Nikon 5700

Adam,

adambc said:

I think I would have bought the 5700 already had it not been for
doubts through reading many, many reviews/comments/etc on this
level of digicam - the 5700 is still there, firmly, but I've had to
look at the 7Hi

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I would certainly be looking at other cameras too. They're not cheap, after all ...

adambc said:

I can't get my hands on both cameras to try, so the advice I'm
getting from this forum - and the equivalent Minolta forum (no

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Not even in a camera store in your local mall ?

adambc said:

If I'm truthful, the points of contention (in either direction) are
(and forgive any inaccuracies in terminology, which there will be
!!!):

• 35/280 vs. 28/200 mm

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For me having the maximum zoom range is important. I specifically avoided buying a CP5000 because of its lack of zoom range. This is the nature of some of the photos I shoot, and I would still like a bit more on some occasions.

Significantly, my favourite lens on my 35mm cameras is my 24mm, and the 5700 doesn;t even come close to that, and yes, I do miss that end of the range. It's a compromise for me, but the quality of the glass in the Nikon makes it an acceptable one.

adambc said:

• (I'm told) "standard" filter size fittings on the Minolta

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The lack of standard filter attachments on the 5700 is a very minor issue for me. I would like to have a filter on the front, but I can't. C'est la vie.

adambc said:

• auto vs. manual zoom

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I'm not sure I understand this one. I like to be in complete control of these sorts of functions, and with the Nikon I am. I can compose in the viewfinder.

What I do miss is the absence of a manual focus ring, such as on the Fuji. With no distance indicator in the viewfinders, it makes manual focussing somewhat more of a chore than should be the case.

adambc said:

• comments on Monolta quality (of build) ... probably one for the

Minolta forum ???

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I can't comment on this one, except to say that I'm very impressed with the quality of the 5700. It feels like a real camera.

adambc said:

• rechargeable vs. AA batteries

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Well, you can get rechargeable AAs, and you can make an adapter to fit the 5700 that takes 6 (or 7) AAs for very few $$$.

I would certainly be inclined to go and try to find somewhere that you can play with both cameras. How it feels, in your hands, is an important consideration.

--
g.
Gary Stark
[email protected]
Down under in Sydney, Oz.
CP5700, CP950, F801, FE2, Nikkormat FTN

Adam,

adam said:

I forgot ...

• discussion in some quarters wrt speed of focus particularly in

low light on the 5700 worried me

Any comments ???

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Low light focussing is an issue with this camera, depending upon what you're shooting.

I regularly go out and shoot bands and musicians playing in dimly lit bars and dives. I see (or perhaps not) this issue quite frequently, but can work around it by switching to manual focus mode.

The question comes back to what sort of shooting will YOU be doing? If you're mainly doing "happy snaps" or landscapes, or well lit studio shots, this
will not be a problem for you.

If you shoot some of the stuff I do, it may well be a point to consider.

--
g.
Gary Stark
[email protected]
Down under in Sydney, Oz.
CP5700, CP950, F801, FE2, Nikkormat FTN

Bluejam,

I own a Fuji 4900, it was my first Digital camera it still takes very good photos but the proprietary battery and the horrible shutter lag make it a pain to deal with. I have a second battery and a heavy-duty "belt battery" that I use and get by that issue but the lag? forget shooting any sports. I missed far to many memories with that camera. It's great for lots of other types of photography. I wanted to upgrade to a better camera, I looked at the 5700 in a local camera store. The shutter lag was nearly non-existent so I began looking up the pros and cons. Unfortunately it was before many of them were on the street. No one wanted to admit that the camera had any flaws (Much the way no one will admit it now). After owning both cameras I find some drawbacks to the 5700. I can't say for sure what they are because I don't think that mine was ever working right from the start. I asked for help here and was ridiculed to no end. Jarrell, Frank R., Larry Berman, Frank V. and a few others at least gave me some ideas. Jarrell actually did some testing, after quite a few people complained about poor low light focusing. He found that you can use AF Area focus mode, that helped lots. Mine however, got so bad that it would hardly focus in open daylight. Nikon said that they have heard of this and told me to send it to them.

Since my Nikon was going into the shop for longer than I might want to be out of a camera, I bought the S602 PRO. I shot some of the same scenes that I did with the Nikon. Not only did I not, have any problems, in many cases the photos were as good and quite a few were better than the Nikon 5700 photos. Fuji's wide f2.8 lens and more sensitive sensor makes low light photos less grany than the 5700, I have dozens of samples to show you. Fuji’s claims are somewhat exaggerated. The 3.1 mp sensor, generating a 6 mp image is not truly as good as an image shot on a 5 or 6mp camera. It is, however better than taking a 3.1 mp image and blowing it up to 5 or 6mp in Photoshop. The end product is about equal to a 4.5mp image. We did actual rezolution chart tests to prove it. Their honeycomb sensor, together with the Algorithm Fuji uses, works very well. I wish the 602 used a full 4.5 or 5mp sensor but, out of the Fuji 4900, S602, Nikon 5700 and my new E-10 the S602 is my favorite. Image quality is great on all of them. Print an 8” x 10” from each and I'll bet cash money that you could not match the photo with the camera. Each camera has something it does better, but for all-round performance the S602 PRO gets the shot more often than any of the others.

If you spent money on the 5700, especially if you paid $1200 like some of us, you would kick yourself for buying a camera that can not, out perform your Fuji. If you need 8x zoom over your 6x, slap on the 1.5 Fuji tele extender. It’s quality is as good as the lens alone. I even used the Fuji 1.5x with my 5700 with no distortion or vignetting.

The only thing you might fine that you will like better than the 602 is a DSLR like the Fuji S2PRO. I’d say, you got luckey and made the right choice the first time with the 602... Save the $500

--
Michael,

Bluejam said:

Bluejam said:

Bluejam said:

Bluejam said:

Bluejam said:

Bluejam said:

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Fuji S602 PRO, Fuji 4900, Nikon 5700, Olympus E-10, Olympus D-600L