Nikon Coolpix 5000 5MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom

Other products by Nikon

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 2.7 x 4 x 3.2 inches ; 12.6 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item can only be shipped to the 48 contiguous states. We regret it cannot be shipped to APO/FPO, Hawaii, Alaska, or Puerto Rico.
• ASIN: B00005QJCU
• Item model number: 5000
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (62 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #5,724 in Camera & Photo (See Bestsellers in Camera & Photo)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 21, 2001

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Once again, Nikon has upped the ante in the world of digital cameras with the introduction of the Coolpix 5000. Its 5-megapixel sensor, 28-85mm zoom lens, and extensive controls make this a great choice for discriminating photographers seeking a digital camera with filmlike quality and SLR-style manual controls.

In a departure from previous flagship Coolpix models, the 5000 is very compact (much smaller than the older 900-series models) and looks more or less like a traditional point-and-shoot. It does not employ the trademark Coolpix swiveling-lens design; instead, on this model, it's the LCD display that does the swiveling. The screen can be flipped out from the camera body and rotated for easy viewing from any shooting angle--it even works for a self-portrait. An added bonus to this design is the ability to tuck the vulnerable display inward for protection when the camera is not in use. Of course, images can also be composed by looking through the traditional optical viewfinder.

The Coolpix 5000 features a 3x zoom lens--the most common power for zoom digital cameras. It's the range that sets the Coolpix apart--its widest setting is an unusually wide 28mm, perfectly matching the wide-angle setting on most SLR cameras. Almost every other digital camera's wide-angle starts at 35 or 38mm. The all-glass lens features nine elements in seven groups.

Power is provided by a proprietary lithium-ion EN-EL1 battery rated for approximately 100 minutes of use (battery and charger are included). If you're worried about getting caught in the middle of nowhere with a dead battery, the camera also uses a standard disposable lithium 2CR5 camera battery. Unused lithium batteries hold their power for years, so you'll probably want to toss one of these into your camera bag as a backup. For hardcore photographers, there's also an optional power pack/hand grip that uses six AA batteries and offers several times the power capacity of the rechargeable pack.

We've come to expect Coolpix cameras to offer an extensive set of manual controls, and the 5000 offers sports than we can list here, including shutter speeds from 1/4,000 to 8 seconds, shutter priority, aperture priority, and full manual modes, manual focus and white balance, ISO ratings from 100 to 800, and numerous other settings to let photographers capture any shot they can dream up. See our product specs for more details.

An extensive selection of accessories has helped to make Coolpix cameras favorites with serious photographers. From wide angle and telephoto add-on lenses to an adapter that lets you use the camera as a scanner for your slides and negatives, Nikon offers enough add-ons to create a system that meets all of your needs.

Shutter lag--the delay between the time you press the button and the moment the camera actually captures the photo--is a problem with most digital cameras, and the Coolpix 5000 is no exception. The camera can take over a second to snap your picture after pressing the button, which can be an unacceptably long time, especially if you're trying to take a picture of a quick-moving subject. Most of this delay can be eliminated by prefocusing--composing your shot, then pressing the shutter button halfway down to allow the camera to adjust the focus and metering. When you're ready to take the picture, press the button the rest of the way down, and the shutter will snap almost instantly.

Movie mode captures movie clips with audio at resolutions of 320 x 240 pixels at approximately 15 frames per second for up to 40 seconds. This feature won't replace your camcorder, but it's perfect for when you just want to capture a quick movie and e-mail it to a friend or relative.

The Coolpix 5000 comes with a rechargeable EN-EL1 battery and charger, a 32 MB CompactFlash card, video and USB cables, lens cap, neck strap, and an impressive software suite that includes Genuine Fractals LE. The camera is covered by a one-year warranty.

Product Description

The 5.2 megapixel sensor creates 2,560 x 1,920 images for prints at 11 x 14 .3x optical (plus 4x digital) zoom lens with autofocus.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

445 of 451 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful. Worth the investment in time (& money)., January 8, 2002

By	C. Ladoulis "chris3010" (Crested Butte, CO USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have been using the Coolpix 5000 for the past few weeks, just enough time to shoot 1,000+ photos. My 3rd Nikon and 1st digital, it's lived up to my expectations: I've been more than pleased with the quality of the images, my ultimate criterion. While you'll hear a lot of wasted drivel on feature A,B,C and comparisons with model X,Y,Z, you need to decide what you're trying to achieve before investing this much on a new gadget. If you want to capture quality digital images for selected printing in 8x10 sizes or larger - and are willing to invest the time in learning how to make that happen - then this could be the camera for you.

This is no simple point-and-shoot, which explains why some users have been apprehensive. Personally, I prefer the multitude of options it offers, including these (all of which I have used so far):
- Ability to manually override nearly every automatic setting, including: exposure mode (S,A,P,M), focus distance, AF focus areas (5), flash level compensation, sharpening, white-balance, etc.
- ISO sensitivity from 100 to 800, manual or auto, enabling hand-held shooting indoors
- Spot, center-weighted, and matrix (256 segment) metering
- Hot shoe to connect external flash for more lighting options
- Wide angle lens (28mm equivalent) is wider than most 'standard' lenses on similar cameras
- 3 User Set configurations let you adjust quickly to different shooting situations/styles
- Shutter speeds short (up to 1/2000s) or long (8 sec)

If you do like novel features, then don't worry, you'll also get red-eye reduction, self-timer, movie mode (QuickTime up to 60sec @ 15fps, 320x240) and "best shot selector". Rumor has it BSS is a cool feature that rattles off 3 frames and stores only the 'best' - the one with the most information, i.e., sharpest & best exposed (but I haven't used it). I did like discovering after I played back the first movie that the camera even has a built-in speaker for audio during playback. I also like the ability to zoom into images up to 6.0x during viewing to examine carefully whether you captured what you wanted. The buttons and menu settings, while overwhelming at first, really are intuitively designed - once you've figured out a feature, you don't have to keep returning to the manual.

I've been really pleased with the images I've captured so far. Fleshtones are realistic, sharpness of images is pleasing (not excessively sharp, or 'digital'), and metering is accurate. There's plenty of data to work with in the 5 megapixel images, which I shoot in FINE .jpg mode yielding a 1.5-2.0 MB image at 2560x1920 pixels. The lens glass on the CP5000 is the largest of the Coolpix's so far, which probably explains the higher image quality.

The typical 'knocks' on the CP5000, and my opinion:
-"85mm is too short!": so is 200mm. If you want to shoot models on South Beach, get an SLR and a 400mm lens instead.
-"32mb CF card is too small!": if you rely on only one CF card, you shouldn't be spending this much on a digital camera.
-"images are soft!": I prefer mine stirred, not sharpened, and do the rest in Photoshop. If you let the camera over-do it for you, there's no getting back the lost/interpolated data.
-"battery life's too short!": you'll run out of card space first (I use 128mb CF). You just spent a grand - stop whining and buy a 2nd battery.

So, what are its real "issues"?
- No way to screw in a UV/protection filter. For some reason, Nikon opted not to put threads over the glass. You have to buy the lens attachment mount (UR-E5) and attach filters to it. An inconvenience, since you can't replace the lens and really should protect it with a clear filter.
-It's slow to autofocus, especially in low-light situations, as there is no AF-assist illumination. I generally use manual focus or set the Single AF mode in such situations, and it seems to work just fine.
-My indoor pictures using the built-in flash sometimes over-saturate the reds in fleshtones. I suspect this is because the bulb is a bit blue/green, and the white-balance logic on the camera over-compensates. I have kept the WB setting on "Auto", but I may fiddle with this a bit to see if another manual setting produces better results. When this has happened, I just tweaked the Saturation of Reds in Photoshop and they look fine.
- It feels smaller than it looks in the promo photograph. If you have big hands, you need to break the habit of groping the camera with your right hand. Otherwise, you'll cover the flash sensor and over- or under-expose your flash shots.

Should you buy one? Qualified YES! It's not for everyone. You can pull it out of the box and start 'snapping photos', but you might end up with snapshots that you could have made with a cheaper alternative. If you give it a little time and really learn how - and when - to use its many features, then I think you will produce even better images than you'd imagined.

You'll really like the CP5000 if:
-you like the convenience of Auto-Everything features, but want the creativity that only comes with Manual settings;
-you like the idea of plugging your CF memory card into an Epson/HP photo printer and spitting out snapshots, but you'd prefer to 'tweak' them yourself in an image editor like Photoshop.
-you can't afford a digital SLR right now, but you can't wait to start experimenting with digital photography

I like it, and I think you will, too. Make an informed decision, and be sure that whatever you buy is the right tool for the job.

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great pictures, but not without some problems in its use., January 8, 2002

By	Jay W. Walden (Raleigh, North Carolina United States) - See all my reviews

There are some great things and not-so-great things about this camera. Most importantly, however, is the fact that the images are distinctly cleaner than the 990 (which I have spent a LOT of time with). Aside from the nearly double megapixel resolution (which is why I upgraded from the 990), Nikon has added a feature called, simply, "Noise Reduction (NR)" which does in fact make for a very nice image - particularly important if you intend on using the image for hi-res offset print. NR does tend to slow the transfer-to-memory process a little bit (hardly noticeable unless you need to quickly take the next picture) but the result is worth it.

Color and contrast-wise, I've always been quite happy with the native Nikon digital images, pre-Photoshop (where I will manipulate them in a variety of other ways. I'm glad to not have to be conerned very much at all with adjusting the color).

OK, so, in my estimation, the image quality is terrific and overrides many of the downsides. To someone else, though, the downsides may make a difference - so here are a few of my discontents:
* First of all, this is one itty-bitty camera. Great, perhaps, if you're traveling around taking "snaps" (I hate that word) to send off to friends over e-mail. But if you want to work your images in a "pro-sumer" sort of way - meaning you want to work with something that is intuitive in its setup and use under all conditions and ergonomic in such a way that helps facilitate top-notch results, this little camera leaves somewhat to be desired if you're not using a tripod. I have found that the controls are so tight together that it's actually difficult to hit the right ones without accidentally also hitting others. The view finder is so tiny that, believe it or not, you lose it completely if you shift your eye a mere fraction to either side. There is an LCD read-out panel to the right of the viewfinder (the one which, on the 900 series, is at the top of the camera) which is only 1/2 the size of the 900 series. Frankly, it's a little hard to read.

* Nikon has incorporated a manual Focus/Exposure lock button on the front of the unit (customizable through the control panel settings) which must be pressed and held until the picture is taken. Ergonomically this is a very difficult thing to do if you find you want or need to change other settings after you've pressed the the lock button. I'm afraid fingers just don't naturally bend and distort the way Nikon requires them to in order to maintain this lock and use the same hand to make other settings. (It's not easy trying to use your other hand to help out, either - take my word for it.) A simple solution for Nikon is to make the button spring lock and release rather than requiring your hand to do the work.

* Speaking of ergonomic problems, it's VERY easy to accidentally cover up the light metering eye with your hand in the simple process of holding the camera. BAD pictures result from this. Very bad.

* If you turn on the camera (using the very small and hard-to-grasp on/off dial - again, half the size of the 900 series) and have the lens cap ON, the lens is not able to telescope outward (which it does by default) and this can cause trouble. Actually, I don't want to have to remove the lens cap when I'm simply transferring images to my computer anyway! By the way, you'll want to go to the Nikon website for a firmware upgrade related to this problem.

* Regarding "red-eye", Nikon has gotton better at reducing/eliminating it, but they're not there yet.

* If you have extra converter lenses for your 900 series, not all will fit the 5000. I personally use the WC-E63 wide angle lens quite often but now understand that it will NOT fit the 5000, step-down ring or not. I think the TC2x and 3x lens will fit, but you'll have to find step-down rings. I'm not sure about the FC-E8 Fisheye. Check the Nikon website for particulars.

OK, enough complaining. Here are some more things I really like:
* The 5000 has a built-in hot shoe to fit many or most of the existing Nikon Speedlights.

* The LCD image panel swings out and rotates to almost any angle. This really helps!

* The NikonView 4 software is a MUCH IMPROVED upgrade from the version 3.

* You can quickly go back and review your image(s) in either thumbnail or full screen size directly from the LCD image panel without having to change the command dial to "Play" mode.

SUMMARY: Great pictures. Ergonomically and intuitively hard to get used to. I don't feel that Nikon was thinking in the right direction when they made such a technically good camera (image-wise) and then jammed it into this little tiny box. This, to me, represents a fair disappointment. The 900 series cameras were SO much easier to handle.

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Who should buy Nikon Coolpix 5000, November 10, 2002

By	Shikharesh Das (Singapore) - See all my reviews

Anyone who values the following:
1. Portability - the compact solid construction is a bundle of joy. Also makes candid picture taking very easy - people tend to ignore smaller cams but react differently to a large SLR pointing at them.
2. 28- 85 mm lens - contrary to most people pitcing their money for longer zooms, the wider angle is more used in daily life - try shooting your birthday party at home with 35-100 mm zooms -they are useless. No other 5 Megapixel cam has this!
3.Low light and night scenes - with the new Rev 1.7 firmware the low light performance of the LCD is amazingly improved. I got some very good shots in moonlight with full preview of the framing. Set the focus to infinity and switch on the noise reduction.
4. Macro - retains most of Nikons heritage of Coolpix 900 series - but focusiing again can be slow if you are trying to capture a restless bee.
5. Lots of special functions - Best Shot selector for sharpest photos, White balance bracketing, exposure bracketing. etc. But each change require fiddling with layered menus. So before going out for each session, program this into the user presets. For example - for landscape photography, I would program the two user presets for Matrix metering, spot metering and leave the third one for motion video.

Things to watch out for:
1. Memory : Buy a good Type I disk for added memory - avoid [inexpensive] brands and microdrives (CF Type II)- they both drain the little battery in no time. I found both Transcend and Sandisk brands very good, while RI data - I would avoid.
2. Battery - good to outlast shooting a complete 128 Mb disk with display on. A second rechargeable battery should be on shopping list for serious photographers. To save power, I let the camera go to sleep mode with lens extended - a touch on the shutter brings the cam back to life quickly. The view finder is optical (not electronic) meaning you can use this to frame shots without the camera turned on.
3. Resolution : mostly returned very sharp photos. Auto ASA feature is very good -the noise in 800ASA setting was noticeable more when you process the shot for color levels - but thats with any cam. After lot of experimenting, I use UXGA setting with fine setting which gives me 1600 pixel shots with minimum JPEG artifacts. This is adequate for most work and A4 printing. I do switch to the highest size (or TIFF) if I feel I will need to post process the shot a lot.
4. Exposure : Since I take more landscapes, I tend to use the Aperture priority a lot. Most of the modes work very well. I program the user presets to toggle between Matrix metering and spot metering linked to focus.
5. If you dont like the builtin flash - you have to go in for pricey alternatives - Nikon 50DX costs a bundle and only the DX series work with digicams- more powerful Nikon flashes make a ridiculous combination with the little camera hanging from the brick of a flash unit! The flash does not auto zoom - you have do this manully from the flash controls. Leave the camera in program auto mode for standard indoor flash photos.
6. The cameras controls are menu driven and can be quite complicated if you are not a gadget freak. You will have to spend time to learn to navigate to get the best out of this cam.
7. The 3X telephoto adapter lens from Nikon is quite sharp but is of fixed focal length - meaning it does not zoom anymore and the camera need to preset at 1.3X Digital zoom. Soemone told me alternates from Olympus work quite well with special adapters.

Summary : If you dont mind learning the menus and need a high performance in a small package - this the camera for you, especially for its 28 mm wide angle and swivel LCD monitor.

Things to watch for :
1. Expensive accessories - flash, lens etc.
2. No standard rechargeable battery - must use Nikon.
3. Layered menu commands take time - long learning curve.
4. The focus lock on front of the camera difficult to operate.