Just posted! Nikon Coolpix P5100 review

Monday, 12 November 2007 12:45 GMT

Just posted! Our review of Nikon's flagship compact camera. Offering manual exposure controls in a small, magnesium alloy body, the P5100 is probably best considered a 'photographers' compact.' The extra manual controls don't come at the expense of the face detection and vibration reduction features seen on most contemporary compact though. At its launch, Nikon promised improvements over the slightly disappointing P5000 and it is the first compact to have Nikon's Expeed branding applied to it. So can it cut it in a world of competitive compacts and budget-priced DSLRs? Read our review to find out.

Nikon Coolpix P5100 Review

Announced just six months after the launch of the P5000, the Nikon P5100 is a gentle re-working of the existing model with a slightly larger, more pixel-dense sensor and hardware-based face-detection. Beyond that, the changes are predominantly cosmetic alterations to the existing model. The camera is Nikon's flagship compact camera, with the 'P' denoting 'performance.' Although it may not visually leap out from a line-up of contemporary compacts, its magnesium alloy body and manual exposure controls belie the unassuming appearance. It aims to offer a greater degree of manual control than the majority of compact cameras and has a strong feature set to help it stand apart. We were actually very impressed with the P5000's image quality and feature set, and only really complained about the sluggish performance. So has Nikon fixed the P5000's Achilles' heel in this update? Lets find out!

Differences compared with P5000

Faster, hardware-based face-detection, allowing more faces to be identified
Expeed processing 'concept'
Continuous flash shooting mode (3 consecutive frames at ~1fps)
Distortion control to counteract lens distortion
Improved user interface
Marginally larger sensor making the lens slightly wider-angle (35mm vs 36mm)
Fractionally shorter battery life (240, rather than 250 shots, CIPA standard)
1:1 aspect ratio shooting mode
Can add black borders to images

Unlike the names applied to image processors by many of Nikon's rivals, Expeed doesn't specifically refer to any particular technology or set of features. Rather, it is a "digital image-processing concept," so shouldn't be taken to imply any kinship to the D3 and D300 DSLR models that share the name, beyond the the use of similar Nikon algorithms and know how.

Key features

12 megapixel 1/1.8-inch CCD
3.5x Zoom-Nikkor lens
Lens shift VR (Vibration Reduction)
ISO 64-1600 (3200 in 5MP mode)
BSS (Best Shot Selector) identifies and saves the sharpest image automatically from ten sequential shots
P/A/S/M modes plus 16 scene modes
Compatibility with system-expanding accessories
Macro shooting enables shooting from as close as 4cm (1.6 in.)
SDHC card compatibility
Approx. 52 MB of internal memory
Face-priority AF, In-Camera Red-Eye Fix, D-Lighting
2.5-in wide viewing angle TFT LCD with anti-reflection coating

Nikon Coolpix P5100 specifications

Street price	• US: $370 • UK: £260
Body Material	Metal and plastic
Sensor	• 1/1.72 " Type CCD • 12.43 million pixels total • 12.1 million effective pixels
Image sizes	• 4000 x 3000 • 3264 x 2448 • 2592 x 1944 • 2048 x1536 • 1600 x 1200 • 1280 x 960 • 1024 x 768 • 640 x 480 • 3984 x 2656 (3:2) • 3984 x 2232 (16:9) • 2992 x 2992 (1:1)
Movie clips	• Motion JPEG (AVI) with sound • TV movie (640) at 30fps/15fps, • Small size (320) at 15fps • Smaller size (160) at 15fps • Sepia (320) at 15fps • Monochromatic (320) at 15fps • Without sound: Time-lapse movie at 30fps
File formats	• JPEG Exif V2.2 • DCF • DPOF • Motion JPEG AVI
Lens	• 3.5x Zoom-Nikkor (35-123mm equiv.) • f/2.7-5.3 • 7 elements in 6 groups
Image stabilization	Lens-shift VR
Conversion lenses	Yes (optional)
Digital zoom	up to 4x
Focus	• Contrast Detection AF • Macro • Infinity lock
AF area modes	• Auto (9-area automatic selection) • Manual (99-area manual selection) • Center • Face-priority AF mode
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 • +/- 0.3, 0.7, 1.0EV
Shutter speed	1/2000 to 8 s
Aperture	• Six blade iris diaphragm • 10 (in steps of 1/3 EV)
Modes	• Auto shooting mode • Program (auto) • Shutter Priority Auto • Aperture Priority Auto • Manual • Movie mode • Scene mode • High-sensitivity shooting mode • Anti-shake 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 • Daylight • Cloudy • Fluorescent • Incandescent • Preset
Self timer	• 10 or 3 secs
Continuous shooting	• Single • Continuous (approx.1.0fps ,image quality Normal, image size 12M) • Continuous flash • Interval timer shooting
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% vertical x 80% horizontal
LCD monitor	• 2.5-in wide viewing angle TFT LCD with anti-reflection coating • 230,000-dot • Approx 97% vertical x 97% horizontal (record mode)
Connectivity	• USB • AV out (NTSC / PAL)
Print compliance	PictBridge, DCF, DPOF, EXIF print
Storage	• SD / SDHC / MMC card (optional) • Approx 52MB 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

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