What is better: Nikon D5000, D3000, D60, or D40?

I'm just a beginner, i've had about 3 digital cameras but i want something better, with higher quality.

what's the best for my money?

which is better for beginners?

pros/cons on all of them?

The D60 and D40 were replaced by the D5000 and D3000 respectively.

between the D3000 and D5000, it is a matter of which one has the features you want. Both of them are good for beginners and will provide you with a good 3-5 years of shooting before you "need" to upgrade.

I suggest you go to a camera store and see for yourself which one you like better. Read up on the features and see what you want to pay.

There are a lot of differences but generally:

1. Flash Sync - The fastest shutter speed the camera can shoot at with a flash.
D40 - 1/500
D60, D3000 - 1/200
D5000 - Uses a Nikon feature called AutoFP that allows a faster shutter speed with a flash

2. Bracketing - Allows a series of pictures to be taken in one instance at different exposures.
D5000 has a bracketing mode the others do not

3. Max Resolution
D40 - 6MP, D60, D3000 - 10MP, D5000 - 14MP

4. Video
D5000 only

The D5000 is the better camera and there are newer models like the D7000. There are a few other things you should know.

1. All of these come with an 18-55mm lens. This lens can typically make a picture look compressed. Using a longer lens is recommended such as a 18-200mm or a 70-300mm depending on how close the space is you may be taking pictures.

2. You should invest in an external flash unit. Nikon has compatible flash units for each of it's cameras. I use a SB-600 because it was affordable around $219.

3. You should get protective filters like a circular polarize or a UV haze. The circular polarizers can be a bit pricey. But other protective filers are generally cheap. A good investment to protect your lens.

4. If you're at the beach don't let the camera fall into sand. Any sand can get in and damage the camera sensor.

5. Try to work towards a goal of shooting in manual mode. You'll get much better pictures. Here's a nice site with some good tutorials.http://www.digital-photography-school.com/

I would eliminate the D40 from the list. The only advantage is the faster flash sync but the resolution is 6MP. I have a friend that has that camera and it does take really nice pictures if you are an experienced photographer. The D40 and D60 are older products.

My recommendation would be the D5000 or D7000. Also save up for some lens, a flash, filter kit, a tripod, and a carrying case. I got my tripod and carrying case at Ritz Camera. The tripod had all the features I wanted and was about $50.It's a Quantaray one and very sturdy when I use a longer lens. The carrying case is an Airbak

D40 was a great camera. If this is still available, I would recommend it. D60 just bumps up the pixel count.d40 was replaced by d3000 but it was not a very good camera at low light using high ISO. D60 was replaced by d5000 and it shares a similar sensor with d90.d5000 can also capture videos and has an articulated LCD.

but if i'm to suggest right now, either the D90 body, which is priced just a little more expensive from a d5000 kit then get a 18-55mm or 50mm 1.8D or the new D3100 from nikon. D3100 is gaining popularity right now due to its very good performance and is priced at 699USD that comes with a kit lens (18-55mm vr) and can shoot video with autofocus. This is a best entry level camera for beginners to date in my opinion.

con for the cameras that you mention is that it lacks a built-in motor for the body.meaning, you can't use older lenses. You will be limited to AF-S lenses.

pros of d5000 from the ones you mentioned is that it can shoot videos and has a live view and an articulated LCD. Although you have to shoot videos using manual focus.

pros of d40 is its maximum flash sync at 1/500 while others I think is only at 1/200 and it performs very good at low light.

pros of d3100 which is suggest you consider is that it can shoot videos with autofocus and it also has live view. It performs very good at low light.

pro of d90 if want to consider it is that it has more advance features, shoots video and live view like the d5000 minus the articulated LCD but gains a buit-in motor and more direct buttons for adjustments.

con of d3000 is that it has a poor high ISO performance.

not much to say about D60.

also, another tip is that don't look too much on how many pixel the camera has. It does not have anything to do with the image quality.more pixel is only for printing very large and cropping.