100. 14MP DX, 3 FPS, 3" LCD, movies. $699.95 with 18-55mm VR, available mid-September 2010.

2009

Nikon D3s.

14 October 2009: The Nikon D3s is just a mid-product-cycle freshening of the D3. Both are FX 12MP 9FPS cameras. Price is $5,200.

THe D3s adds video, a sensor cleaner, an additional 1.2x 8MP crop mode, dedicated INFO and Live View buttons, Quiet Mode, stupid-high ISOs to ISO 102,000, and $300 to the price of the D3.

Nikon D300s.

30 July 2009: The Nikon D300s adds movies, a dedicated INFO button and the QUIET mode to the D300.

Nikon D3000.

30 July 2009: The Nikon D3000 has a low-resolution 3" LCD and 10MP for $599, including an excellent 18-55mm VR lens. It's the worst Nikon DSLR ever made because it has very slow operation in most use, and has poor performance at high ISOs. TheD40 of 2006 is superior and costs less.

Nikon D5000.

14 April 2009: The Nikon D5000 adds a flippy LCD screen, movies and 12MP DX for $730. It's slotted below the D90 but above the D40 from 2006.

2008

Nikon D3X.

01 December 2008: The D3X is announced. It's identical to the original D3, except with 24.4MP and only 5FPS and lower ISOs.

Nikon D90.

27 August 2008: The D90, a 12MP DX mid-line DSLR for $999. Replaces D80, and is a huge improvement over the D80 because it jumps to Gen 2.

Nikon D700.

01 July 2008: The D700, a 12MP FX DSLR for $2,999.95. It's Nikon's top amateur camera.

Nikon D60

January 28, 2008: Nikon D60 announced. Replaces D40x.

2007

Nikon D3

23 August 2007: The D300 and D3 are announced for November sale. Both have new 3" LCDs with live viewing.

The D3 is another milestone with Nikon's first 24x36mm sensor, dubbed FX. It runs 9FPS for $5,000. The D3 replaces the D2Xs. Nikon's press release on the D3.

Nikon D300

The D300 is an evolution of the D200, now with a 12MP DX sensor and 6-8 FPS for $1,800. $1,800 oddly is a price increase $300 over the D200. The D300 replaces the D200. Nikon's press release on the D300.

Nikon D40x

05 March 2007: The D40x is announced to fill a vacant price point in Nikon's line. It is the same as the excellent D40, but with 10MP instead of 6MP, but a slower sync speed of 1/200 vs. 1/500, a slower default ISO of 100 vs. 200, and a $200 higher price than the D40. The D40x was introduced to let Nikon fill in a price point in its camera line for competitive purposes. Personally I prefer the less expensive D40. See also theMegapixel Myth.

2006

Nikon D40

16 November 2006: The D40 is announced for Christmas at $599 with included excellent 18-55mm II lens. It is the smallest, lightest and least expensive Nikon DSLR ever. It started shipping on November 30th, 2006.

Nikon D80

09 August, 2006: The D80 is announced. 10 MP, 3 FPS for $999. The D80 is a D70 body and mechanics with the sensor and LCD of the D200.

Nikon D2Xs

June 2006: The D2Xs is announced, a slight improvement to the D2X. Same 12 MP and 5FPS and weird crop mode. $4,700.

2005

Nikon D200

01 November 2005: the D200 is announced. It's a groundbreaker at 10MP and 5 FPS at $1,699. It shipped in December 2005 as promised. It was on backorder until about October 2006. The D200 starts a new level in the Nikon line between the plastic D70 and the pro D2X.

Nikon D70s

Nikon D50

22 April 2005: The D70s and D50 are introduced. The D70s is a D70 with slightly larger screen. The D50 is a D70 with a couple of features removed. The D50 is still 6MP but only 2.5 FPS.

The D70, D70s and D50 are great cameras new or used, but replaced by the two-year-newer D80 of late 2006.

Nikon D2Hs

16 February, 2005: The D2Hs is announced. It's a minor revision of the D2H at a bargain price of $3,500. This makes a used D2H or new D2HS a great buy for sports. They are the same as the more expensive D2Xs, just faster with a few less pixels.

2004

Nikon D2X

16 September, 2004: the D2X is announced. 12MP, 5 FPS, $5,000. The D2X also has a bizarre cropped 7 MP, 8 FPS mode. Most of what the D2X does is replaced by the D200 in 2005. I'd get a used D2X if the price was right. It's Nikon's top of the line. I prefer the D200 for smaller size and a couple of more features.

Nikon D70

February 2004: Nikon shows the D70 at PMA. It's lightweight, 6MP, 3 FPS and a groundbreaker at $999. The D70 is a huge improvement over the D100 in almost every way except having no accessory vertical grip. All this, and it's priced less, too! The D70 fixes the dust problem by moving the CCD filter further away from the CCD. This throws dust out of focus and makes it much less of an annoyance than on the D1 series cameras.

The D70 replaced the D100.

Nikon was going to discontinue the D100, but instead decided to keep making the D100 because they discovered they could get a higher price than the D70 just because of the model number. People who equated price with quality kept buying D100s because they cost more.

2003

December, 2003: Nikon announced the development of the D70. Nikon had little to say other than the D70 would be cheap. Nikon was still inventing the D70 and had none to sell. Nikon made the announcement to get people to wait instead of fleeing from Nikon to Canon's inexpensive Digital Rebel.

Nikon D2H

22 July, 2003: The D2H is announced. 4.1 MP, 8 FPS, $5,000. The D2H was a new design with a much improved Li-Ion battery and a new flash exposure system. The D2H is a bargain used and a fantastic camera for sports.

2002

Nikon D100

21 February, 2002: The D100 is announced. It's 6 MP and 3 FPS for $1,999. This is Nikon's first lightweight amateur DSLR camera. It was an N80 with digital guts. It wasn't available for sale until June, 2002. It was a sellout with long waiting lists for a year after its introduction.

In May 2003 the D100 dropped to $1,699. In December 2003 it dropped to $1,499 where it stayed for a year or two. In May 2005 it dropped to $999.

Forget the D100, but snap one up if you can get a screaming deal.. The newer D70 and D50 work better. The D100 required messing with a wheel and knob to make critical adjustments. The newer cameras have direct entry buttons. The newer cameras have two years of extra wisdom in their firmware and just do everything better. Flash exposure isn't very good on the D100. See a comparison here. The D100 used the same EN-EL3 Li-Ion battery of the D50 and D70.

2001

Nikon D1H. Nikon D1X looks the same except for model number.

05 February 2001: Nikon announces the D1X and D1H, improvements to the D1. Performance was honed, a few features were added and price remained at $5,000.

They both replaced the numerical menu system with easy to understand menus in English.

The D1H kept the 2.7 MP sensor and increased speed to 5 FPS.

The D1X slowed to 3 FPS, but increased resolution to 5.3 MP. The resolution of the D1X is still decent in 2006. It used a bizarre CCD with twice the horizontal pixel density of the D1. Image quality was, and still is, extremely good because it had 4,024 horizontal pixels on the CCD. It had to do less Bayer interpolation and thus has much better image quality than one would expect in its 3,008 x 2,000 pixel images.

Don't buy either of these today regardless of price. They had awful battery systems. I had a D1H. They only run for about 250 shots on a charge. The batteries are huge, heavy Ni-MH packs which require constant babying in charging. The packs have protuberances which make them painful to carry in a pocket. They lose charge if left unused. Even a freshly charged battery would indicate almost dead after a few shots. Most D1, D1H and D1X users including myself lived with the viewfinder indications turning off, indicating almost dead battery, after just a few shots. They also had awful flash exposure. Many photographers had to revert to non-TTL exposure modes because the TTL mode was so flaky. Dust was a horrible problem because the CCD cover filter was too close to the CCD. At almost any aperture you'd see dust clearly on the image. They were state of the art in their era (2001 - 2003), but that era is long gone.

1999:World's First Practical DSLR

Nikon D1.

15 February 1999: Nikon announced it was working on "a new professional class, high-quality digital Single Lens Reflex Camera."

15 June, 1999: Nikon announces the D1, the world's first practical DSLR. It is the first practical DSLR because it's the first DSLR with good enough image quality for print (2.7 MP), fast enough (4.5 FPS) and priced low enough ($5,000) and functional enough to be sensible to use daily as a primary camera. It's also the first DSLR made with Nikon electronics in a Nikon body, by Nikon.

It replaced film at forward-looking newspapers.

Forget about it today, regardless of price. For the same price you can get the greatly improved D1H or D1X, neither of which are worthwhile today either. The D1 is confined to the dumpster of history (and collectors) because its battery system is a pain, and its menu structure requires interpreting numerical custom functions. It requires a cheat sheet to decipher. Flash exposure performance is awful. Get one only as a landmark camera to collect. The D1 is the landmark. The D1 is the camera that replaced film at newspapers.

The D1 is unique in having a 1/16,000 top shutter speed, since its shutter is also electronic. That's how it gets a 1/500 sync speed. If you use the PC sync terminal or a non-dedicated flash so the D1 doesn't know you've got a flash attached; sync goes all the way to 1/16,000!

Nikon announced no new DSLRs for a couple of years.

1998

The similar E3 and E3S came out, still based on a big klunky Fuji body. They were still only 1.3 MP (1,280 x 1,000 pixels). SCSI interface. Still about $20,000.

These relics are worth about $300 in 2006. Don't bother using them for serious photography.

1996

A minor upgrade, the E2N and E2NS came out and was still about $20,000.

These relics are worth about $300 in 2006. Don't bother using them for serious photography.

1995

Digital SLRs are still science experiments, but in series production for special events. Nikon finally makes its first commercialized DSLR, over twenty years after America invented digital cameras.

It was called the Nikon E2 and E2S. They weren't Nikon bodies at all. They were hacked out of Fuji bodies with Nikon electronics! Bizarre internal reduction optics helped restore the field of view, with weird effective apertures. PCMCIA card memory. About $20,000 and only 1.3 megapixels, which is why they don't count as practical cameras.

These relics are worth about $300 in 2006. Don't bother using them for serious photography.

1991

Digital SLRs are still custom built laboratory experiments. NASA had some Texans hack an F4 to fly on the STS-48 shuttle mission. It had a 1MP black-and-white sensor and recorded to a Texas-sized hard drive hacked to the bottom of the F4. See it here. Nikon had nothing to do with this as far as I know. It was the Texans who played Frankenstein with a stock F4 body.

Kodak sold the $13,000 1.3 MP DCS-100, hacked into an F3HP body.

1990

Kodak shows a hacked Nikon body with a Kodak sensor at Photokina called the DCS. It was 1 MP and cost $25,000. It shipped in 1991.

Kodak kept trying through about 2003, and gave up after the 14n.

These and later model Kodaks were popular for some news events, but most newspapers that had them threw them away when the D1 came out in 1999.

1973

Kodak created the first digital camera in Rochester, New York, USA. It was big and scary and certainly didn't run on batteries. Nikon had nothing to do with this, although Kodak probably used a Nikkor lens.

More Information: This site also has an excellent history of digital Nikons.