Based on a production Nikon Coolpix P5000
Just when Nikon fans had given up on the company ever producing a serious enthusiast compact camera again (thanks to the arrival of the affordable DSLR), along came the P5000, the nearest thing to a high-end compact since the demise of the Coolpix 8800 and 8400 a couple of years back. It's a big leap forward from the previous, slightly disappointing P ('performance', apparently) series cameras, with a more complete feature set, a flash hot shoe and a much more sensible design (previous models were modeled on a bar of soap, and offered similar handling). Although nowhere near as advanced as the real big beasts of this sector, it is much more compact than cameras like the Canon G7, and it does come with a decent level of expandability (add on lenses, flash etc) - and it's very keenly priced. So is this the camera to put Nikon back on the enthusiast compact map? Let's find out, starting with the headline spec:
| Street price | • US: $360 |
|---|---|
| Body Material | Metal and plastic |
| Sensor | • 1/1.8 " Type CCD |
| Image sizes | • 3648 x 2736 |
| Movie clips | • Motion JPEG (AVI) with sound |
| File formats | • JPEG Exif V2.2 • DCF • DPOF • Motion JPEG AVI |
| Lens | • 3.5x Zoom-Nikkor (36-126mm equiv.) |
| Image stabilization | Lens-shift VR |
| Conversion lenses | Yes (optional) |
| Digital zoom | up to 4x |
| Focus | • Contrast Detection AF • Macro • Infinity lock • Manual focus |
| AF area modes | • Auto (9-area automatic selection) |
| AF assist lamp | Yes |
| Focus distance | • 30cm (1 ft.) to infinity (∞) [W], 70cm(2 ft. 4 in.) to infinity (∞) [T] • Macro close-up mode: 4cm (1.6 in.) to infinity (∞) [W], 40cm (1 ft. 4 in.) to infinity (∞) [T] |
| Metering | • Through-the-lens (TTL) metering • 256-segment matrix • Spot • Center-weighted • Spot AF area |
| ISO sensitivity | • Auto (64 - 800) • ISO 64 • ISO 100 • ISO 200 • ISO 400 • ISO 800 • ISO 1600 • ISO 2000 • ISO 3200 (5MP or lower only) |
| Exposure compensation | • -/+ 2EV • in 1/3 EV steps |
| Exposure bracketing | • 3 shots |
| Shutter speed | 1/2000 to 8 s |
| Aperture | • Six blade iris diaphragm • 10 (in steps of 1/3 EV) |
| Modes | • Auto shooting mode |
| Scene modes | Face-priority AF, Portrait, Landscape, Sports, Night Portrait, Party/Indoor, Beach/Snow, Sunset, Dusk/Dawn, Night Landscape, Close up, Museum, Fireworks show, Copy, Back Light, Panorama Assist, Voice recording |
| White balance | • Auto |
| Self timer | • 10 or 3 secs |
| Continuous shooting | • Single |
| Image parameters | Normal, Softer, Vivid, More vivid, Portrait, Custom, Black-and-white |
| Flash | • Built-in • Range: (W) 0.3 to 8.0m (1 ft. to 26 ft. 3 in.), (T) 0.3 to 4.0m (1 ft. to 13 ft. 1 in.) • Flash Hot Shoe • Auto, Auto with red-eye reduction, Anytime flash, Flash cancel, Slow sync., Rear-curtain sync. |
| Viewfinder | • Real-image zoom viewfinder • Approx 80% coverage |
| LCD monitor | • 2.5-in wide viewing angle TFT LCD with anti-reflection coating • 230,000-dot • Approx 97% coverage (record mode) |
| Connectivity | • USB • AV out (NTSC / PAL) |
| Print compliance | PictBridge, DCF, DPOF, EXIF print |
| Storage | • SD / SDHC / MMC card (optional) • Approx 26MB internal memory |
| Power | • Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL5 (supplied) • AC Adapter EH-62A (optional) |
| Weight (No batt) | Approx. 200 g (7.1 oz.) without battery and SD memory card |
| Dimensions | Approx. 98 x 64.5 x 41 mm (3.9 x 2.5 x 1.6 in.) excluding projections |
If you're new to digital photography you may wish to read the Digital
Photography Glossary before diving into this article (it may help
you understand some of the terms used).
|
Conclusion / Recommendation / Ratings are based on the opinion of the reviewer, you should read the ENTIRE review before coming to your own conclusions. Images which can be viewed at a larger size have a small magnifying glass icon in the bottom right corner of the image, clicking on the image will display a larger (typically VGA) image in a new window. To navigate the review simply use the next / previous page buttons, to jump to a particular section either pick the section from the drop down or select it from the navigation bar at the top. DPReview calibrate their monitors using Color Vision OptiCal at the (fairly well accepted) PC normal gamma 2.2, this means that on our monitors we can make out the difference between all of the (computer generated) grayscale blocks below. We recommend to make the most of this review you should be able to see the difference (at least) between X,Y and Z and ideally A,B and C. |
 |
This article is Copyright 2007 Simon Joinson / dpreview.com and the review in part or in whole may NOT be reproduced in any electronic or printed medium without prior permission from the author. For information on reproducing any part of this review (or any images) please contact: Phil Askey
Nikon Coolpix P5000 10MP Digital Camera with 3.5x Optical Vibration Reduction Zoom | $499.00 |
Nikon Coolpix P5000 10MP Digital Camera with 3.5x Optical Vibration Reduction Zoom | $499.00 |
Nikon Coolpix P5100 12.1MP Digital Camera with 3.5x Optical Vibration Reduction Zoom | $340.00 |
Nikon D5100 Digital SLR Camera & 18-55mm G VR DX AF-S Zoom Lens with 32GB Card + Tripod + Remote + Case + Filter + Tele/Wide-Angle Lenses + Accessory Kit (Refurbished By Nikon USA) | $524.95 |
Nikon D5100 Digital SLR Camera & 18-55mm G VR DX AF-S with 55-200mm VR DX AF-S ED Zoom-Nikkor Lens (Refurbished By Nikon USA) | $569.95 |
Nikon Coolpix 5000 5MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom | $70.00 |
Nikon D5000 12.3 MP DX Digital SLR Camera with 2.7-inch Vari-angle LCD (Body Only) | $198.00 |
Nikon D5100 Digital SLR Camera & 18-55mm G VR DX AF-S Zoom Lens with 16GB Card + Backpack + Remote + Filter + Accessory Kit (Refurbished By Nikon USA) | $499.95 |
Nikon D5100 Digital SLR Camera & 18-55mm G VR DX AF-S with 55-300mm VR Lens + 32GB Card + Backpack + Battery + Filters + Tele/Wide-Angle Lenses + Accessory Kit (Refurbished By Nikon USA) | $769.95 |
Nikon D5100 Digital SLR Camera & 18-55mm G VR DX AF-S with 55-200mm VR Lens + 32GB Card + Case + Battery + Filters + Tripod + Tele/Wide-Angle Lenses + Accessory Kit (Refurbished By Nikon USA) | $669.95 |
Nikon D5100 Digital SLR Camera Body with 16GB Card + Accessory Kit (Refurbished By Nikon USA) | $389.95 |
   |
|
Connect with dpreview
|
Comments