The Nikon D5100 ($899.99 with 18-55mm kit lens) carries on that tradition, and adds continuous autofocus during video recording, a high-res, articulating LCD, a microphone input, and top-notch in-camera effects. With its unbeatable feature set and price, the Nikon D5100 dethrones  as our Editors' Choice under-$1,000 D-SLR.
On the outside, the D5100 looks like virtually every mid-price D-SLR Nikon has put out in the past few years. They're all very luxurious looking and substantial-feeling (The D5100's body weighs 1.2 pounds, and with its included 18-55mm lens, the camera weighs 1.8 pounds). You get switches, dials and levers galore, to get you quickly into almost any mode. There's also a directional pad for speedy menu navigation.