Customer Reviews

Nikon Coolpix P5000 10MP Digital Camera with 3.5x Optical Vibration Reduction Zoom

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was looking for a small portable camera to complement my Nikon D70 and D80 DSLR. Small enough to fit in my pocket or on my belt, light enough to always have with me, yet have advanced capabilities and produce good quality photos when I did not have a DSLR with me.
I have tried many cameras from Nikon and Canon. The P5000 has the right set of features and price to meet my needs. The Canon G7 does have some superior features, but is larger and weighs more so does not fit in my shirt pocket but OK in coat pocket, and is ~$100 more. I have had the P5000 for almost a week and it has been on my belt in the leather case every day. Very travel friendly. I also have the small light SB-400 iTTL Flash in my brief case to add more Flash capability and it is great.

Picture quality is finally what has to be good. The P5000 produces very good IQ with that "Nikon Color" I am used to. I tested the P5000 in good lighting versus my Nikon D80, Nikon S7c and CoolPix 5400. The D80 wins hands down as the best quality. But the P5000 is much better that my other CoolPix. Plus going back and forth from the D80 to the P5000 was smooth due to button placement and similar shooting style. The hand grip on the P5000 is excellent for such a small camera too. I have posted my test pictures on another site if you look at Nikon Talk Forum on DPreview dot com and search for "P5000 vs S7c vs 5400 First Impressions"

Cheers

I have had my P5000 for less than a week and really am impressed with it. The color is good, the photo quality is good. For such a small camera, it has good ergonomics and most functions are easily accessed by by buttons or dials. It has full manual controls and noise levels are very good for a 10 MP camera. The VR stabilizing function works well. It makes the perfect accompaniment to my D50 and D70 when I need a smaller purse or pocket-sized camera.

I recently bought this camera to replace my well used Nikon Coolpix 7900. It takes fabulous photos and the multitude of manual controls is exceptional but what was Nikon thinking by having such a noisy autofocus motor in this camera? It makes a constant whirring sound--it's almost like you are using a camcorder instead of a still camera. There is no way to shut the sound off. I can hear it quite clearly even when just holding the camera in my hand. This issue is now being reported in the Nikon forums. It was a deal breaker for me. It was just too annoying and I returned the camera to the store. The sound is loud enough to record when using the the video setting so if you like to take videos alot you might want to read up what others have to say in regards to the noise issue. Otherwise, it's a first rate camera that takes photos almost the equivalent of my Nikon D50. What a shame that Nikon didn't address this issue before sending the camera out to customers.

I bought and returned this camera.

If I returned it, then why did I give it a respectable 4 rating? Because in many (most) situations, it takes very nice pictures, it is small and stylish, it has full manual controls, it has a hotshoe for an external flash, it can accept different lenses, and it takes SD cards.

Why did I return it? Because it has one fatal flaw. Despite being billed as the flagship point & shoot camera for Nikon, and despite the many cutting edge features, and despite the great qualities noted above, the auto focus is VERY SLOW. It makes this camera almost unuseable if your subjects are moving kids, which is why I bought the camera. I lost at least 1/2 the shots that I tried to take of my kids because I couldn't get them focussed. If you read the various photography forums, there are several workarounds that help somewhat, but at the end of the day, the AF is still slow.

If you don't plan on taking candid shots of your kids, then this could be a great camera for you. I took several hundred wonderful pictures before I returned it. Just not of my kids.

By the way, I ended up buying a Fuji F31FD. I won't go into great detail about the pros and cons of this camera (and it has both), but I'll just say I kept it and I like it. The AF is much faster, and it has the added bonus of being one of the best (if not the best) low light cameras on the market today.

I've had this for a couple of days and love it! Its a great point and shoot, provides crisp, clear, beautiful images in auto mode. But, it also allows you an incredible amount of control and versatiltiy with the preset modes and the manual modes. You can get great results with "art-ier" shots that encorporate depth of field, saturation, etc.

I've had great luck shooting in an indoor setting with natural light coming through the windows and lots of flourescent light coming from overhead when I've adjusting the white-point accordingly. It performs well in low-light situations too. I like the programmable function button that gives you a short-cut to the screen that pertains most to the situation you are shooting.

The portability, image quality, add-on lenses, shoe for a speedlight flash, price, and proven Nikon quality, make this a great choice for someone looking for the most versatile small digital camera they can get.

The P5000 is a sophisticated P&S camera, however it is too limited to take the place of your DSLR. For the basic P&S user, it has too many options & controls and, in my opinion, the default settings are not optimal for good results. I had to change a number of settings to get satisfactory images. More experienced shooters will appreciate its many settings, options and tweaks for creative control. In this regard it is very versatile and sophisticated. It comes with a 114-page manual.

I don't use the video feature so I am only addressing still photography.

I've had mine for about two months, here's my summary:

The good:

Excellent picture quality at 10MP
Price
Lots of manual control
Good exposure
Histogram picture review setting very helpful
Includes white balance pre-set setting for tough lighting situations
Generally well built
Choice of shooting modes
Large LCD monitor viewable from many angles
Has both optical viewfinder and LCD

The bad:

Too small to hold comfortably, I'm always afraid I'll drop it
Pink streaks show on LCD when pointed at a light source (but not visible in the picture)
Optical viewfinder framing is *VERY* inaccurate
Zooms too fast to be precise, needs finer zoom control
Could use a wider focal length on the short end
Battery/memory door is flimsy, seems like it could break off easily

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As an example of picture quality, I shot a photo on the "Normal" setting, at ISO 400. I usually shoot in Fine, but for photos to be used on the web I prefer a smaller file size, and I had forgotten to reset it. Right off the card and unadjusted, I made a 9" x 12" print and it was tack-sharp with virtually no noise, easily rivaling a print made from 120 film. I'm impressed by that.


Overall, I recommend the camera for the advanced P&S user, but would tell a less experienced and casual photographer to get something simpler.

I did a lot of research on finding a small point and shoot camera with the right set of features. The finalists in the order of preference was 1. Nikon Coolpix P5000, 2. FujiFilm F31 fd, 3. Lumix DMC TZ3, 4. Canon SD700IS.

All those cameras meet the following requirements: small enough to be carried around, good picture quality at lower ISO, fast startup, and reasonable shot to shot performance.

[...].

I picked the Nikon Coolpix in a large part because of the flash hotshoe for external bounce flash, 10MP (more pixels for cropping), easy creative control (shutterspeed, aperture, ...).

The one major problem with the P5000 is that it focuses quite slowly compared to the others on the list, so I have to prefocus most of the time. If external flash is not a major need for you, go with the FujiFilm F31d. Its low light performance is top rated. The Lumix TZ3 is a great 12x zoom camera, extremely fun to use (a friend of mine has this).

I had read few reviews in dpreview and amazon about the noise in low light conditions. Believe me, I dint notice much of noise in Auto Mode (thats what i explored on Day1 with my P5000).

Good:
1. Neat pics even in low light conditions.
2. Shutter lag - you wont feel it (not during low lighting though, which is understandable)
3. Nice ergonomics
4. Lots of Manual settings which almost matches a DSLR.

Bad:
1. Auto focus takes a little noticeable time, but its not bad.

I had lots of expectations from this cam, and so far am happy with its performance. All in all, a great cam for the price.

I recently purchased the Nikon P5000 to replace and upgrade a 5.0 MP Canon Digital ELPH camera that I carry with me. As an architect that travels a lot, it is important to have a reliable, good quality digital camera that has both easy automatic point-and-shoot capability, as well as manual control when needed. The P5000 gives all of that. Of course, nothing is perfect, but this camera delivers mostly in the areas that I need.

PROS - high resolution; sturdy magnesium case; fairly straight-forward operation (easy to navigate even without the manual); better battery life than my previous Canon; 2.5-inch LCD screen; and 3.5 optical zoom. This camera also has a viewfinder (no diopter adjustment). I personally prefer a viewfinder to an LCD screen in certain settings, such as when the LCD is washed out by bright sunlight. If a viewfinder is important to you, this has one.

CONS - slight lag in Auto-Focus; wimpy accessory Nikon leather case (the Canon's case was of a sturdier, thicker leather); some learning curve going from Canon to Nikon equipment; and having to change from CF cards to SD memory cards. The latter is not anyone's fault, since almost all new digital cameras seem to have adopted the SD format in order to achieve smaller physical form.

All my previous cameras were Canon (even the film cameras). While my current Digital ELPH was only 3 years old, advances made since 2004 easily eclipsed the old camera, and not just in MP resolution. Things like Face-Recognition (available on several brands) and longer-life batteries greatly improve the camera's utility.

Other models seriously considered were the Sony DSC-W200 (12.1 MP) and the Canon SD900 (10.0 MP). All were in the same price range, but the Sony (new) and Canon were difficult to find. I wanted to at least try this out in person before buying, rather than purchasing sight unseen.

There are some features that digital camera manufacturers seem to always include that many users just do not use very often, if at all. The P5000 has 16 "scenes" to shoot in a variety of conditions, such as Landscape, Museum, Sports, etc. These "scenes" should have also included "Cloudy", "Indoor Lighting", etc. These are on the Canon and while again not perfect, they were appropriate in many instances. You can always retouch photos (to a certain extent) in ACDSee, PhotoShop, or any other similar programs. But getting the exposure correct right from the start is always the best way to go. The remedy on the P5000 is to stick with fully-automatic mode if you are unsure which "scene" is appropriate. Photo-philes can manually adjust the speed and aperture - features I have not yet found on similarly-priced cameras.

The various movie settings have a similar minor gripe. It would have been good to also include an HD setting, but that may have been limited by memory restrictions.

When you pick up the P5000, you will noticed that the shutter release button is located on the front edge of the right-side hand grip, not on top of the camera as is the case in most other models. This is a design feature that is remedied only by time and familiarity. Again, not a deal-breaker, but you may find yourself inadvertently pushing the function button rather than the shutter release.

The price-point for 10-to-12 MP cameras, regardless of manufacturer, seems to be around $400. It would be nice if they included 2 batteries for that price, but do not hold your breath. If wireless capability is important to you, the P5000 does not have it. You will still need to use the supplied USB cable or use an SD card adapter to transfer pictures from the camera. The P5000 is so compact, you cannot fault the absence of WiFi. There is also no way to remotely release the shutter, exception for the automated self-timer function.

The P5000 has two features not found in comparable cameras - a hot shoe and a ring for adapter lenses. The hot shoe is an interesting feature, since this is a compact digital camera and most people will want to just carry it around in their pocket. But if you are so inclined, Nikon does offer a few small flash units specifically designed for this model. They look kind of silly on the small camera and make it slightly unbalanced when attached, but if you need it, this is less of a hassle than carrying a second camera with a better flash unit. I have not tried the lens adapters yet, but you can add dedicated lenses for improved wide-angle and telephoto. Most P5000 buyers may never need these functions but Nikon's design appears to attempt to bridge the gap between high-performance compact digital cameras and a digital SLR.

In conclusion, the P5000 gets 4 out of 5 stars. There are some software tweaks that could make this camera better in its next iteration (if there is a next one). It has a rather high ISO (3200), so you might expect some degree of visual "noise", but that should not be a problem in most applications.

Nikon has set the bar pretty high with the P5000. Competitors will have their hands full trying to improve on this.

For what it is, & how logically it was constructed, I cannot recommend this amazing little gem too highly .

I bought it as a 'sidekick' for my Nikon D80 which I use when my photographic intent is focused & serious. When I am out & about & would like to be prepared 'just in case' but cannot or will not be encumbered by larger, heavier equipment, the P5000's role is stellar.

Whatever the camera doesn't offer is eclipsed by what it does: a tiny yet ergonimically comfortable high-quality image-delivery system. I am delighted, & will now see if, in the longer run, the camera offers sufficient durability if attentively handled.