For the opportunity Nikon D5100 body camera review Many thanks to Sergey Svirida.
Nikon D5100 review
I want to write everything at once about the Nikon D5100 - it's just awesome multimedia harvester, which manages to squeeze just the prohibitive image quality. In this review, information is only about the camera itself Nikon D5100 body. Very often, the Nikon D5100 is sold along with universal lenses, and this set is called Kit. Usually in a set Nikon D5100 Kit such lenses as:
- Nikon 18-105mm f / 3.5-5.6G ED VR AF-S DX Nikkor
- Nikon 18-55mm f / 3.5-5.6G ED AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor (or one of its 3 modifications)
- Nikon 18-200mm f / 3.5-5.6G IF-ED AF-S DX VR Zoom-Nikkorcan be met very rarely
- Nikon 55-200mm f / 4-5.6 AF-S VR DX Zoom-Nikkoras optional included
- Nikon 55-300mm f / 4.5-5.6G ED VR AF-S DX Nikkor as optional in kit
The best option is an 18-200mm lens, it is enough for all occasions - from a wide angle for a landscape or a small apartment, to photographing birds and bunnies. If you still need to start somewhere, then the kit lens 18-55m is quite suitable, and do not believe that the kit lens is so terrible, just important how to take pictures, and not on what technique. For portrait shooting, I advise you to look towards the lens Nikon 50mm f / 1.8G AF-S Nikkor, and as a good sharp fast aperture fixed lens for every day can act Nikon 35mm f / 1.8G AF-S DX Nikkor.
View of the Nikon D5100 camera from different angles
Nikon D5100 - This is an amateur SLR camera from Nikon, a highly updated version of the Nikon D5000. The camera can shoot Full HD video and take pictures at a speed 4 frames per second.
Sample photo on Nikon D5100
Important points:
Matrix Nikon D5100 matrix based Nikon D7000. The matrix Nikon D7000 can give out a picture high dynamic range, excellent color reproduction and low noise at high ISO. The Nikon D5100 does the same. When I took the first test shots on Nikon D5100 and ISO 6400, I was just amazed at the image quality. The result was really very juicy and lively picture, and this is at 16,2 megapixels, because in this review there are many night photos as examples. ISO camera can be set from value 100 to 25,600, values ISO 12.800. и ISO 25.600. are denoted as Hi1 и Hi2, I do not recommend shooting at such high ISO.
Nikon D5100 installed CMOS 16.2-megapixel sensor. Yes, the Nikon D5100 has as much as 16,2MP, which is the same as that of Nikon D7000 and full frame Nikon D4. More megapixels can only be found in the very expensive Nikon D3x, Nikon D800,D800E, D3200, D600, D5200 (at the time of writing). The number of megapixels is not a serious indicator of the quality of a photograph, but still, the more the better. If you are chasing megapixels, I advise you to pay attention to my note Battle of Megapixels. I shoot 6.2 megapixel without any problems Nikon D40I advise you to go to the review page Nikon D40 and make sure that even at 6.2MP you can get an excellent image result.
Nikon D5100 uses a sensor manufactured by Sony, the same sensor is found in cameras:
- Nikon D7000
- Pentax K-30
- Pentax K-5
- Pentax K-01
- Sony a580
- Sony A55
- Sony NEX-5N
Photo on Nikon D5100 - saturated colors of the camera
Actually, the matrix is the heart of the camera, and the better it is, the better your photographs will be. Nikon D5100 has the same matrix size as the more advanced ones Nikon D7000, D90, D300s. The Nikon D5100 APS-C sensor available, which means that the matrix is 2.25 times smaller in area than the matrix of full-frame SLR cameras, such as Nikon D700 or D3s. This entails an effect. crop factor. When using lenses from full-frame cameras, the viewing angle will be narrower than on film or in a full frame. More details in the article Crop Factor.
Sample photo on Nikon D5100
Other important points that really affect the operation and functionality of the camera
- Large rotary display. The display has 921.000 points. Nikon D5100 uses the same number of pixels as the camera D3, D3s, D3x, D700, D300, D300s, D90, D7000, D3200 и Nikon D5200
- Very fast EXPEED-2 processor, with which the camera shows excellent speed.
- Nikon D5100 uses 11 focus pointsfor which the focus module is responsible Nikon Multi-CAM 1000. The same module is on such cameras as Nikon D90, D3100, D3000, D80, D200 and D5000. Focusing is accurate. Focusing speed is highly dependent on the lens and shooting conditions.
- Measurement exposure implemented using a 420-pixel sensor, the same as that of Nikon D80, D90, D60, D40x, D50, D5000 and D3100. The camera measures the exposure perfectly, the only one, because Active is on D-lighting the camera sometimes exposes the frame.
- The shooting speed is 4 frames per second. This is just a little less than 4.5 fps for a more advanced Nikon D90. 4 fps is enough for any type of shooting. Even a full-frame professional Nikon D800 can shoot a maximum of 4k \ s. Personally, I always have enough even 2.5 frames per second on my old woman Nikon D40. A high rate of fire is needed only for certain situations. A high rate of fire requires a large frame buffer and a fast memory card. For example, when I reviewed the Nikon D5100, the camera used a slow 8GB SD flash drive. Since I was shooting in RAW for review, the camera was very slow after 2 seconds of shooting in fast mode. Due to the fact that RAW files from the camera weigh about 15mb, I had to wait a very long time until the files were written to the memory card. Indeed, the whole charm of fast continuous shooting at 4 fps can be estimated by shooting only in JPEG.
- Frame buffer when shooting in RAW format is 11 frames. This is as much as that of Nikon D90 when shooting in RAW. How much the camera will slow down during serial shooting will greatly depend on the buffer capacity. In an earlier model Nikon D3100, frame buffer is 13 pieces in RAW.
- Attention: Nikon D5100 Nikon's first amateur camera to use RAW with 14 bit color depth. This is very good news for fans of processing RAW photos. Unfortunately, like all Nikon amateur cameras, the D5100 does not have a choice of RAW compression levels or a choice of color depth.
Example photo on the Nikon D5100. Snowy glass.
- Full HD movie shooting 1980 * 1080, with maximum quality you can shoot videos up to 20 minutes long. Believe me, 20 minutes is enough for the video. You can choose different shooting modes in different quality. Another important detail to shoot video on the desired aperture, you first need to install it, and therefore already enable Live View and start recording. When Live View is on, aperture change is not available.
- Convenient menu and overall camera ergonomics. At first, it might seem that controlling the camera with one hand is difficult, but then you can quickly get used to the control.
Example photo on Nikon D5100 at high ISO
- A bunch of useful additions - automatic correction of distortion, aberration, Active D-lighting, Breckening, Live View, Timelapse, etc. Important! Automatic correction of distortion and chromatic aberration is removed only when shooting in JPEG.
- The camera has one great feature - HDR. HDR takes two frames with different exposures and saves them in one file. Very comfortable and interesting. The HDR function is not available when shooting in RAW. The HDR function is conveniently programmed with the FN button.
Example photo on Nikon D5100 at very high ISO
- A little about the shortcomings - this is an amateur camera, because in the camera no many features from more advanced or professional cameras. Personally very important to me fast flash sync, flash command modeFine tune focus manual exposure metering and availability focus motor - Nikon D5100 doesn't have them. Highly I consider “picture braking” a strong drawback when sighting through Live View and approaching the image area 1 to 1 (or similar) - the picture slows down quite a lot. There is no such effect on Nikon D90. Such an approximation helps to very accurately sharpen the desired focus point.
All sample photos on the Nikon D5100 from this review were shot in RAW -> JPEG, without processing, only resized to 720 * 477 pixels with imprinted EXIF in order to be able to judge the shooting parameters. Please note that at high ISO photos are more or less acceptable.
Example photo on the Nikon D5100. Loss of juiciness of the color gamut when raising ISO
Recommendations
In order to speed up focusing, use the optical viewfinder. When focusing in Live View, the focusing accuracy will be very high, but the speed will be very slow, since the camera and the lens will need to measure contrast at different focusing distances and only then put the lens in the desired position. When focusing through the optical viewfinder (through the eye), the camera is much quicker to cope with focusing. It is for this reason that older cameras such as Nikon D300, D300s, D700 etc., there are two Live View shooting modes. These are tripod mode and hand mode. In hand-held mode and Live View on, when you press the shutter button halfway, Live View turns off and autofocusing occurs through the phase sensors, after a successful focus is achieved, Live View turns on again.
Photo at Nikon D5100 at low ISO in low light
If desperately needed maximum frame buffer, then you need to turn off all functions that reduce the number of photos in the buffer. I think you will be surprised when in paragraph 5 it is written about 11 frames in the buffer, but in reality there will be less of them. The number of frames that the buffer can fit is shown in the lower right corner of the viewfinder when you press the shutter button halfway. Usually, with noise reduction turned on for high ISOs and slow shutter speeds, as well as when active D-lighting the number of frames in the buffer drops sharply. Therefore, by disabling these functions you can get the claimed 11 frames. Well, if you do not need RAW, then in high-quality JPEG with advanced settings enabled 16 frames - and this is for 4 seconds of continuous shooting. It is unlikely that someone takes a burst of longer than 4-5 seconds.
Photo on Nikon D5100
When you place the camera in a case (in a photo bag), turn the display with the dark side out, and the LCD monitor in the middle so that the monitor does not scratch during transportation. If shooting in JPEG, I recommend turning on noise reduction at high ISOs and slow shutter speeds. For a saturated picture you can use Active D-lighting in HIGH mode. You can also configure the FN programmable button, which is located next to the flash up button. I usually program the FN button for the ISO control function.
Sample photos on Nikon D5100 using a lens Nikon 50mm f / 1.8G AF-S Nikkor. Photos without processing.
Don't know what to choose?
Usually, a person who wants to buy a camera of this level stops at 2-3 Nikon models. it Nikon D3100, Nikon D5000, Nikon D5100, D5200. I recommend taking a simpler model Nikon D3100, which can do the same thing as the D5100, but its price is much less. D5100 is more suitable for those who like to shoot in poor lighting conditions at high ISO. Saturation and image quality on the D5100 and D3100 very similar to low and medium ISO. Of course newer Nikon D5200 in many ways beats the Nikon D5100.
| D5000 | D5100 | D5200 | |
| Exit time | June 2009 | April 2011 | November 2012 |
| RAW color depth | 12 bit | 14 bit | 14 bit |
| Number of megapixels | 12,20 | 16,08 | 24,00 |
| Burst Speed | 4 fps | 4 fps | 5 fps |
| Minimum ISO | 200,00 | 100,00 | 100,00 |
| Minimum Extensive ISO | 100 (Lo1) | - | - |
| Maximum ISO | 3200,00 | 6400,00 | 6400,00 |
| Maximum Extended ISO | 6400 (Hi1) | 25600 (Hi2) | 25600 (Hi2) |
| Video length max. qualities | 5 minutes | 20 minutes | 20 minutes |
| Video | 1280 x 720 24fps | 1920x1080 30fps | 1920 x 1080 60i |
| Sound | mono | mono | stereo |
| Display | 2.7 inches, 230.000 points | 3 inches, 921.000 points | 3 inches, 921.000 points |
| Focus module | Multi-cam 1000 | Multi-cam 1000 | Multi-CAM 4800DX |
| Number of Focus Points | 11,00 | 11,00 | 39,00 |
| Measurement exposure | 420-pixel RGB sensor | 420-pixel RGB sensor | 2016-pixel RGB sensor |
| Memory cards | SD,SDHC | SD, SDHC, SDXC | SD, SDHC, SDXC (UHS-I) |
| Weight without battery, g | 550,00 | 510,00 | 505,00 |
| HDR | no | Yes | Yes |
I do not recommend buying an older Nikon D5000, it does not have autofocus when shooting video, and it is quite difficult for an ordinary user to focus on sharpness manually.
By the way here a list of all CZKs from Nikonmaybe he will help in choosing.
Photo on Nikon D5100
Prices for modern Nikon cameras in popular stores can look at this link.
Comments on this post do not require registration. Anyone can leave a comment. Many different photographic equipment can be found on AliExpress.
Conclusions
Nikon D5100 gives a very good picture one click on the shutter button. Camera for photo lovers who just need a good result in a photo without unnecessary troubles. Full HD and a swivel display makes the camera even more attractive. Given that the camera has a matrix of very high quality Nikon D7000then Nikon D5100 can be used by advanced amateurs as well.
Material prepared Arkady Shapoval. Training/Consultations | Youtube | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Telegram
I use D5100 + 18-55 + 55-200 + G 81 N. I look at the fast Tamron 28-75 / 2.8 or T 17-50 / 2.8 (to replace the whale). I recommend Paul to watch according to seniority from amateur ones (d3100, d5100, d7100 ) In general, immediately take the D600 (for a full frame). Sooner or later, you want even better.
Thank you
Tamron AF 28-75mm f / 2.8 SP XR Di LD Aspherical lens (IF) == focusing is not fast, but quite adequate
The question arises: is there enough speed for me to photograph smart children, and even in an insufficiently lit place ???
Help me please. Need a fast lens for shooting a daughter’s ballroom dancing contest. Nikon 50mm f / 1.8G AF-S Nikkor fit? I have a Nikon D5100. Or is it better to flash the Metz 44 AF-1? and maybe both are worth buying.
I have the audacity to advise Sergey to take a closer look at the zoom. It is advisable to use a fix for fixed objects. Read from Arkady about Tamron 28-75 / 2.8. Decent option.
thanks, I'll see
Tamron AF 28-75mm f / 2.8 SP XR Di LD Aspherical lens (IF) == focusing is not fast, but quite adequate
The question arises if I have enough speed to photograph smart children, and even in an insufficiently lit place
Please tell me I want to buy a D5100 camera (carcass only), and a Nikon 70-300mm f / 4.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor lens?
Do I make a good choice? I read, the lens fits the carcass)
If you have photos from this kit, would you like to see?)))
Read - Arkady has a lot of articles. This one is suitable, only it is not enough. In the room, they won’t be able to shoot the landscape and architecture. A portrait and zoom (birds, etc.) is normal.
will not work out in what sense?
What could you advise?
I want this lens precisely, it brings good and sport closer, it shoots with high quality!)
about this lens it says "The lens is really darkish (low aperture), but in the daytime it is quite enough."
"Indoors, landscape and architecture, they won't be able to shoot." , is it because it is darkish?
I meant that the angle of 70-300 is the main thing. You can’t shoot indoors, architecture and landscapes. I use 18-55 (I went in the kit, the apartment is passable), 55-200 (portraits go well from 55 to 150 mm, in good light), helios 81 N. In addition to 70-300, I think you can try 16-85 or 24-85. Read reviews on the aperture and f. distance at Arkady, and then you will understand that you need. There are a lot of reviews and tips, it’s difficult to choose. You need to try.
Good day, tell me the correct one.
D5100 carcass with AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm 1: 3.5.5-5.6G and two additional ones
1. AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm f / 1.8G
2. AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm 1: 4-5.6G
and what’s worth buying, and tell me how to take normal photos in the dark, I can’t focus and the camera refuses to take a picture, and I can’t take photos in a very dimly lit room
I apologize for the second objective
2. AF-S Nikkor 55-200mm 1: 4-5.6G ED
tell me how to adjust the aspect ratio (shooting) 16: 9
There are two formats to choose from: RAW and JPEG. Read Arkady's section “Articles about photos”. You will understand the difference empirically.
Victor! 35mm / 1.8 in poor lighting just right. Try to set the SCENE wheel in the carcass and then the section: holiday / indoors. In this mode, the backlight (flashlight) + flash turns on.
Arkady give advice! I choose a lens on the D5100 between Nikon AF-S 35 / 1,8 and Nikon AF-S Micro 40 / 2.8. I like the latter for the ability to shoot macro, is it suitable as a staffer, and is there a big difference in practice in aperture?
good evening…. I want to buy Nikon D5100 or 5200… I can’t decide, please tell me which is better to take. I had a soap dish that's something I want more original please
hunting good photos and more serious just for yourself
Hello Arkady. Tell me, it makes sense to change the D5100 to D300s. And what is better for an amateur (I really like evening shooting) D 300s or D700. Thanks in advance
Hello! I have a nikon d 5100. In the photo with a flash, half-closed eyes are obtained. What is the reason?
Try not to blink!
Yes, I try so hard. This is not only my son and spouse. Before that, there was a p510 with no such problem.
I suspect that you have flash sync on the rear curtain. Set the built-in flash to its default value.
then blink even faster so that you do not fall into a flare with a flash)))
I can not decide between D5100 and D90. In the first, only a new matrix is attracted, but it is small and not convenient, the viewfinder is dark. Tell me, is the D90 matrix very noisy ???
maxim, I took vsetts d5100 for myself, I'm happy ... I decided not to overpay
the matrix of d90 is not very noisy, I just chose between 2 like you and all the same I took myself d5100
I voted for 5100 rubles against d90 for two reasons - d90 is much more noisy at high ISO, because the matrix is outdated. The D90 is a much darker viewfinder, try to compare it yourself in the store.
According to this, to shoot in poor light conditions and manual optics (through a bright viewfinder it is easier to focus on sharpness) is more convenient at 5100.
The advantage of the d90 over 5100 is only in ergonomics and a screwdriver. IMHO screwdriver for today is not relevant.
I'm going to buy a D5100 with an 18-105 lens, will I have autofocus or only manual?
If the lens is marked AF-S, then autofocus will work on the D5100.
I bought a sigma AF5100-18 F200-3.5 II DC OS HSM lens on the d6.3. I’ll say that it’s better not to try it in a room without a flash, it’s really dark, but in the daytime it takes great pictures on the street
this is not a indoor lens ..
Hello, I want to buy the d5100, advise the universal lens on the d5100! thoughts are: buy a camera immediately from 18-105 or all the same 18-55 and an additional 55-200! thank you in advance for your answers!
Lera: yes, 18-105 has automatic focusing at medium speed - focusing is not super fast, but sure, you know for sure that focusing will achieve the correct focus
Konstantin: for you a versatile lens is a novelty Nikon 18-300mm f_3.5-5.6G AF-S DX ED VR Nikkor or Nikon 28-300mm f_3.5-5.6G AF-S DX ED VR Nikkor
Tell me what is better to take a Nikon 3100 with 18-55 + 55-300 lenses or already take a Nikon 5100 body but with one objective 18-105?
Hello, Arkady. really want to get your professional advice. I have been choosing a camera for more than three weeks. I choose between Nikon D5100 and Nikon D90. A familiar photographer advised paying attention to the Sony Alpha SLT-A57.
I will say that after reading all the characteristics it is rather difficult to choose, considering that there are pros and cons in each camera. I want a camera for myself, family, friends. Portraits, landscapes and macro photography are important - for jewelry and all kinds of handicrafts. I am ready to understand the camera and I do not use the auto mode even on soap dishes. Tell me which camera is better to choose? (I planned to purchase 18-105 mm for Nikon, and 35F / 1,8 G AF_S_DX). If you advise Sony, please tell me the lenses for him. I will be very grateful to you!
Buy D7000, it is dropping in price now. A year ago, I also chose either D90, or D5100 chose 5100. I used D90, everything is fine, but something is wrong, but I liked 5100 right away. If you buy now, you would buy the D7000 using the same 5100 matrix, but there is a motor and many other interesting "buns". Macro shoots great, if the lens is close to it, then the pictures are "song". I really use Vega 11U for macro photography, but I like it. Sony has been using the Sony A200 for a long time, like the D90 - everything seems to be fine, but not mine.
Anatoly, yesterday acquired d 7000. I will understand! Thank !
for a start, for a couple of weeks it was necessary to buy 3100 to understand what's what. then sell it on Avito what if it's not yours ... ..
Good afternoon!
Please advise which memory card to take for this camera?
16GB 10th grade is suitable? How many mid-resolution pictures will fit?
If you take a 32 GB card, will the camera have problems reading it?
Thank you
Yes, it does. There will be no problems with 32GB. I recommend SanDisc 16GB with the fastest speed.