Timings & File Sizes

In operation the Coolpix 5000 never leaves you waiting, a good sized internal buffer which appears to be capable of holding half a dozen or more images means that almost as soon as the live view returns to the LCD you can take the next shot. Other operational functions are relatively quick, the 5000 uses a 'rough thumbnail' view in playback mode to give you an instant image as you're browsing through, wait a second or two and this is replaced with a higher resolution version. About the only annoying delay is camera startup which can take up to 7 seconds.

Timing Notes: All times calculated as an average of three operations. Unless otherwise stated all timings were made on a 2560 x 1920 FINE JPEG image (approx. 1.6 MB per image).

The media used for these tests were:

• 256 MB Viking Type I CompactFlash card
• 512 MB Lexar Pro 16x Type I CompactFlash card
• 1 GB IBM Microdrive Type II CompactFlash card

Action	Details	Time, seconds (Viking CF)	Time, seconds (Lexar 16x CF)	Time, seconds (Microdrive)
Power: Off to Record		5.9	6.3	7.6
Power: Off to Play	Initial image	3.0	3.3	5.8
Power: Record to Off	Lens out	3.7	3.7	3.7
Power: Play to Off	Lens in	1.3	1.6	1.3
Mode: Record to Play	Lens out	1.2	1.2	3.2
Mode: Play to Record	Lens out	2.3	2.3	2.3
Play: Magnify to x6.0	25 steps	4.3	4.3	5.4
Play: Image to Image	Initial image	0.7	0.8	2.1
Rec: Thumbnail view 2 x 2		0.7	0.7	2.8
Rec: Thumbnail view 3 x 3		1.2	1.2	4.9

Action	Details	Time, seconds
Zoom from Wide to Tele	Full zoom from 28 mm to 85 mm (3x)	1.8
Auto Focus LAG	Normal AF *1	0.8 - 1.3
Auto Focus LAG	Macro AF *1	1.5 - 2.5
Shutter Release LAG	Using viewfinder	<0.1
Shutter Release LAG	Using LCD monitor	0.1
Total LAG	Normal AF (average)	~1.1
Off to Shot Taken	Using 256 MB Viking Type I CF card	6.1
Shot to Shot	Record review enabled	1.9
Shot to Shot	Record review disabled	1.9

Auto Focus LAG is (roughly) the amount of time it takes the camera to autofocus (a half-press and hold of the shutter release button), this timing is normally the most variable as its affected by the subject matter, current focus position, still or moving subject etc. This timing is an average.

Shutter Release LAG is the amount of time it takes to take the shot after autofocus, this timing assumes you have already focused (half-pressed the shutter release) and now press the shutter release button all the way down to take the shot. This timing is an average.

Total LAG is the total time it takes (not just the two above added together) if you haven't pre-focused, that is no finger touching the shutter release button, press it all the way down in one movement, this new timing is how long it'd take if you were in one of those spur-of-the-moment situations. This timing is an average.

Continuous modes

As with the 990 and 995, the 5000 offers a wide range of different continuous (or burst) shooting modes, everything from full 5 megapixel continuous shooting down to 320 x 240 ultra high speed bursts. New to the 5000 are separate Continuous H and Continuous L modes.

The table below shows the results of our continuous shooting test, indicating the actual frame rate along with maximum number of frames and how long you would have to wait after taking the maximum number of frames before you could take another shot. Timings taken using a 256 MB Viking Compact Flash Type I card.

Considering the large size of each image (and thus the amount of data which must be processed) the 5000 does a relatively good job in continuous mode. Certainly if you're willing to drop down to the 1.5 fps option you can shoot around 12 frames at 5 megapixel, NORMAL JPEG. The lower resolution continuous modes offer longer shooting times at higher speeds for capturing that all important moment. Kudos Nikon.

Continuous mode Flush Timing

The timings above represent the speed of the camera and its internal buffer, however the speed of the Compact Flash card will also have an impact on shooting continuously, it defines how long we must wait before the ENTIRE "burst" of frames are written away to the card (flushed). During the flush process (which happens in the background, you can still take a shot as long as there is space in the internal buffer) certain camera operations are blocked; such as playback and entering the menu. Continuous L mode was used for these tests.

Image Type	No. images	Time, seconds (Viking CF)	Time, seconds (Lexar 16x CF)	Time, seconds (Microdrive)
2560 x 1920 NORMAL	12	43.2	46.2	59.2
1024 x 768 NORMAL	67	151.9	168.0	219.1
Movie (60 secs)	n/a	22.0	21.5	23.4
Calculated		Viking CF	Lexar 16x CF	Microdrive
Max. write speed *1		836 KB/sec	822 KB/sec	760 KB/sec

It's worth noting that writing a lot of smaller files proved to be MUCH harder (slower) work for the Coolpix 5000 than writing one single large file (of say equal size to the multiple small files). This is probably less to do with the speed of the CF card and more to do with the cameras CPU ability to process and generate each image.

File Flush / Display Timing

Timings shown below are the time taken for the camera to process and "flush" the image out to the Compact Flash card, the timer was started as soon as the shutter release was pressed (shutter click was heard) and stopped when activity indicator LED beside the storage compartment went out. This means the timings also include the cameras processing time and as such are more representative of the actual time to "complete the task".

The media used for these tests were:

• 256 MB Viking Type I CompactFlash card
• 512 MB Lexar Pro 16x Type I CompactFlash card
• 1 GB IBM Microdrive Type II CompactFlash card

File Sizes

Here's a comparison of the average byte size of a selection of different image size / quality combinations.

Battery life

We ran the camera through our new battery life test. This test is designed to be fair and comparative to each camera and battery type:

• Take 4 shots without flash
• Wait 2 minutes (50% of the time powering the camera off)
• Take 1 shot with flash
• Wait 1 minute
• Repeat

All batteries had been fully discharged and recharged before the test and all cameras were reset to their factory default settings. Here are the results:

Once more Nikon's small, lightweight EN-EL1 turned in an impressive performance. With a virtually identical life to the Coolpix 995 with the same battery Nikon have obviously managed to squeeze every drop of power out of that moderately powerful 4.8 Wh battery. Kudos.