Nikon Coolpix P5100 Review

Announced at the end of August, the new Nikon Coolpix P5100 camera arrives just 6 months after the P5000. Aimed at the enthusiast photographer who wants some control over what the camera is doing, the 12.1 megapixel Nikon P5100 offers Shutter-priority, Aperture-priority, and full Manual shooting modes. There’s a flash hotshoe which accepts external flashguns, 2.5 inch LCD screen combined with an optical viewfinder, optical image stabilization for blur-free images, and a 3.5x zoom lens (35-123mm). Billed as a backup to a DSLR, the Nikon P5100 costs £299.99 / €450 and competes with the likes of the Canon Powershot G9. Gavin Stoker took the Nikon Coolpix P5100 all the way to Japan in the 200th PhotographyBLOG review (!).

Website: Nikon Coolpix P5100 Review

Published: Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Reader Comments

1. may be I'm more lucky with my own P5100, only one bad think can say about this camera - really slow focus in low light, all other, as color reproduction, image quality, white balance, sharpness - are perfect, and of course build quality superb, firmware version 1.0
   
   Have compared (test shots) with some P&S cameras (PENTAX A30, CANON DIGITAL IXUS950IS, CoolPix S510, Canon IXUS70, OLYMPUS), no way, the price difference not so big, but the quality and features offered by P5100 much better
   
   Using for macro shots, indoor, and outside
   
   do not agree with this review

   5100 user at 07:53pm on Wednesday, October 31, 2007

2. So, Gavin, I was ready to buy the Nikon 5100 until I read your review. What I didn't read was, What's the superior alternative that responds to your negatives on the 5100? I like the size, the ergonomics (especially the grip if one has arthritis), the 8+ megapixels, the external flash capability (a big plus for family gatherings), added lense options, manual settings capability, IS, mulitple auto settings, etc. What's a wiser buy?

   Richard Alan at 04:36am on Friday, November 02, 2007

3. Pretty good review. Some metrics are missing, could you please them?
   startup time: how long the camera takes to start and be ready for the first photo?
   Shutter Lag: amount of time it takes each camera to record one shot and five shots.
   Power-on Time:
   
   Shot to Shot time:

   courteaux at 09:53am on Wednesday, November 14, 2007

4. Hi!
   
   Nice review!
   This camera has some great options like its incredible big and clear LCD, its compatibility with other well known flashguns etc. You can find some extra informations about Nikon P5100 including Nikon P5100 video review. Just one more word, this camera is especially for those, who is between the point-and-shoot and SLR cameras.

   Karl at 10:20am on Friday, November 16, 2007

5. Hi
   
   Good review.
   I am planning to buy one this week. Advice needed - Will nikon's sb-22s flash work on it? And which mode apart from manual mode.
   
   thanks in advance for the advice!
   
   Regards.........Sanjay

   Sanjay Tandon at 10:34pm on Thursday, December 06, 2007

6. I got mine yeaterday.
   startup < 2 seconds
   5 full rez fine pics no flash in ~ 8 seconds. Add flash and it's closer to 15. Multishot 16 gets you 16 images in ~ 18 seconds with no flash.
   
   Default automatic settings get a little soft and grainy when you zoom to the pixel level. Prints and reductions are gorgeous. Manual modes fixes all.
   
   Biggest nit:
   No mass storage driver - PTP or nothing.
   OSX, WindowsXP and Vista only
   Flat doesn't work in NT 4.0 with USB, Win2k, any UNIX. OS9, BEOS, etc.
   Pretty lame.
   What were they thinking?
   Oh well, SDHC reader is on order.
   
   Biggest like:
   It *feels* more like a camera than any pocket digtal that I've ever used.
   Flash shoe, optical viewfinder, solid cast metal body, neck strap, gripable. But small. Maybe just nostalgic for the old days when cameras were of metal and glass.

   ScottV at 01:32am on Friday, December 07, 2007

7. I am new here, so I don't know whether Gavin responds to questions posed. Thus, I ask this of everyone out there: I, like No 2, was ready to buy this little camera until I read Gavin's review. My concern is image quality.
   
   Here is my question. I own a Pentax K10D, which really is superb, along with too many lenses. Unlike the several earlier Pentaces I have owned, the K10D is not particularly small. I like that slight extra bulk in this particular camera. However, I am about to cash in twenty-six years worth of f.f. miles by going around the world. Really. And am wondering whether I really want to take so much equipment. For that reason, I am looking for a high-quality compact digital, with manual override. I thought I had found it. This review suggests otherwise.
   
   Any recommendations, anyone? Thanks much.

   Tony Waters at 06:47am on Monday, December 17, 2007

8. The Canon G9 is the obvious rival - great image quality up to ISO 400, RAW mode, full manual options.
   
   Or how about the Ricoh GX100, with it's interesting 24-72mm lens and much smaller size?
   
   You can find both reviews here:
   http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews.php

   Mark Goldstein at 11:34am on Monday, December 17, 2007

9. Just to add to Mark's sage advice, what the P5100 truly has going for it is its size - compared with the suggested rivals, it truly is tiny, a veritable pocket rocket.
   
   If you want something that's 'more' than a compact and already own a decent DSLR, it's worth a recommendation, as indeed, that's what our test gave it.

   Gavin Stoker at 12:55pm on Tuesday, December 18, 2007

10. Just bought a 5100. Great camera as a pocketable camera so that I don't have to carry an slr all the time. Great image quality so I won't miss good opportunities. I really wanted 28mm eqivalent wide-angle, but those offering that weren't good in many other respects. Ricoh was a possibility except for the very negative processed image reviews. Canon G9 a really great camera and with the advantage of RAW files, but just too big and heavy as a carry-everywhere camera.
    Also as already mentioned, the Nikon just sits beautifully in your hand (the little rubber thumb pad is genius design) whereas the G9 felt about to leap grom my grasp.

    Phil Brown at 03:35pm on Saturday, March 08, 2008