Nikon Coolpix 5000 Review, Phil Askey, January 2002

Review based on an production Coolpix 5000, firmware 1.6

The Coolpix 5000 was first announced back in September this year. Its design with a compact metal body, extending lens and flip-out and twist LCD surprised quite a few Coolpix aficionados. Clearly the Coolpix 5000 doesn't follow the previous line of prosumer Coolpix cameras, all of which had a longer split swivel design with an 'internal focusing' lens. It enters the all new 5 megapixel market as only the fourth such camera announced. Competition is made up of the Minolta DiMAGE 7, Sony DSC-F707 and Olympus E-20.

The Coolpix 5000 is aimed at the prosumer market, carrying a slew of manual features, a large amount of image processing controls as well as details such as the AE / AF lock button, command dial and flash hotshoe. One curiosity could be targeted at its lens, with an effective focal length range of 28 - 85 mm it provides a good wide angle 'bottom end' but a relatively limited telephoto ability.

If you're new to digital photography you may wish to read the Digital Photography Glossary before diving into this review (it may help you understand some of the terms used).

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This review is Copyright 2002 Phil Askey 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.