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Nikon Coolpix P5100

Manufacturer: Nikon Inc. Part number: 25580

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$279.00 - $407.69 at 8 online stores

CNET Editor rating:
3.0 stars Good
Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 11 reviews

More product information:: Editors' review; User reviews; Specifications; Product series; Manufacturer info

Bottom Line:: Despite its image-quality strengths, sluggish performance tarnishes the appeal of the otherwise well-equipped, compact Nikon Coolpix P5100.
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CNET editors' review

Nikon Coolpix P5100

price range: $279.00 - $407.69

Reviewed by: Theano Nikitas
Edited by: Lori Grunin
Reviewed on: 01/02/2008
Released on: 09/15/2007

The good: The Nikon Coolpix P5100 fits manual exposure controls and optical image stabilization into a compact but sturdy body and produces very good photographs.

The bad: Slow; strong barrel distortion at wide angle. Be prepared to use the small optical viewfinder instead of its LCD outdoors when the sun is shining.

The bottom line: Despite its image-quality strengths, sluggish performance tarnishes the appeal of the otherwise well-equipped, compact Nikon Coolpix P5100.

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Released not long after its sibling, the P5000, the Nikon Coolpix P5100 quickly claimed its role as the new leader of the Coolpix pack. The two cameras bear a close familial resemblance both on the surface and under the hood--most notably the solid, compact body, optical image stabilization, and manual exposure controls. But the P5100 delivers 12 megapixels (versus the P5000's 10), improved Face-Priority autofocus, lens distortion correction setting, a redesigned mode dial, continuous flash, and a slightly wider lens, along with a few other changes.

Weighing 8.1 ounces fully loaded and measuring 3.9 by 2.5 by 1.6 inches, the P5100 is compact enough to stow in a jacket pocket and carry around all day. At the same time, this little SLR lookalike is extremely well built and feels rugged enough to withstand rougher-than-usual handling. Ergonomics are good, and its rubberized grip provides a comfortable and solid handhold.

The small optical viewfinder is helpful when sunlight washes out the 230,000-pixel 2.5-inch LCD, which occurs more frequently than it should. Despite its small size--and only 80 percent coverage--the viewfinder is usable for most shots.

The P5100's 3.5x optical zoom is only a hair wider than the P5000's (35mm-to-123mm-equivalent versus 36mm-to-126mm) but it can't match any of Panasonic's 28mm wide-angle cameras nor the Canon A650 IS' 6x optical zoom. Wide angle and telephoto accessory lenses are available to make up the difference, but the 3.5x optical zoom should be sufficient for general picture-taking.

If you feel the need for extra flash power, you can pick up a Nikon Speedlight (SB-400, SB-600, or SB-800). Because the P5100 is so small, you're probably better off with the relatively petite SB-400 to prevent the camera from being top-heavy.

When it comes to features, the P5100 doesn't discriminate against any skill set: Whether you're an experienced shooter, in the learning phase, or a point-and-shooter, you'll find something to like about this camera. Amateur photographers will appreciate the full complement of manual exposure controls and tweaking options. Those in learning mode can get their photographic feet wet with flexible Program mode, which allows you to opt for a faster shutter speed or a wider aperture setting. And newcomers will feel comfortable with Auto mode, the P5100's 15 scene modes, and onboard context-sensitive help.

Other features of interest include the ability to cap the ISO range when using Auto ISO as well as a group of image-optimization settings. In addition to Normal, the latter includes Softer (for portraits), two Vivid options (Vivid and More Vivid), Portrait, and Custom (for adjusting contrast, sharpness, and saturation). There's also a black and white option in the same menu group.

The P5100 also offers Nikon's signature D-Lighting, which adjusts exposure post-capture so underexposed images can be brightened. D-Lighting generally works well but at the expense of adding some image noise.

Working with the P5100 can be a little confusing, especially for photographers who aren't used to using a command dial in conjunction with the four-way controller or the user-assignable function (Fn) button. The P5100's menu system is easy to understand once you know where to find the settings. For some inexplicable reason, Vibration Reduction (Nikon parlance for optical--and sometimes electronic--image stabilization) lives in the Setup menu along with the Format function.

To make things even more confusing, the P5100 offers three different options for avoiding blurry images. Vibration Reduction is optical image stabilization and the setting of choice when lights are low, since you should be able to handhold shots at about two, and possibly three stops slower. Anti-Shake mode, available via the mode dial, enables VR, boosts the ISO to 1,600, disables the flash, and activates BSS (Best Shot Selector) when Continuous shooting is selected. The third option is High Sensitivity mode, also available on the mode dial. Like Anti-Shake, this mode boosts the ISO to 1,600 depending on available light but does not enable VR. Frankly, I'd rather select Vibration Reduction, then manually select the ISO. The camera's maximum ISO 3,200 is available only at 5-megapixel or lower resolution. Like the P5000, however, you'll notice a color shift when changing light sensitivity settings.

The camera does a decent job of suppressing noise up to about ISO 800--though the softness starts at about ISO 400--and if you're sticking to smaller prints, you can push it to about 1,600.

Overall, the P5100 produces above-average photos. Test shots were sharp, well-exposed and colors were natural and accurate. White balance presets were also, for the most part, accurate. Not surprisingly, images shot under tungsten lighting were a little warm.

Aberrations such as fringing and haloing were visible along some high contrast edges upon close inspection, but even then, they were minimal. More importantly, despite the camera's very good edge-to-edge sharpness, the lens exhibited strong barrel distortion at wide angle. The P5100's distortion control is about as effective as cropping the image in a software application since it reduces the frame size when applied, so you're probably better off using an image-editing program to crop out the offending outer portion if the distortion is evident in your photographs.

Unfortunately, the P5100 shows very little--if any--performance improvement over the P5000, so you may want to stick to static subjects such as landscapes and inanimate objects. It wakes up and shoots in 2.4 seconds--slow, but acceptable. Even under the best shooting conditions, however, time to focus and shoot is 0.9 second, and when the light gets dim that rises to a bottom-of-the-class 2.4 seconds on CNET Labs' tests. That 2.4 seconds carries over to the shot-to-shot time (still not great), but thankfully only increases to 2.6 seconds with flash enabled. Burst shooting is a middle-of-the-road one frame per second.

This level of sluggishness really drags down the prospects of the Nikon Coolpix P5100. For better overall performance, a broader zoom range and equally good (or somewhat better) image quality in the same price range, we suggest you check out the Canon PowerShot A650 IS instead.

Shooting speed (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

Time to first shot

Typical shot-to-shot time

Shutter lag (dim light)

Shutter lag (typical)

Canon PowerShot A650 IS

1.6

2.8

0.9

0.5

Fujifilm FinePix F50fd

1.8

2.9

0.9

0.5

Nikon CoolPix P5100

2.4

0.9

Typical continuous-shooting speed (in frames per second)
(Longer bars indicate better performance)

Fujifilm FinePix F50fd

Nikon CoolPix P5100

1.1

Canon PowerShot A650 IS

0.9

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User reviews

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Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 11 reviews
My rating: 0 stars

Showing opinion 1 to 10 out of 11

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8 stars

A good solid point and shoot camera

by Mattman66 on October 30, 2007

Pros: Right size for shirt pocket: Easy to grasp: Place for thumb: Manual settings.

Cons: Somewhat convoluted controls

Summary: Originally, I was not going to write a review as I am not a camera expert by any means. All observations here are empirical and the scientific method is out ...

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Summary: Originally, I was not going to write a review as I am not a camera expert by any means. All observations here are empirical and the scientific method is out the window. Also, let me preface anything I may say here by telling you that all comparisons of this camera are to the Nikon 7900 which I mistakenly gave to my grandson instead of keeping for myself. Upon taking the camera from the box, I noticed that it was more ergonomically correct and easier to grasp; the 7900 could be like holding a bar of soap between the thumb and forefinger while in the shower. A portion of the right side of the camera is rubberized making it much easier to hold. The on/off button is much easier to operate as the one on the 7900 was somewhat recessed and could be difficult to press. This camera is larger than the 7900 but not much. The battery life is not quite as good. That portion of the zoom button that protrudes has a design flaw on the under side that allows it to catch on clothing or camera case presenting a possible problem. The door to the cable connector is sleazy while the door to the memory card/battery area is better, but only marginally. It does have a place for your thumb on the upper right side in back.. Be careful not to cover the flash with your left forefinger as the position of the flash makes this very possible. It came with a neck strap but no wrist strap so I had to steal one from my grandson?s Wii. You can imagine how well that went over.

At first blush, this camera appeared to me to be hopelessly complicated. Nevertheless, I told myself that if this was the posture I wanted to assume, I should have purchased a camera with fewer features. I decided this camera was not smarter than I was but it?s been two weeks and the jury is still out. The camera has a wealth of features which I will not attempt to critique leaving this in the capable hands of the gals and guys at C/net. I particularly enjoy their video blurbs. The camera appears to be somewhat faster than the 7900 by a small degree. My unscientific timings gives the camera startup time at the better part of two seconds; the shutter lag as another two seconds and the recycle time with flash can be as high as three seconds. It has many bells and whistles I know I will never use.. However, having worked with it the last two weeks I can easily see it has many features to recommend it. As with my old camera, the photos and movies are of a superior quality with the movies being even better than with the 7900. This camera will allow the amateur enthusiast to experiment and grow in knowledge and expertise (yours truly included). At first I thought I had made a mistake but now I can see that this camera will afford me many hours of pleasure and great photo experiences. I'm not sorry and I don't believe you will be, either. No, it is not perfect but as I tell my friends, "No matter what brand you buy or how much you pay for it, it's going to have things about it you will not like." So seems to be the nature of today's point and shoot camera. It appears to me that if Nikon wants to stay in the point and shoot market they are going to have to find a way to speed up their cameras.

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15 out of 16 users found this user opinion helpful.
10 stars

It is superb camera

by jorger101 on October 10, 2007

Pros: Great Image quality, manual exposure modes

Cons: Does not have raw capability

Summary: I purchased the Nikon Coolpix 5100 last Friday and I am very impressed. I love the fact that Nikon put so much camera in such as small machine. The image ...

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Summary: I purchased the Nikon Coolpix 5100 last Friday and I am very impressed. I love the fact that Nikon put so much camera in such as small machine. The image quality blows me away! I have taken very nice photographs with it and because of the megapixel count, I am able to crop the image with excellent results. I love its small size because now I can carry a full-featured digital camera with me anywhere. There are times that I prefer not to carry my full blown Digital SLR to a shooting situation. The camera focusing mechanism takes some getting used to. Sometimes it focuses behind or in front of the main subject so it is preferable to focus manually to avoid this problem. Overall, I cannot find any faults with the design of this marvelous machine.

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8 out of 8 users found this user opinion helpful.
9 stars

Best quality pocket digital to date

by scottthesculptor on December 17, 2007

Pros: solid, gripable, best LCD, gorgeous images, serious tech

Cons: nit: no usb mass storage driver, but reader is smaller than cable so who cares

Summary: Bright sharp 230,000 pixel LCD
View angle so low that if you can see the glass you can still see the image. Arms length shots over the crowd are
...

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Summary: Bright sharp 230,000 pixel LCD
View angle so low that if you can see the glass you can still see the image. Arms length shots over the crowd are possible.

Aweome user interface. You'll get hooked on the "command dial", easy way to make on the fly manual changes to take proper pictures.
Uh yes, this is a photographers pocket digital - optical viewfinder, flash shoe, neck strap, PASM, it's just very small

Onto the gorgeous images. I've seen some reviews calling the high iso modes "useless".
Try this: put the mode dial in "Buddhist Palm" mode (or whatever they call the quaky hand thing), then take a shot while quickly moving the camera.
You'll get an incredibly noisy image - but holy cow! there is a credible image where there should be nothing but blobs of dark colors. Third party magic algorithms can clean up some of the noise.
Now grab a tripod and set the iso to 64 for some very rich, un-noisy images.
Macro at 1.6" makes a dime bigger than 8.5x8.5@600dpi and every scratch shows.
59 min and 37 secs of movie fits on a 4GB card

me;
mamiya 645 in the early 80s
took 3 years of mundane images before deciding photography wasn't my talent
a few pocket 35mm then digitals, canon s20, nikon p4, and now the p5100.
but you never forget f-stops

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5 out of 5 users found this user opinion helpful.
8 stars

Great camera

by Iwantone on November 30, 2007

Pros: PERFECT Macro mode for ebay sellers, perfect in the hand feel

Cons: "soft pictures" but some like that- 5x zoom would have been better, slightly sluggish lens speed -why 12 mpixel?

Summary: The reviews on this camera are not all that great but I think thats because they are comparing this camera to arguably better cameras (Canon G9). But this camera is ...

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Summary: The reviews on this camera are not all that great but I think thats because they are comparing this camera to arguably better cameras (Canon G9). But this camera is really a perfect camera for most users.
Great for point and shoot, feels perfect in the hand (no other small camera is as good and I have bought dozens for my business), and you can add lenses. It also gives "average" users some control over their shots so it is a perfect starter camera that wont break the bank.
But I would easily sacrafice the Megapicel race (8 is good enough) for a higher power zoom or wide angle lens. This camera is not good for moving opbjects it can work but if thats what you need look elsewhere.
But the ultimate strength of this camera is its macro mode. For this price simply no other camera gets close shots to 1 cm with NO pin cushioning or barrel distortion. The focus is perfect means that if you are taking close ups for ebay or nature or anything you will get perfect shots everytime. This camera has a distortion control mode that relly works close up.
But normal shots come out great also.
Also has 30fps movie mode- Canon G9 doesnt as it is more of a "prosumer" camera.
Also yes you get noise at ISO 400 and above butEVERY camera in this price range has this problem. You have to get SLR cameras to escape the artifacting so I dont consider that a minus. But Cameras have to quite advertising "high ISO" if they really cant do GOOD pictures at high ISO.
I would recommend this to anyone.

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4 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
9 stars

Excellent Semi-pro

by gabrielorlando on April 16, 2008

Pros: EXCELLENT QUALITY, great tools (D-lighting, panorama assistant), you can control almost anything.

Cons: A little slow, it could have a better zoom range, a little heavy

Summary: When you hold your brand new COOLPIX P5100 you can notice that its not just a snapshooter with 12.1 MP, its the best you can buy if you can'...

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Summary: When you hold your brand new COOLPIX P5100 you can notice that its not just a snapshooter with 12.1 MP, its the best you can buy if you can't afford a Nikon D-SLR .

It's a versatile camera wich you can use in someone's reunion to snapshot all the relatives present, or use it in your travels to take amazing photos or even to take images that you could think are from a SLR (obviously it's not a SLR, don't be too enthusiastic).

In the other hand, I miss a wider range in the zoom. I previously had a Panasonic DMC-LZ5 which had a zoom of 6x... altough the range is enough for almost all the images you take.

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2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
9 stars

Terrific pictures, fast! if you use the right memory card.

by sheasanborn on January 31, 2008

Pros: Nice grip, easy to use, compact, very high quality image.

Cons: So many features means a lot of study and practice time.

Summary: The best point and shoot I have ever used. One of the opinions posted on this site says it doesn't let you know if you have the memory card ...

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Summary: The best point and shoot I have ever used. One of the opinions posted on this site says it doesn't let you know if you have the memory card installed - but it does, indirectly. An icon appears on the screen that indicates using the internal memory, which either means the memory card is full or absent.

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2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
9 stars

The Nikon Coolpix 5100 offers 12 megapixel resolution in a medium sized format camera.

by mcdschell on January 12, 2008

Pros: Nikon and Sony cameras have flash guide numbers about 60% higher than Canon point and shoots. The hot shoe allows for an external flash. Thus critical low light scenes are much more readily captured.

Cons: No RAW format available. Slower than some other cameras.

Summary: The Coolpix 5100 is the top of the line Nikon point and shoot cameras. The 5100 is a great companion to the Nikon dSLR line and utilizes the TTL Nikon ...

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Summary: The Coolpix 5100 is the top of the line Nikon point and shoot cameras. The 5100 is a great companion to the Nikon dSLR line and utilizes the TTL Nikon flash units. The IS capability at High ISO is very effective even for hand held photography. I compared night photos with the 5100 to the Nikon D70S and there is a signifcant advantage of the 5100 over the D70S. There is no perfect camera, only the best camera for the photo shoot of the moment.

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2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
10 stars

fantastic feel and features..better than Canon G(

by fmamat on January 3, 2008

Pros: features, feel,quality of pix

Cons: slow speeon multiple shots

Summary: for te money this is a 12 megapixel giant....can't find a better value for a full feature compact 12.0

Summary: for te money this is a 12 megapixel giant....can't find a better value for a full feature compact 12.0

2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
1 stars

I don't recemmend it

by thebeat on January 4, 2008

Pros: Great picture quality, I like the grip too

Cons: Very slow, very sluggish, shutter lag is below average

Summary: I bought this camera, then immediately returned it the next day. It took very good pictures in both outdoor and indoors, but it was very slow. The shutter lag time ...

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Summary: I bought this camera, then immediately returned it the next day. It took very good pictures in both outdoor and indoors, but it was very slow. The shutter lag time and continuous shooting was horrible. And this definitely takes out of the experience. If you want to capture that magic moment and the right place and TIME, it is difficult to do that with this camera.

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3 out of 5 users found this user opinion helpful.
9 stars

Almost Every Picture Turns Out Great

by cagedpopmachine on August 13, 2008

Pros: With 12MP pictures have great detail, Scene Modes and AF work great, good lens!

Cons: 12MP can slow down the camera sometimes

Summary: One of things I love about this camera is how good it feels in my hands--it feels sturdy and solid--which helps keep the camera steady. The menus are easy and ...

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Summary: One of things I love about this camera is how good it feels in my hands--it feels sturdy and solid--which helps keep the camera steady. The menus are easy and quick to go through and find the right mode to use. Videos turn out very well with good sound. When the lens is in the wide angle range it will create some distortion, but most lens will at that angle. It does take a little experience or practice to get night time scenes right, but again, that's the case on any camera. I like how the flash and view finders are placed, they work great. I basically got this camera to be something to carry around SLR camera, which is just impractical for me, and the P5100 exceeded my hopes. Yes, it can be a bit slow at times, but for how detailed and great the pictures turn out it's worth it. I can crop my photos quite a bit and still have them look good. It's a great camera and while it's around $300 it's worth it for someone who wants to take great pictures without lugging around a SLR (or even an amateur photographer that isn't quite ready for the investment of an SLR).

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Showing opinion 1 to 10 out of 11

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Specifications

Manufacturer: Nikon Inc.
Part number: 25580
Description: Nikon is a precision optical company with worldwide manufacturing, research and marketing capabilities. The Nikon name is equated with extraordinary photographic performance, innovation, precision and optical quality. PRODUCT FEATURES: 12.1 Megapixels for stunning prints as large as 20 x 30 inches; 3.5x Optical Zoom-Nikkor Glass Lens - quality optics provide exceptional images; VR Optical Image Stabilization minimizes the effect of camera shake; Incredible, Bright 2.5-inch High Resolution LCD and Optical Viewfinder make it easy to compose and share your pictures; Program, Aperture, Shutter and Manual Exposure Modes give you greater creative control over camera operation; Auto adjusts up to ISO 3200 (5MP or lower) - keep shooting, even in lower light.

General
Product Type Digital camera - Prosumer
Weight 7.1 oz
Width 3.9 in
Depth 1.6 in
Height 2.6 in
Body Material Magnesium alloy
Main Features
Resolution 12.1 megapixels
Image stabilizer feature Optical stabilization helps prevent blurry pictures, especially for handheld cameras at slow shutter speeds or when using high optical zoom.
Sensor resolution 12.1 megapixels
Optical Sensor Type CCD
Effective Sensor Resolution 12,100,000 pixels
Total Pixels 12.43 megapixels
Optical Sensor Size 1/1.72 in
Light Sensitivity ISO 200, ISO 800, ISO 400, ISO 3200, ISO 2000, ISO 1600, ISO 100, ISO 64, ISO auto (64-800)
Digital Zoom 4 x
Shooting Modes Frame movie mode
Special effects Monochrome
Exposure Modes Aperture-priority, Automatic, I-TTL program flash, Program, Shutter-priority, Manual
White Balance Automatic, Presets
Digital video format QuickTime
Still Image Format JPEG
Color support Color
Image Stabilizer Optical
Face Detection Yes
TV Tuner None
Video Capture QuickTime - 160 x 120, QuickTime - 640 x 480, QuickTime - 320 x 240
Memory / Storage
Flash Memory 52 MB Flash - Integrated
Integrated Memory 52 MB
Floppy Drive None

Nikon Coolpix P5100

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