Nikon D5100 Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm VR Lens Kit (16.2MP) 3 inch LCD (discontinued by manufacturer)

Product Information

It is nice that the Live View button is now eliminated and replaced with a lever on the top of the camera. The lever felt much more intuitive when I needed to focus using contrast-detect or when shooting video; plus, it pretty much eliminates chances of accidentally triggering Live View via a button. The negative side to the new Live View lever, is that the video record button is now located on the top of the camera. This is probably something video enthusiasts will not like. When I was shooting videos of bears in Yellowstone, I had to look at the top of the camera to locate the record button, which was very inconvenient, since I had the Nikon 200-400mm f/4 VR mounted on my tripod at full length. I would rather have the live view lever together with the record button located in the same spot, just like on the Nikon D7000. NIKON D5100 + 24mm f/1.4 @ 24mm, ISO 400, 1/15, f/8.0 Image quality is definitely the D5100's trump card. It offers effectively the same image quality as the higher-end D7000, at a lower cost, and it's hard to argue that this is not a good thing. Since we're comparing the D5100 to the D7000, it is also worth noting that of the thousands of frames that we've shot with the D5100, we haven't seen the same overexposure problem that bothered us with the D7000 in some conditions.

The D5100 is without doubt one of the most compelling products in its class, and offers an excellent mixture of straightforward handling, a well-targeted feature set, and excellent video and still image quality. As we'd expect from a camera with such a solid lineage, the D5100 is responsive and reliable in operation, and produces excellent images with a minimum of fuss. It is only the second Nikon DSLR to feature an articulated LCD screen and we much prefer the more conventional side-hinged design to the D5000's more awkward bottom-hinged effort. The side-hinged screen is much more versatile, as well as being considerably easier to use with the camera mounted on a tripod. We do have some concerns though, mostly as regards the arrangement of the D5100's second-tier controls. Some of the control points appear to have been positioned almost at random and, with the exception of the articulated LCD screen, we're not convinced that the operational and ergonomic changes that Nikon has made compared to the D3100 add any value to the camera. In fact, the contrary might even be true, especially as regards the redesigned live view switch. Judged on its own merits though, the D5100 does its job very well indeed. A novice-friendly feature set and (relatively) wallet-friendly asking price belie an extremely capable sensor and AF system. We are left with a lingering worry, though, that the D5100's entry-level ergonomics might not prove quite so adaptable to the evolving needs of a first-time DSLR buyer as a camera like the Canon EOS 600D/Rebel T3. In terms of handling, the D5100 balances quite well with light lenses such as the kit Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR and Nikon 35mm f/1.8G prime lens, and not so well with lenses that are much heavier than the camera body. Despite its small size, the camera fits nicely and feels good in hands. The location of the new buttons and controls won’t take much time to get used to, although I personally prefer the older layout with the buttons located on the left side of the LCD. Like the D5000 and D3100, the D5100’s viewfinder covers 95% of the frame with a 0.78x magnification. Image stabilisation remains purely lens-based too, so you’ll have to invest in Nikon Vibration Reduction (VR) lenses if you want to take advantage of this. Thankfully, the supplied 18-55mm kit lens comes with this technology. Finally, dust-reduction takes the same two-stage Airflow dust channelling and sensor shake process of other Nikon DSLRs.

Overall though, the D5100 remains a great camera to use that’s capable of delivering stunning images. If you’re in the market for an advanced entry-level DSLR be sure to add it to your shortlist. As with all recent Nikon DSLRs the D5100 offers the full range of Picture Controls that allow you to choose how JPEGs will be processed by fine-tuning individual elements such as saturation, sharpness, brightness and contrast. While the default settings are limited to a choice of: Standard, Neutral, Vivid, Monochrome and Portrait, all of these can be individually edited, with a further option to add your own custom profiles if you like. At low ISO settings, the D5100 is on a par with the best of the competition, but at the higher ISO settings, it produces some of the best image quality that we've ever seen from an APS-C camera. Noise levels are impressively low, and default noise reduction does a good job of controlling chroma noise while still preserving detail. The D5100's 16MP sensor is one of a new generation with an impressively low noise floor, and as such, a huge amount can be drawn out of both its JPEG and RAW files. JPEG shooters will love the ability to shoot with Active D-Lighting turned on with little penalty in noise levels (or continuous shooting performance) and more advanced users will enjoy the malleability of its NEF files. Handling Nikon Service Warranty (Local Warranty) does not apply to any of the followings:- Defects or malfunctions caused by damage resulting from improper care, misuse or abuse of this product or operation of this product contrary to the instructions contained in the owner's manual. Damage or defect caused by accident, sand, water or battery leakage. Damage caused during transportation or mail. Damaged caused by any modifications or servicing performed by person(s) other than NIKON AUTHORISED SERVICE FACILITY. Accessories including batteries, charger, AC adaptor and other consumables. Any electronic data loss due to malfunctioning or repair of this product. Any consequential or incidental damages resulting from any breach of warranty, express or implied, applicable to this product. Nikon India New Extended Service Warranty (Local Warranty) does not apply to any of the followings:- Accessories like batteries, charger, USB cable, AV cable, Adapters, strap, etc. are not covered under warranty. Damage caused due to accident, sand, water, dust, fungus, battery leakage, etc are not covered under warranty. Warranty on free gifts is as per the terms of their respective manufactures, and this warranty does not extend to such gifts. Warranty does not cover the replacement of Product. Warranty does not cover any special, consequential or incidental damages arising in way due to malfunction of the Product such as loss of photography, loss of data, use, profits, or costs and expenses, etc. The D5100 is a smaller and (we think) more attractive camera than its predecessor the D5000. It is less bulbous, and closer to the D3100 and D7000 in terms of styling. The most significant design difference is the addition of a side-hinging LCD screen in the D5100, as opposed to the bulkier (and more awkward) bottom-hinged LCD used in the D5000.

Most cameras at this level crop the frame slightly when you look through the viewfinder - in other words you get slightly more in the final picture than you see through the viewfinder. In common with most of its competitors the D5100 only shows 95% (vertically and horizontally) of the frame. What this actually means is that a small portion of the captured image doesn't show up in the viewfinder. The 'missing' 5% is illustrated below. The D5100 has a very similar 16.2MP CMOS sensor to the excellent one seen in the D7000 but, understandably, loses out on that camera's high-end build and feature-set. So there's no wireless flash control, magnesium alloy build or 39-point AF system but the underlying image quality is all but identical. Automatic correction of lateral chromatic aberration for JPEGs. Correction-data is additionally stored in RAW-files and used by Nikon Capture NX, View NX and some other RAW tools. The Nikon Creative Lighting System: Wireless, Remote, Through-the-Lens Metered (iTTL) Flash! Imaging Resource Photography is all about creativity and self expression, which is a fact as seen by the images that get captured by passionate lensmen. The Nikon camera can also augment the pictures with a host of special effects that can be configured on it through the special effects mode. Some of these effects can be, Selective Color, Color Sketch and also the Miniature Effect.

Comments

In Live View mode the D5100 is generally a very agreeable companion, but things aren't completely trouble free. The D5100 inherits the D7000's (relatively) fast contrast-detection AF, Light Room 3 now supports tethered capture for Nikon D7000". Blog GlamourPhotography.co . Retrieved 2011-09-26. [ permanent dead link] Likewise, the 16-megaopixel sensor is able to resolve plenty of detail, even at higher ISO settings. While this might reasonably be expected at low to mid-sensitivity settings of between ISO 100 and 800, we were especially impressed with the mid to high settings of ISO 1600 to 3200, where the D5100 was able to retain plenty of detail without displaying excessive noise. ISO 6400 marks the point at which noise does become more visibly intrusive, especially in shadow areas, although images still look very good. At the higher and extended settings of ISO 12,800 and 25,600 noise proves far more intrusive, with a corresponding loss of fine detail. In fairness, this is to be expected. The D5100 offers a sensitivity range that stretches from ISO 100-6400 in standard mode, stretching to a maximum extended setting of ISO 25,600. If that’s still not quite enough, you can also call upon a ‘Night Vision’ option that pushes the sensitivity up to ISO 102,400, although these images can only be recorded in monochrome and are, as you might expect, super grainy in appearance.