Nikon Coolpix P5100 Review
Review Date: October 30th 2007
Author: Gavin Stoker
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Image Quality
All of the sample images in this Review were taken using the 12 megapixel
JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around
3-4Mb.
Noise
There are 7 ISO settings available
on the Nikon Coolpix P5100 which you can select at any
time if the camera is in the normal shooting mode. The biggest
disappointment with the Nikon Coolpix P5100 is its handling
of noise, which is visible from ISO
400 upwards,
making the ISO 1600 and ISO 2000 settings practically pointless
– the latter resulting in the image looking as if it was
shot during a sandstorm. ISO 3200 appears similar to ISO
1600, but only because heavy noise reduction has been deployed,
stripping away subtle detail in the process, and with resolution
dropping to a maximum five megapixels. Here are some 100% crops
which show the noise levels for each ISO setting:
Sharpening
Here are two 100% crops which have
been Saved as Web - Quality 50 in Photoshop. The right-hand
image has had some sharpening applied in Photoshop. The out-of-the
camera images are just a little soft at the default sharpening
setting, and benefit from some further sharpening in a program
like Adobe Photoshop. You can also change the
in-camera sharpening levels if you don't like the default
results.
Chromatic Aberrations
The Nikon Coolpix P5100 handled
chromatic aberrations quite well, with purple fringing evident
in areas of high contrast, especially at the edges of the
frame, as shown in the examples below.
Macro
The Nikon Coolpix P5100 offers
a Macro setting that allows you to focus on a subject that
is 4cms away from the camera. The first image shows how close
you can get to the subject in Macro mode (in this case a
compact flash card). The second image is a 100% crop.
Flash
The flash settings on the Nikon Coolpix P5100 are Auto, Red-Eye reduction, Off,
On, and Slow sync. These shots of a white coloured wall were
taken at a distance of 1.5m. The flash introduces a noticeable
yellow cast.
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Auto
Flash - Telephoto (123mm) |
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And here are some portrait shots.
The Auto setting caused some red-eye, which the Red-eye
reduction mode almost completely removed.
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Auto
(100% Crop) |
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Red-eye
reduction (100% Crop) |
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Night Shot
The Nikon Coolpix P5100's maximum
shutter speed is 8 seconds in the Night scene mode, which
is fairly good news if you're seriously interested in night
photography. The shot below was taken using a shutter speed
of 1/30th second, aperture of f/2.7 at ISO 400. I've included
a 100% crop of the image to show what the quality is like.
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Night
Shot (100% Crop) |
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Overall Image Quality
While some may feel that the lack of a RAW mode is a serious omission, to be
picky perhaps the biggest disappointment with the Nikon Coolpix
P5100 is its handling of noise, which is visible from ISO
400 upwards,
making the ISO 1600 and ISO 2000 settings practically pointless
– the latter resulting in the image looking as if it was
shot during a sandstorm. ISO 3200 appears similar to ISO
1600, but only because heavy noise reduction has been deployed,
stripping away subtle detail in the process, and with resolution
dropping to a maximum five megapixels. Conversely the P5100,
left to its auto default, is less than sterling in its handling
of highlight detail – with 'blown' areas being largely
devoid of any entirely. In the bright winter sun the camera
is also particularly prone to lens flare. As expected – given
our experience of previous generations of Coolpix's – the
image stabilisation
system isn't 100% effective, being particularly shaky when
capturing images at full telephoto or attempting close ups
(up to an adequate 4cm) in artificially lit interiors. But
on a positive note at least it allows a greater degree of
image sharpness than would be otherwise achievable. Colours
have a tendency to be a little cool straight out of the camera
– with the result that I
selected the vivid option on occasion – but provide a more
than reasonable representation of the scene before you. And,
although most images are commendably sharp, I did notice
softness creeping in towards the edges of the frame. Again,
though there is inevitably some pixel fringing between areas
of high contrast, I wouldn't say it's problematic. Altogether
the Nikon Coolpix P5100 delivers a good rather than great performance
when it comes to image quality,
meaning it gets a 'could do better'.
 PhotographyBLOG
is a member of the DIWA
organisation. Our test results for the Nikon Coolpix P5100 have been submitted to DIWA
for comparison with test results for different samples of
the same camera model supplied by other DIWA
member sites.
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