Customer Reviews

Nikon Coolpix 5200 5MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I got this camera as a birthday gift and I love it! First and foremost, it takes incredible pictures. I've had prints made and they look just as good as the ones from my old 35 millimeter, if not better. The Nikon 5200 is compact and lightweight, but not so small that it's uncomfortable to handle. It's easy to use and has a large LCD screen for you to preview your pictures right away. The zoom is also pretty good, although it took me a little while to figure out how the enhanced digital zoom works.

There are a bunch of different shooting modes that you can choose from, and they're very easy to figure out. I've been very impressed with the battery life, too, and that's a big selling point for me.

All in all, this is a fabulous camera. I suggest shopping around for it online, though, because I was able to find it selling for about $150 under the MSRP (brand new).

While looking for a pocketable and powerful digital camera I tried out the Pentax 555, Optio, Sony T-1, Canon S500...and the Nikon 5200. And the 5200 simply takes the highest honors and my hard-earned cash--$410 from AMPhoto.com!

While each of the cameras I compared and tested are small and pocketable-the Nikon was the easiest to reach in/pull out and "know" which end you have-which is important when catching spur-of-the-moment pictures at parties or other events.

The grip and feel in the hand is great and can easily be operated one-handed-unless you have very small hands.

The display is bright and easy to read-even in regular sunlight. The auto-gain for the display the camera uses while "looking" at a dark area is ingenious and incredibly useful.

Controls/buttons are well-placed and thought-out.

The menu system is great and very intuitive-no guessing/digging for features in menus.

Pictures simply are wonderful. Contrary to other reviews-I have had no issues with color being off for people.

This is a FAST CAMERA. Start-up is under 2 seconds. Without the flash picture-to-picture time is just over a second. With the flash picture-to-picture time is about 2 seconds.

Nobody has talked about about how FAST the zoom is! While looking at the other cameras I thought all zooms were lethargic-but Nikon's zoom is incredibly F-A-S-T!!! I did heavily consider the Pentax 555 but its zoom was so lethargic that I'd miss the action before it zoomed all the way in!

Macro mode is a blast and VERY good. The focus for macro is as close as an inch which allows you to get up close and personal with the object/subject

The movie mode is just incredible! While not camcorder quality, the 640x480 30 fps rate is great and a lot of fun for clips. I don't know why other camera manufacturers put limitations on the amount of video you can take...but Nikon gets it-if you've got the memory the use all you want for whatever you want!

Battery life hasn't been an issue and the fast charger which is INCLUDED lives up to the promise of fully charging a dead battery in 2 hours. I do wish Nikon had included the AC adapter but no matter...it can easily be picked up for $30.

I would recommend BUY AN EXTRA BATTERY! They are small and light-and you'll definitely be taking lots of pictures with this baby, and while battery life is good-the last thing you want to do is run out of juice when the party is just getting started!

Also buy as much SD memory as you can afford!

**Please note-this is a point-and-shoot camera with a few advanced features to play and have fun with... it takes the guesswork out of pictures. While the camera has a host of features to help you take better pictures based on the situation and lighting, it does not prevent or protect the user from taking bad or poorly composed pictures. Read the manual for the basics then get out there, take lots of pictures and find out how to improve yourself!

Nikon Coolpix 5200 is my first digital camera, bought after siginificant web research. I used SLR cameras in the past and was initially reluctant to use digital point-and-shoot. After having used this new camera of mine, I must agree it is not bad at all. Let me list down some positives and negatives that I have noted so far:

Positives:
1. Very light weight. When I compare with my friend's Canon A85, etc. this one is really light.
2. Clear picture, nice color balance. Quality lens.
3. Decent battery life + rechargeable battery.
4. Great look, nice design. You feel proud.
5. In-built Red Eye.

Negatives:
1. The auto focus is not up to the mark. Unless you are very careful, there is a high chance you will land up in out-of-focus shots.
2. The potrait mode comes with default Red-Eye reduction and you cannot permanently change it. The problem with Red Eye reduction is that several flashes are triggered and wastes battery life. Note that you don't necessarily need Red Eye for all potrait shots. So for every shot you need to change the mode to single-flash.
3. Too many modes unnecessarily create confusion. Pictures taken in different modes not necessarily are different.
4. In-built Red Eye works, but not always. I have got quite a few Red Eyes even using Red Eye reduction mode.
5. 3x optical zoom is barely enough.

A few tips on purchasing digital camera:
1. Don't go by the megapixel bandwagon. I rarely use the 5 megapixel feature of this camera and almost always use it in 2 megapixel mode to store more shots in my 128 MB flash.
2. 2 megapixel shots are good enough for up to 8x10 enlargements.
3. A good camera is defined by its lens, metering ability, focusing, zoom, low distortion, color balance, etc. They come from the digital processing and the lens function.

Hope this helps.

slurged on this camera before a trip to europe. did a lot of research first and decided on the Nikon. then found it at electricsam.com for $360! score. also found cheap memory at bestbuy (256 mb/$35), score again. the size is perfect - small but no too small to get a good grip on. and very easy to use with all these pre-set options. i used a bunch of them: lanscape (w/ and w/out peeps), arcitecture (w/ and w/out peeps), museum, sunset, indoor, portrait, etc. and the settings really make a difference. i took some pictures of the alps in austria lining things up with the display on landscape mode and the pictures came out absolutely sick! we had several blown up (16X20!) and they look as good as the professional photos of the mts in utah we bought last winter. also very cool b&w and panaramic modes.

highly highly recommend the nikon 5200!

I have been looking at digital camers for a very long time. I wanted a 5 mega-pixel at the consumer price range that was easy to use and small enough to place in a pocket. The Nikon 5200 meets these simple needs and far exceeds any other expectation. From the start this was an easy camera to operate. I was taking pictures right out of the box. After spending some time to read about it's other capabilities, I learned that there are some super cool things it can do. The "sport" mode is wonderful. I can take a picture of a golf swing, my son pitching, or any other action shot with a series of 21 pictures in rapid succession. You get to see the progression of the action through each frame. The Movie mode is also cool. It is very easy to move from pictures to movies. You don't have to be a member of Mensa to maneuver through the options. I love the ability to add voice memos to the pictures AND, this to is very easy. Nothing complicated about this camera. Loads of options, easy to use, OH and did I mention great looking pictures....So happy I waited for the Nikon 5200.

I purchased a 5200, primarily due to the $100 rebate they have going with Epson for the Picture Mate. As it turned out, the camera is very competitive with others and takes great pictures.

Pros:
- Color - I had a Minolta and a Pentax before this and the Nikon provides the best color saturation and true color. The Minolta had a habit of making everyone look slightly red and the Pentax made darker skin people look even darker.

- Design - although not as shirt pocketable as the Minolta Dimage X, the new Canon SDs or the Pentax Espios, it is still pretty compact. The "handle" on the right side of the camera makes it easier to hold, but makes it a little bulkier than the other cameras

- Flash - a decen flash for a camera this size. Some of the others I have used can't illuminate anything more than 6-8 feet away. This camera can go a little farther and wider.

- Lens - a true Nikon lense, you can see the difference in the clarity and when playing with the "depth of field"

Cons:

- Pictures can be soft - They look great at 4x6 prints, but you can tell a little fuzziness on a large LCD monitor. I think it might be on purpose, as I can sharpen up the image considerably using some photo software.

- LCD - only 1.5". The competition is using 2" LCDs now.

The new Nikon 5200 is much more compact and elegant than its predecessors. The first thing that struck me was the smooth design compared with the rather chunky 3700, 4300 and 2100. The main reason is the new grip and battery compartment - a vast improvement. The pictures are faultless for amateur use, the lens is above average (somewhat distorted in the edge), much better than the Canon 500, and on par with the Pentax 555.The menu system is very intuitive and easy and most importantly the recycle time is comparable to normal cameras - it has always annoyed me when I have to wait for a digital camera to be ready for the `Kodak moment', no such problems with this Nikon. The only fault I have come across is the rather weak flash.

Hi-I just wanted to say that the guy who gave this 2 stars wrote that same review for a lot of cameras so dont be fooled by there review. Its a GREAT CAMERA!

My hubby gave me this camera for my birthday and I must admit that I love it! First, it is very easy to use and takes fantastic pictures! It is lightweight and compact and fits well in your hand! I have smaller cameras, but I'm always afraid I'll drop them - the Nikon Coolpix 5200 is much eaiser to handle.

Previewing pictures is a snap with the large LCD screen, and you can switch from picture mode to sport mode (takes loads of pictures in rapid succession) to movie mode. The zoom works well and you can even add voice. Battery life is good - which isn't always the case (you know what I mean when you've taking pictures at a parade and when your child finally shows up the battery has died - argh!).

The price is a little steep, but you can usually find it on sale somewhere and the quality and ease of use definitely justify the price! A great camera - a perfect holiday gift!

This cute little thing works like a mule to get you good pictures.It was up and running in about 10 minutes,after I charged the battery for the first time.The instruction manual,and the layout of the various operations is clear and logical.And the ergonomics of the camera are fine.Feels good in the hand.Not flimsy,as you might expect with such a little camera.The software was easy to install,and it works well,but it is pretty basic.I just bought PSP here at amazon,and I am anxious to see how I can tweak my pics.
I had a perfectly wonderful digital camera,but it was too large to fit comfortably in my jeans pocket, so I opted for the Nikon.
Also..I have read in other reviews that there is a problem with reddish skin-tones,and I can truthfully say I haven't run into that problem at all.
Ease of use:5 stars. Picture quality:5 stars(in macro-mode,as well)Cuteness factor:10 stars.
Coupled with a quality printer(which I have),I see a long partnership with this little cutie!