Nikon Coolpix 5400 Review, Phil Askey, July 2003

Review based on a production Coolpix 5400

The Nikon Coolpix 5400, announced at the end of May 2003, is the immediate successor to the Coolpix 5000 it has a very similar design and maintains the Coolpix 5000's unique wide angle zoom lens, although in the 5400 this has been extended to four times optical zoom. This means that the compact Coolpix 5400 has the fairly unique position of being a five megapixel 'prosumer' digital camera with a 28 - 116 mm (equiv.) zoom range.

Those observant among you may have noticed that despite an increase in zoom range the real focal length range of the lens used on the 5400 (5.8 - 24 mm) is less than that of the Coolpix 5000 (7.1 - 21.4 mm), this can be accounted for in the difference between the size of sensor used. The Coolpix 5000 used a 2/3" (8.8 x 6.6 mm) CCD, the Coolpix 5400 uses a newer (and slightly smaller) 1/1.8" (7.2 x 5.3 mm) CCD.

Nikon Coolpix 5400 vs. Coolpix 5000

Here's a quick summary of the primary differences between the Coolpix 5400 and 5000.

	Nikon Coolpix 5400	Nikon Coolpix 5000
Sensor	• 1/1.8" (7.2 x 5.3 mm) CCD • 5.2 million pixels total • RGB color filter array	• 2/3" (8.8 x 6.6 mm) CCD • 5.2 million pixels total • CYGM color filter array
Lens	• 4x optical zoom • 28 - 116 mm equiv. • F2.8 - F4.6 • 9 elements in 8 groups	• 3x optical zoom • 28 - 85 mm equiv. • F2.8 - F4.8 • 9 elements in 7 groups
Min. focus range	• Normal: 50 cm • Macro: 1 cm	• Normal: 50 cm • Macro: 2 cm
Image size	• 2592 x 1944 • 2592 x 1728 (3:2) • 1600 x 1200 • 1280 x 960 • 1024 x 768 • 640 x 480	• 2560 x 1920 • 2560 x 1700 (3:2) • 1600 x 1200 • 1280 x 960 • 1024 x 768 • 640 x 480
Image format *	• TIFF • JPEG (EXIF 2.2)	• RAW • TIFF • JPEG (EXIF 1.1)
Shooting / exposure modes	• Auto • Scene • Program AE (shiftable) • Shutter Priority AE • Aperture Priority AE • Manual Exposure • Movie clip	• Auto • Program AE (shiftable) • Aperture Priority • Shutter Priority • Manual
Scene modes	• Portrait • Party/Indoor • Night Portrait • Beach/Snow • Landscape • Sunset • Night Landscape • Museum • Fireworks Show • Close Up • Copy • Back Light • Sports • Panorama Assist • Dawn/Dusk	None
Sensitivity	• Auto • ISO 50 • ISO 100 • ISO 200 • ISO 400	• Auto • ISO 100 • ISO 200 • ISO 400 • ISO 800
BSS	• BSS • AE-BSS	• BSS
Drive modes	• Single • Cont. H (3 fps, up to 7 frames) • Cont. L (1.5 fps, up to 18 frames) • Multi-shot 16 (2 fps, 16 img in one) • Cont. UHS (QVGA; 30 fps, 100 frms) • 5 shot buffer (1.5 fps)	• Single • Cont. H (3 fps, up to 3 frames) • Cont. L (1.5 fps, up to 8 frames) • Cont. HS (SXGA, XGA, VGA; 1.6 fps) • Cont. UHS (QVGA; 30 fps, 100 frms) • Multi-shot 16 (3 fps, 16 img in one)
Movie clips	• 640 x 480, 15 fps up to 70 sec • 320 x 240, 15 fps up to 180 sec • Time-lapse movie mode	• 320 x 240, 15 fps up to 60 sec
Flash modes	• Auto • Flash Cancel • Red-Eye Reduction • Anytime Flash • Slow Sync, front-curtain • Rear-Curtain Sync • Repeating Flash	• Auto • Flash Cancel • Red-Eye Reduction • Anytime Flash • Slow Sync, front-curtain
LCD monitor	• 1.5" TFT LCD • 134,000 pixels • Flip-out and twist • Anti-reflective coating	• 1.8" TFT LCD • 110,000 pixels • Flip-out and twist • Anti-reflective coating
Supplied storage	• 16 MB Compact Flash card	• 32 MB Compact Flash card
Dimensions	108 x 73 x 69 mm (4.3 x 2.9 x 2.7 in)	102 x 82 x 68 mm (4.0 x 3.2 x 2.7 in)
Weight (inc batt)	380 g (13.4 oz)	414 g (14.6 oz)

* Coolpix 5400 will get RAW format support early next year via a firmware update, the Coolpix 5000 has had RAW format support since firmware 1.7 posted last September.

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 2003 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.