Nikon D5100 Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm VR Lens Kit (16.2MP) 3 inch LCD (discontinued by manufacturer)

Product Information

The most significant design difference is the addition of a side-hinging LCD screen in the D5100, as opposed to the bulkier (and more awkward) bottom-hinged LCD used in the D5000. What this means is that two of the D5100's key new features simply don't work as well as they should - and crucially not as well as on competing models. Reproduction in whole or part in any form or medium without specific written permission is prohibited. Alternatively, you can set the camera to manual focus and adjust it yourself, though this option does take some practice to master.

The Nikon D5100 DSLR has built in pop up flash with several sync modes and a hot shoe for external flash. Put simply, the D5100 is a hugely adaptable camera that takes excellent pictures, with overall image quality consistently matching that of the more expensive D7000. She sat down with us recently to speak about her work, what inspires her to go out into the wilderness at night, and how preparation is the key to success. It is 50 grams lighter (and smaller) than the older Nikon D5000 and 110 grams lighter than the Nikon D90.Auto (TTL white-balance with main image sensor and 420-pixel RGB sensor), Incandescent, Fluorescent ( 7 types ), Direct, Sunlight, Flash, Cloudy, Shade, preset manual. The D5100 offers a sensitivity range that stretches from ISO 100-6400 in standard mode, stretching to a maximum extended setting of ISO 25,600. Like the D7000, the D5100's native sensitivity can be set from ISO 100 to 6400, and there are four expansion settings topping out at the equivalent of ISO 25,600 (Hi 2).

It was something of a disappointment that the D7000 doesn't have an articulated screen, but Nikon has not made this mistake with the Nikon D5100. Other accessories from Nikon and third parties, including protective cases and bags, eyepiece adapters and correction lenses, and underwater housings. Auto modes (auto, auto [flash off]), Advanced Scene Modes (Portrait, Landscape, Sports, Close-up, Night Portrait), programmed auto with flexible program (P), shutter-priority auto (S), aperture-priority auto (A), manual (M), (Q) quiet mode. The D5100 doesn't have quite the same novice-friendly handling as the D3100 and it lacks so many of the D7000's more advanced features that there is a risk that it ends up not quite being the right camera for anyone. Color accuracy is critical for modern creative work, but many creatives have no idea what a colorimeter is actually doing when you put it on your display.While it may not have the 39 points of the D7000's AF system, the D5100's Multi-CAM 1000 AF module performed well in the D5000 and Nikon D90 (which has not been discontinued; read our Nikon D90 review). This means raw images are saved as 14-bit files and users can expect similar quality results with the two cameras. The lever felt much more intuitive when I needed to focus using contrast-detect or when shooting video; plus, it pretty much eliminates chances of accidentally triggering Live View via a button. The professional-grade D3s currently leads the way here with a top (expanded) ISO setting of 102,400, but models further down the line are increasingly benefitting from Nikon’s expertise in this field.

As you can see from the table below the D5100's specification is a significant advance over its predecessor, and substantially in advance of its little brother the D3100. Taking pictures at multiple angles is one of the hardest things to do with cameras that have a fixed LCD monitor. While the D-pad stays in its usual place, the dedicated live view button usually found on the back of the body on other Nikon DSLRs has disappeared altogether, with an all-new spring loaded lever extending from the Shooting mode dial on the top of the camera now responsible for activating and deactivating live view. In Live View mode the D5100 is generally a very agreeable companion, but things aren't completely trouble free. Damage caused due to accident, sand, water, dust, fungus, battery leakage, etc are not covered under warranty.Compared to its competitors, this puts the D5100 somewhere in the middle; the Canon EOS 600D is a tad slower at 3. It offers effectively the same image quality as the higher-end D7000, at a lower cost, and it's hard to argue that this is not a good thing. Furthermore, the impact of these effects can be seen on the screen when the camera is in Live View mode.