Go easy on the sepia tone function in Photoshop. Yes, it’s an easy, eye-catching way to spruce up average looking photographs, but if you’re looking for a better, more challenging, and customizable way to improve your photography, there’s no better option than choosing a compact SLR. Of course, they have their limitations – they tend to be clunky, heavy, and tend not to offer image previewing like a standard point and shoot. But, luckily, the world of SLRs is changing, and the proof is in the pudding with cameras like Nikon’s D5000.

There are several features that set the D5000 apart. The most heralded aspect of the D5000 addresses the aspiring Renoirs of the world: it has the ability to record HD video, which allows for an even wider range of recording options than a standard video camera. But the features don’t stop there, as the camera also has a vari-angle swiveling LCD display, which allows users to properly preview (and hence, properly capture) perspectives that were previously impossible on SLRs.

But, at the core of the D5000 is its user-friendliness. It’s compact, but the controls are logically positioned, and there camera offers subject tracking (for quick-moving topics like kids or pets) and user presets for 19 different ‘scene modes.’ Further, the camera offers an on-the-fly Retouch mode, for those who’d like to do basic image altering without delving into Photoshop. Like the Olympus E-450, the D5000 is a cross-functional camera, integrating the photo quality of SLRs with the compact ease of a point-and-shoot. It’s about time.

Nikon D5000, with the AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f3.5-5.6G VR lens, $1,059.95; with the AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR lens $1,249.95 . Visit Nikon.ca for more information.