Coolpix 5000 - Your thoughts

Toralf Sandåker said:

The CCD is important. As is film. But the rest of the camera; lens,
coating, couplings, mechanics, electronics, design, controls,
minimizing vibration, and of course the software/firmware. Nikon
has shown with its hight-end digicams that they are masters in this
field, together with Kodak, only now getting tough competition from
Canon.

And the CP 5000's lens, how do you know it's not "decent"? Have you
actually tried it, taken pictures with it? There are plenty of
examples how faster, glass-heavy lenses are outperformed by a bit
slower lenses from serious manufacturers. We don't know this yet.

I have been taking almost 5000 pictures with my CP 990, a good
bunch of which have been printed in magazines, also photo mags. In
real life this 8 mm f:2.5–24 mm f:4 lens has performed extremely
well.

Tests aren't everything. When did you last see a comparison between
digicams w pictures taken at full f-stop, two f-stops down and so
on? Probably you haven't beacuse they don't really test the optics.
Som cameras are also unable to control the aperture.

So the conclusion? Two of them: 1) Wait and see the facts. 2) Judge
the camera as a total product, and don't be too hung up with the
various specs.

algor said:

algor: Sony is recognized professional videoequipment maker
and Nikon using Sony CCD in their digicoms.
So why why Nikon as leading camera maker not putting in 5000 decent
lens?

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

steve said:

steve1 said:

steve1 said:

OK, so we've been talking about this Nikon 5k for awhile now. Its
only a few days until November - (release date given in the nikon
website). So, where is the thing? We gotta be seeing real photos,
reviews, etc. sometime soon, no?

Click to expand...

They always seem to deliver these things on the last possible day.
November 35th?

-iNova

Click to expand...

35th or 40th? I just hope thats not the camera rating... heh heh....
well, one can only hope that the darn thing is razor sharp, low
noise, and bitchen picture quality to make up for losing the truly
cool swivel.
I hate the idea of being a guinea pig for a 1100 dollar digital
camera. But then again, what if this one is finally really great?!
It is a bit risky, but whaddaya gonna do, when you've grown to
hate the smell of fixer in the morning?
When I bought my F3 in 1980-something, it cost 699. I think its
still worth much of that. The times they are a changing. I guess if
i have to buy another camera in 9 months, then I'll be helping the
econonmy, or what?

-Steve

Click to expand...

John McMurdo said:

John McMurdo said:

I have looked at hundreds of samples from the G2, f707, 990, and
the 995, though I must say that the G2 is a close second, the 995
is just a better picture. So we agree to disagree on this =)

Click to expand...

Scooter,
I noticed when I first started comparing the G2, 995, and 707 that
it was very difficult to evaluate differences between these
cameras on a computer screen. After I printed a few images of
identical subjects for each camera, the differences became much
more apparent. Can you point me to any such identical images on the
net that would show the superiority of any of these cameras? For
your own interest you may want to check out and --print- - the
images of the brick building for each of these cameras on Steve's
digicams.

Click to expand...

John McMurdo said:

Waiting for the Coolpix 5000 review like a lot of other people -
but too bad about the slow lens - dunno.... NIce to hear also that
the Sony 707 also remains a possibility now that they have
rectified some of the bugs.

Click to expand...

David SL said:

Brian said:

In general, what do you think about the soon-to-be-released CP5000.
For some reason I have seen some negative comments from Nikon fans.

Brian

Click to expand...

On Reduced Noise:

There is a very good chance, that the noise levels on shots for
this camera will be remarkably low. Nikon would be a fool to leave
out the knowledge learned and applied to the DXX series cameras to
their prosumer line. Better algorithms and a larger CCD will make
noise levels lower than the existing flagship 995 strictly on a
theoretical basis. (which is pretty darn good as far as noise, even
when compared to newer cameras.) Advanced algorithms and increased
CCD sensitivity should provide even better results. As a bonus,
the increased bit size will ensure a larger dynamic range that will
provide even subtler gradings in contrast and color, hopefully
approaching the awesome performance of the D1X cameras. (Nikon
..how about an AdobeRGB color space selection next time?)

On Reduced aperture range:

I think the restricted aperture ( about half the Fstops at
telephoto than the 990) is not that big an issue, you must keep in
mind that so long as the sensor registers the correct scene light
quickly, the aperture doesn't matter. Sure there will be an inverse
relationship between aperture and shutter speed as always, but if
your sensitivity is up...you can still properly expose the scene
with a larger aperture and not a much increased exposure time. In
comparison to the 990,[990: 2.5 - 7(wide) and 4 - 11 (tele)]
[5000:2.8 - 8(wide) and 4.5 - 7.6(tele), most of the loss comes
toward the telephoto end. I will take a guess and say, that the
sensitivity of the ccd in the 5000 ( as a consequence of its larger
size) will be increased enough to preclude lengthy exposure times
just to get descent indoor shots. It's very possible that Nikon
pushed the sensitivity range in this camera so that they fall
within the aperture range for "standard" shooting situations. Where
"standard" is whatever Nikon believes the range of light levels
that most will want to shoot in, without having to set insanely
long exposure times to do so. Another hint at this possibility, is
the inclusion of the ISO 800 rating, I think they have succeeded in
reducing noise enough in this new camera to have its ISO 200 look
as good as (if not better) than ISO 100 in the latest crop of
digicams. A good example, is their success in the D1X and D1H
cameras recently released as far as reduced noise, and high ISO are
concerned.

We'll find out if my guess is on the mark in a few short weeks.

On extending lens:

I hatedthe idea of it at first, but in order to go to the
swivelling LCD and the thinner depth profile of the camera, the
formerly encased lens system was made to extend. The only real
difference from the 99x cameras is that you can see it happen. I
did worry about the start time for the extension with my first DC
the Kodak DC260 several years ago but hopefully the 5000 will be
quicker to get ready for a shot.

On the hotshoe:

Finally ! Now I can use my sb28 flash without a versatek bracket!

On the swivelling LCD:

The versatility of the swivel body is still there and now with a
few more possibilities. The construction is probably less prone to
mechanical issues and is probably cheaper to make, sounds like a
good idea to me.

On the accesories:

I love the fact that most of my 990 accesories will work with this
camera, my 2x teleconverter and filters will see time on my Cp 990
and (if I decide to buy it) the 5000.

On Tripod Mount:

Rubberized but still off center! Darn it do the engineers even read
these online reviews? I guess we'll have to fake panorama shots or
wait until someone comes out with a centering attachement for
it.(which should be pretty easy having seen the level bottom of the
camera.)

On RAW image format:

I guess they don't think us prosumers want to tweak or images, this
should be pretty easy to include too....oh well, maybe they'll have
it in the Nikon 5050 ??

On the video with sound:

Nice! but 15fps is anemic...I rarely use the video on my 990. So
this isn't a big smile inducer for me.

All told, only the sensitivity, dynamic range and noise performance
of this camera will make it a "buy" or a "leave it alone" for me. I
have been checking this site every day, as I feel for sure Phil is
finishing up his review of a production 5000.

Phil, hurry the suspense is killing us!

Dsl

Click to expand...

Bill Falik said:

David SL said:

Brian said:

In general, what do you think about the soon-to-be-released CP5000.
For some reason I have seen some negative comments from Nikon fans.

Brian

Click to expand...

On Reduced Noise:

There is a very good chance, that the noise levels on shots for
this camera will be remarkably low. Nikon would be a fool to leave
out the knowledge learned and applied to the DXX series cameras to
their prosumer line. Better algorithms and a larger CCD will make
noise levels lower than the existing flagship 995 strictly on a
theoretical basis. (which is pretty darn good as far as noise, even
when compared to newer cameras.) Advanced algorithms and increased
CCD sensitivity should provide even better results. As a bonus,
the increased bit size will ensure a larger dynamic range that will
provide even subtler gradings in contrast and color, hopefully
approaching the awesome performance of the D1X cameras. (Nikon
..how about an AdobeRGB color space selection next time?)

On Reduced aperture range:

I think the restricted aperture ( about half the Fstops at
telephoto than the 990) is not that big an issue, you must keep in
mind that so long as the sensor registers the correct scene light
quickly, the aperture doesn't matter. Sure there will be an inverse
relationship between aperture and shutter speed as always, but if
your sensitivity is up...you can still properly expose the scene
with a larger aperture and not a much increased exposure time. In
comparison to the 990,[990: 2.5 - 7(wide) and 4 - 11 (tele)]
[5000:2.8 - 8(wide) and 4.5 - 7.6(tele), most of the loss comes
toward the telephoto end. I will take a guess and say, that the
sensitivity of the ccd in the 5000 ( as a consequence of its larger
size) will be increased enough to preclude lengthy exposure times
just to get descent indoor shots. It's very possible that Nikon
pushed the sensitivity range in this camera so that they fall
within the aperture range for "standard" shooting situations. Where
"standard" is whatever Nikon believes the range of light levels
that most will want to shoot in, without having to set insanely
long exposure times to do so. Another hint at this possibility, is
the inclusion of the ISO 800 rating, I think they have succeeded in
reducing noise enough in this new camera to have its ISO 200 look
as good as (if not better) than ISO 100 in the latest crop of
digicams. A good example, is their success in the D1X and D1H
cameras recently released as far as reduced noise, and high ISO are
concerned.

We'll find out if my guess is on the mark in a few short weeks.

On extending lens:

I hatedthe idea of it at first, but in order to go to the
swivelling LCD and the thinner depth profile of the camera, the
formerly encased lens system was made to extend. The only real
difference from the 99x cameras is that you can see it happen. I
did worry about the start time for the extension with my first DC
the Kodak DC260 several years ago but hopefully the 5000 will be
quicker to get ready for a shot.

On the hotshoe:

Finally ! Now I can use my sb28 flash without a versatek bracket!

On the swivelling LCD:

The versatility of the swivel body is still there and now with a
few more possibilities. The construction is probably less prone to
mechanical issues and is probably cheaper to make, sounds like a
good idea to me.

On the accesories:

I love the fact that most of my 990 accesories will work with this
camera, my 2x teleconverter and filters will see time on my Cp 990
and (if I decide to buy it) the 5000.

On Tripod Mount:

Rubberized but still off center! Darn it do the engineers even read
these online reviews? I guess we'll have to fake panorama shots or
wait until someone comes out with a centering attachement for
it.(which should be pretty easy having seen the level bottom of the
camera.)

On RAW image format:

I guess they don't think us prosumers want to tweak or images, this
should be pretty easy to include too....oh well, maybe they'll have
it in the Nikon 5050 ??

On the video with sound:

Nice! but 15fps is anemic...I rarely use the video on my 990. So
this isn't a big smile inducer for me.

All told, only the sensitivity, dynamic range and noise performance
of this camera will make it a "buy" or a "leave it alone" for me. I
have been checking this site every day, as I feel for sure Phil is
finishing up his review of a production 5000.

Phil, hurry the suspense is killing us!

Dsl

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

AVJason said:

Toralf Sandåker said:

The CCD is important. As is film. But the rest of the camera; lens,
coating, couplings, mechanics, electronics, design, controls,
minimizing vibration, and of course the software/firmware. Nikon
has shown with its hight-end digicams that they are masters in this
field, together with Kodak, only now getting tough competition from
Canon.

And the CP 5000's lens, how do you know it's not "decent"? Have you
actually tried it, taken pictures with it? There are plenty of
examples how faster, glass-heavy lenses are outperformed by a bit
slower lenses from serious manufacturers. We don't know this yet.

I have been taking almost 5000 pictures with my CP 990, a good
bunch of which have been printed in magazines, also photo mags. In
real life this 8 mm f:2.5–24 mm f:4 lens has performed extremely
well.

Tests aren't everything. When did you last see a comparison between
digicams w pictures taken at full f-stop, two f-stops down and so
on? Probably you haven't beacuse they don't really test the optics.
Som cameras are also unable to control the aperture.

So the conclusion? Two of them: 1) Wait and see the facts. 2) Judge
the camera as a total product, and don't be too hung up with the
various specs.

algor said:

algor: Sony is recognized professional videoequipment maker
and Nikon using Sony CCD in their digicoms.
So why why Nikon as leading camera maker not putting in 5000 decent
lens?

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Bill Falik said:

Bill Falik wrote:

Click to expand...

Bill Falik said:

I am curious about your thoughts on the telephoto length of the CP
5000. I was concerned that its telephoto length was not as varied
and long as other digital cameras.

Click to expand...

Brian said:

In general, what do you think about the soon-to-be-released CP5000.
For some reason I have seen some negative comments from Nikon fans.

Brian

Click to expand...

Nik said:

ooooooo said:

AntoineB. wrote:
... as far as DOF, f/2.8 on a non SLR digicam is equal to
an f/11 or f/16 in 35mm equivalents...

Click to expand...

what are you talking about?! f/numbers are f/numbers - digital or
not, SLR or not!

Click to expand...

adrian said:

Brian said:

In general, what do you think about the soon-to-be-released CP5000.
For some reason I have seen some negative comments from Nikon fans.

Brian

Click to expand...

Click to expand...