Nikon D5100 Review

Nikon D5100

The Nikon D5100 ($899 with lens) is a "premium" entry-level digital SLR, if there is even such a category. It's a step above the D3100, but not nearly as fancy as the D7000. (It's quite a bit like the Canon EOS Rebel T3i, which sits between the Rebel T3 and EOS-60D.) Anyhow, the D5100 took the formula that made the D5000 a hit and added a new CMOS sensor, a flip-out, rotating LCD (instead of the flip-down type on the D5000), new HDR and effects modes, and Full HD movie recording.

Here's a chart which compares the D5000 and D5100:

There are also a few cosmetic changes that I'll touch on later.

So what hasn't changed? The D5100 retains the same dust reduction system, optical viewfinder, and lens limitations (autofocus only with AF-S lenses) as its predecessor. Most of the D5000's accessories are compatible with the D5100, as well.

Ready to learn more about Nikon's latest digital SLR? Keep reading -- our review starts right now!

What's in the Box?

Officially, the D5100 is available in two kits. You can get it in a body-only configuration ($799), or with the venerable Nikkor F3.5-5.6, 18 - 55 mm VR lens ($899). If history is any indication, stores like Costco will probably sell a two lens kit (usually with a bag and memory card thrown in) at some point in the near future, as well. Here's what you'll find in the box for the two official kits:

• The 16.2 effective Megapixel Nikon D5100 camera body
• F3.5 - 5.6, 18 - 55 mm AF-S Nikkor VR lens [lens kit only]
• EN-EL14 lithium-ion rechargeable battery
• Battery charger
• Body cap
• Eyepiece cap
• Shoulder strap
• USB cable
• A/V cable
• CD-ROMs featuring Nikon ViewNX 2 and camera reference guide
• 81 page User's Manual (printed) + camera reference guide (on CD-ROM)

I figure that most people will be purchasing the camera and lens kit, so if that's the case, you'll be just about ready to start taking photos (you'll just need a memory card, described below). This lens is well built, though I'm not a huge fan of the location of the manual focus ring. The lens has minimal corner blurring and purple fringing, though photos are on the soft side. If you want to use other lenses, the D5100 supports all Nikkor F-mount glass, though like its predecessor, only AF-S lenses will support autofocus. Thankfully, Nikon has been releasing quite a few of those lately, so odds are that any new lens you buy will support AF. If you have an older lens, you'll have to focus it manually. Whatever lens you attach to the camera, there's a 1.5X crop factor, so that 18 - 55 mm kit lens has a field-of-view equivalent to 27 - 82.5 mm.

Like all D-SLRs, there's no memory card in the D5100's box, so you'll need to pick one up if you don't have one already. The D5100 supports SD, SDHC, plus super high-capacity SDXC cards, and I'd recommend picking up a 4GB card (and perhaps large if you'll be taking a lot of movies). Nikon recommends cards rated at Class 6 or higher for best movie recording performance.

The D5100 uses the same EN-EL14 lithium-ion battery as the D3100 and D7000. This battery packs 7.6 Wh of energy, which is about average for a digital SLR. Here's how that translates into battery life:

The first thing to point out is much better battery life on the D5100 when compared to the D5000. In the group as a whole, the D5100's battery life is second only to the Sony DSLR-A580, which posts truly incredible numbers. Nikon doesn't publish battery life numbers for full-time live view use, but expect them to be at least 50% less than what's listed above. If that's the case, it'll still be quite competitive with the live-view only interchangeable lens cameras in the above table.

With the exception of the Pentax K-r, all of the cameras on the above list use proprietary li-ion batteries. These batteries tend to be pricey (a spare EN-EL14 will set you back around $36), and you can't use off-the-shelf batteries in an emergency, as you could with a camera that uses AAs. Some cameras support AA batteries via their optional battery grips, but since the D5100 doesn't support a grip in the first place, it's kind of a moot point.

When it's time to charge the battery, just pop it into the included charger. It takes the charger roughly 90 minutes to fully charge the EN-EL14 battery. The charger plugs directly into the wall (at least in the U.S.) -- my favorite.

Nikon offers plenty of accessories for the D5100, just as you'd expect on a D-SLR. Here's a list of the most interesting:

There are a few other accessories out there, mostly related to the optical viewfinder. Let's move onto software now, shall we?

Nikon Transfer

The two main pieces of software included with the D5100 are Nikon Transfer and ViewNX 2. As its name implies, Nikon Transfer is used to copy photos from the camera to your Mac or PC. In addition to copying images to a set location, you can also have it send them to a backup folder.

Nikon ViewNX 2

Once that's done, you'll find yourself in Nikon ViewNX 2, which has finally received some real editing tools. The main screen should look familiar -- it's like every other photo browser these days. Here you can e-mail, print, geotag, or view a slideshow of your photos. You can also upload them to Nikon's My Picturetown service.

Editing in ViewNX 2

On the editing screen you can manipulate both JPEG and (finally) RAW images. You can adjust things like sharpness/contrast/brightness/and color, brighten shadows, straighten a crooked photo, remove redeye, or reduce chromatic aberrations. If it's a RAW file you're working with, you can also adjust the exposure and white balance. The only real complaint I have is that it takes forever for RAW adjustments to take effect, and I have a very fast computer. ViewNX 2 also has a movie editor built in. You can put clips into a timeline, remove unwanted footage, add transitions, and then save the results as a new video.

Something else you can use for RAW editing (and more) is Nikon Capture NX2 (priced from $125). This software lets you edit many common RAW properties, and it's unique "U Point" controls take a different approach toward image retouching than what you might be used to. You can select a spot in the image that you want to retouch, select the radius of the area that will be affected, and then adjust things like brightness, contrast, and saturation for that area. You can do the same for things like D-Lighting, noise reduction, and unsharp mask. You can learn more about this software on Nikon's website.

If you own Adobe Photoshop CS5, you can also use its Camera Raw plug-in (version 6.3 or newer) to edit the D5100's RAW images.

So what is RAW, anyway? The RAW image format (Nikon calls it NEF) stores unprocessed data from the camera's sensor. Thanks to this, you can adjust all kinds of image properties without degrading the quality of the image. The downsides of the RAW format are that 1) the file sizes are significantly larger than JPEGs, 2) camera performance is slower, and 3) you must post-process each image on your computer in order to convert it to a standard image format (though the camera does have a built-in RAW editor).

Camera Control Pro 2

One other optional software product I want to mention is Nikon's Camera Control Pro 2 (priced from $146). As its name implies, this software lets you control the camera right from your Mac or PC, using the USB connection. You can control most of the camera's features, and live view is available, as well. Photos (or movies) can be saved to the computer, memory card, or both. It's worth pointing out that the D5100's closest competitor, the Canon EOS Rebel T3i, has similar software included in the box at no charge.

The D5100's manuals are split into two parts. There's a nearly 80 page User's Manual that should get most people up and running. Should you need more details, you can load up the full Reference Manual, which is in PDF format on an included CD-ROM. The quality of the manuals is above average, with Nikon providing good explanations and not too much find print. Documentation for the included software is installed onto your computer.

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