Conclusion - Pros
- Image quality comparable with its peers
- Excellent viewfinder
- Superb high resolution LCD monitor
- Automatic chromatic aberration correction improves performance from all lenses
- Punchy but not un-natural colors (and plenty of control if you want to change them)
- Good dynamic range - and Active D-Lighting to help make the most of it
- Useful in-camera RAW processing option
- Excellent degree of customization (reversible dials and meter ease transition from other systems)
- Fast Autofocus with useful control options
- High sensitivity performance up there with the best we've seen
- Sophisticated wireless flash commander built-in
- Programmable FUNC button with useful list of functions
- Configurable 'My Menu' (and option for FUNC button to access the top item on it)
- Excellent build quality, tight shut lines, quality materials
- Instant power on, very responsive in-use
- Auto-focus assist lamp rather than requiring flash to be raised
- Control over high sensitivity noise reduction
- Customizable automatic sensitivity (ISO)
- Easy to use playback / delete combination
- Status LCD panel on top of camera (we still like them)
- Fast continuous shooting mode
- Good SD card throughput and USB 2.0 transfer speed
- Extensive retouching features including D-Lighting, Red-eye reduction and distortion correction
- Good battery life and precise charge-level indication
- Dedicated help button provides in-menu assistance
- HD video
Conclusion - Cons
- Over-enthusiastic metering a little prone to blown highlights
- Very soft (default) JPEG output compared to its peers
- We believe more of the captured dynamic range could be incorporated into Jpegs
- Menus getting long and complex (though well organized and differentiated)
- Bundled software pretty limited
- Arbitrary 100-shot limit on continuous shooting
- Disappointing automatic white balance performance in incandescent light
- In-camera RAW conversion could provide more control
- Video capabilities limited in a number of ways
