I bought a D5000 over a D90 and am happy with my choice

[shoturtle]

That is pushing it a little with the d7000 being better then the d300. You get 15 cross type AF point out of 51 vs 9 cross type out of 39 with the d7000. Also you have a much larger buffer, letting you really exploit the 6fps speed. It may not have video. But it is a better still photo camera. I like shooting the d300 when I get a chance to at times. While it is not the d300s, it is still a much higher end tool then the d7000 for action shooting.

[big_potato]

Burst-shoot rates of D7000 & D300s are very close

6.5fps vs 7fps

[jack55]

I use both Nikon's for my Nesting Bald Eagle story.
The D300 for the action shots and the D5000 for video of the nest and as a backup.
I haven't done video of the nest this year yet, but did last year.
Here are the links to this year and last years:
http://1-4u-computer-graphics.com/EAGLES-2011.htm

http://1-4u-computer-graphics.com/EAGLES.htm

[shoturtle]

Yes and no, the d300 can burst for way longer then 3 sec before buffer lag. With the card out it will bang away, but with the cards in it really slows down. paper specs are good, but the reality is the d300 can shoot a 5-8 sec burst while the d7000 can not.

Originally Posted by big_potato

Burst-shoot rates of D7000 & D300s are very close

6.5fps vs 7fps

[dnas]

Originally Posted by TCav

Another apparent difference between the D90 and the D5000 is that the D90, along with some higher end Nikon dSLRs, seems to have the ability to automatically correct for Chromatic Aberration. While Nikon has been silent on whether or not the feature exists, the data seem to indicate that it does.

No one has suggested that the D5000 has that feature.

I compared the Nikon D80 with the Nikon D90 with the same lens, and the D90 does have CA correction.

D90 (corner crop) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D80

[big_potato]

Thanks for sharing the comparison btwn D90 vs D80

But seems to me theire WB are diff

[vIZnquest]

I started with the Pentax istDS which I still have. It does well with my 50mm 1.7 and Tamron 28-75mm 2.8. Jumped to Nikon. Started with the D200 with first gen 18-200mm VR. Shot weddings with two of the D200 with battery grips. I found I did not care to spend my shooting time with weddings. Kept everything though and went with a D40 and SB400. Love this combo along with the 18-200mm VR. The kit grew with D5000 due to swivel screen. It sits mostly now due to my love for shooting with the D90. Each camera made will have a following for what a person feels good about that particular model has to offer based on their needs and shooting interests. The D90 happens to cover the majority of it.

[jack55]

A year ago I picked the D5000 over the D90 as I already have a D300. That combo trumps just about everything.

[rjseeney]

Originally Posted by jack55

A year ago I picked the D5000 over the D90 as I already have a D300. That combo trumps just about everything.

That's my setup as well. I find I use my D5k more often for everyday use. I really only shoot the D300 for sports or other action or when I'm using flash off camera.

[big_potato]

Originally Posted by TCav

... not to mention the better LCD display, the better viewfider, the DoF Preview, more shots per battery charge, and an optional vertical grip.

D5000's flippable LCD is sometimes very handy

And as such (flippable) I think it has to sacrifice the LCD size to allow room the joints, hinge, flexible connections ... etc

So it's hard to compare the bigger D90 LCD with the smaller but flippable one of D5000.

For DoF preview & vertical grip, I have no argument but have to agree with you.

But I doubt their practical usages for some newbies to DSLR

I can hold the DSLR very comfortably in portrait orientation w/o a vert.grip.

And I dont use many large aperture lenses, so DoF preview may not be an issue to me

Also after gaining some experience, one can usually estimate the DoF by his/her own visual judgement.