Usability – How easy is it to use?

The ergonomics of the D60 are good with all controls being placed within easy reach. The somewhat small hand-grip is still comfortable and provides a secure hold over the camera. Below the control-wheel on the rear, there is a slight protrusion which prevents the camera from slipping outwards. Despite a light weight, the Nikon D60 feels reasonably sturdy.

The D60 has a medium-sized penta-mirror viewfinder which provides a relatively bright image. Just below the viewfinder is a proximity sensor which detects when something, such as an eye, gets close to the viewfinder. When this occurs, the D60 turns off the rear LCD display. Once used to this, it becomes an essential feature which even lacks among most high-end DSLR cameras.

While gripping the camera, the forefinger can easily reach the EC and Active D-Lighting buttons which are located just behind the shutter-release. A single control-wheel, located on the camera's rear, adjusts a single exposure parameter. In Manual mode, it controls the shutter-speed when used alone and controls the aperture when used with the EC button. The AE-L/AF-L button is located within reach of the thumb. Below the AE-L/AF-L button is the 4-way controller which is used to select one of three focus points in Single-Point AF area mode.

The button to delete images is located below the 4-way controller. Double-tap it to delete an image. The delete operation is cancelled if it is not pressed twice. On the other side of the LCD, 4 buttons activate Playback mode, the menu-system, the help-system and the quick-change screen, respectively.

The left side of the camera features two more buttons: Fn and Flash. The Fn button was discussed previously. It can control one of several options, as selected in the menu-system. The Flash button, when used with the control-wheel, cycles through various flash-modes depending on the exposure-mode. When used with the control-wheel and the EC button at the same time, the Flash button controls flash-compensation.

Playback mode is shooting-priority. This means that when the shutter-release is half-pressed, playback is interrupted and the camera is ready to shoot. In playback mode, the help and quick-change button serve to zoom in and out of images. The control-wheel is used to scroll through images and can do so even while zoomed. This is a crucial feature to compare nearly identical images.

The rear LCD is typical for this class of camera. It's sharp, clear and has a reasonable anti-reflective coating. The LCD is used in Shooting mode to change certain settings by navigating around it using the 4-way controller. Pretty much all important settings are available through this quick-change screen. Changes made using external buttons such as EC, Fn and AE-L/AF-L are also echoed to the quick-change screen.

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