Cfu's Full Review: Nikon D5000 Body Only Digital Camera
The Nikon Coolpix 5000 is Nikon's latest addition to their already terrific line of digital cameras. This is as close as anybody is going to get to a professional digital body at the current moment. With control over pretty much any variable you could possibly control combined with Nikon's legendary metering and autofocus system, the Coolpix 5000 has quickly risen to my list of must have digital cameras.
What is included with the camera
The Coolpix 5000 comes with
- Adobe photoshop, viewing software and the appropriate drivers.
- Rechargeable lithium ion battery, along with the charger
- 32 MB compact flash card
- Shoulder strap
- and of course the camera itself.
General Impressions about the camera
Some of the things that I like the most about the Coolpix 5000 are it's fast autofocus, excellent macro mode, as well as it's excellent, sharp as well as accurate Nikon lens.
Nikon claims that the shutter release lag on the Coolpix 5000 is an amazing 66ms. Now when comparing that to your average SLR this is great ! No longer will you be worried about shutter lag when taking spur of the moment shots. For people such as I who have more of a photojournalistic approach to photography this is extremely helpful.
Another thing I like about Nikon cameras in general is their excellent macro abilities. To be able to focus as close as 2cm is quite an asset. I often enjoy photographing the little things in life that people often overlook and having the ability to get in close is essential. The lens on the Nikon is not the highest rated lens when compared to some other digital camera lenses out there but nonetheless I think that most people will be satisfied with the quality of the lens. It may have a bit more horizontal distortion at the wide angles then some other digitals out there but is not something tha most people should be concerned about. More a passing note then anything. Most people would be hard pressed to notice anything unless they were to specifically take shots looking for such anomalies with this particular cameras lens.
The quality of the glass is what should expect of Nikon. With their expertise they consistently produce some of the best camera lenses in the world and they have definitely applied their knowledge to this lens. It is not overly sharp which is a plus. When speaking of this I am making reference to the Sony DSC-F707. The Zeiss lens on that particular camera, is an extremely sharp lens but in my opinion it is a little too sharp. Like some Hassleblad lenses, the ability to count how many baby hairs somebody has is nice at times but for the average consumer, sometimes they don't want that much detail in their pictures.
Battery Life
Nikon claims that the camera can be used for up to 100 consecutive minutes with the LCD display on. How many shots this translates to is unknown to me but a few customers have come in for extra batteries. This could be indicative of the battery life not quite being enough for some people. If I can get an exact number soon I shall be sure to post it in this review as this is going to be another ongoing review like that of the one I have on the G2 and the Finepix 2600. As noted in Howard Creech's review of the Coolpix 5000 he got anywhere from 75-85 minutes of shooting time from the included EN-EL1 battery.
Picture quality
At a five megapixel resolution one can reasonably expect photo quality prints up to 11x14 sizes. Some people may say larger pictures are possible but that then becomes a question of what ISO and compression level that you have taken the shot at. I was just speaking with a customer at work today who said that his 8x10's are just PHENOMENAL ! You simply cannot tell the difference between the digital and film prints. He plans on bringing in a few samples for us to use at work such that we can display the kind of quality that people can expect from a five megapixel camera. Once I get a chance to thoroughly inspect those I shall be sure to post the results up here.
Conclusion
Is this camera for you ? If you are a serious serious prosumer who is very serious about your picture quality this camera is definitely for you. When compared to the Sony DSC-F707 and the Dimage 7 there are some pros and cons to all of them but I find that the Nikon makes the best compromise out of the three. An additional plus is the fact that the Nikon sports a wide angle lens on it (as does the Dimage 7) so when used for general people shots or landscapes it is nice to have the ability to get more in the shot without having to take too many steps back. At a CDN retail price of 1599.99 it is definitely a pricier camera but for just 300 dollars more then a Canon G2, you get an extremely fast high resolution camera, so if you can afford it and know that you are that serious about your photography this camera is the way to go !!!
However, if you are in the market for a high resolution camera but want something that is very easy to use, the Sony would be the easiest to use out of the three. Just recently, the Dimage 7 underwent a $400 CDN price drop, so depending on your needs, at that price point it is something seriously worth considering.
Please rate this review as you feel accordingly and if merited please feel free to add me to your web of trust. But keep in mind that this is basically just the start of what will turn into a very lengthy in depth review of the Coolpix 5000.
I hope that this review has proved useful and as stated above, any additional questions just let me know ! I have also written some other reviews on digital cameras as well as a few assorted mobile phones so if at all interested please click on my user id to get a list of my reviews should you be interested.
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