Nikon's D5100 Digital SLR Camera (Body Only) delivers a galaxy of professional features in a consumer digital camera. A high-resolution 16.2MP DX format CMOS sensor and an EXPEED 2 image processing engine guarantee superb quality and high performance. The 3" vari-angle tilting LCD monitor allows you full freedom in composition, with sparkling 921,000-dot resolution. Full 1920 x 1080p video with full-time autofocus (for tracking subjects in motion) and stereo sound (using optional microphone) is always available, with in-camera editing and creative controls to bring out your inner director.
The Effects mode provides a dazzling array of special effects for putting your own individual stamp on all of your images-still photos or video. Selective Colour, for instance, isolates any colour within a scene, and Night Vision captures details in places too dark for your own eyes. High Key effect will create bright, glowing images filled with atmosphere and mystery, or you can emphasize the mood of a scene using Low Key, or Miniature Effect-which produces a scene that looks like a miniature scale model.
With sensitivity ranging from 100 to 6400 ISO, you'll be able to make photos and videos that are amazingly rich, even in low light. In-camera HDR (High Dynamic Range) mode will tame high contrast situations by automatically capturing multiple exposures of the scene and combining them for vastly improved contrast and low noise. A blazing fast 11-point autofocus system and split-second shutter response mean that you won't miss photo opportunities waiting for your camera to catch up. The built-in speedlight has i-TTL for accurate, well-balanced flash every time.
With the Scene Recognition system, 420-pixel RGB 3D Colour Matrix Metering II, 16 automatic exposure scene modes, and Active D-Lighting, your control over your photos and movies will be more precise and simple to carry out than ever. The automatic image sensor cleaning prevents dust from ruining any of your images.
The Nikon D5100 is commonly used for Family photos, Landscape/scenery, Low light, Sports/action, Travel, Video, Weddings, Wildlife and more. The Nikon D5100 is most used by customers who consider themselves to be a Casual photographer, Photo enthusiast, Semi-pro photographer among others. The Nikon D5100 is popular because customers like the following qualities of the Nikon D5100: Easy to use, Fast / accurate auto-focus, Fast shutter speed, Good image quality, High ISO performance, Image stabilization, Large clear LCD, Quiet, Tilt /swivel LCD to mention just a few.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
886 of 897 people found the following review helpful.
Nikon d5100 gives the results I want. Let me share my 50,000 hours of research!
By elP
I suppose like many people, when I decided I was going to buy a new camera I researched various models online to the point of going mad. I swear it was such a relief to finally purchase the Nikon d5100, first of all I am so happy with it, but almost as important was being able to move on with my life and leave camera research behind!The reason I sold my Nikon d5000 and upgraded was mainly because I need to use an external microphone, which the d5000 doesn't allow, as I record interviews and DSLR video is perfect for this.I bought a SLR camera because I photograph bands, and the low-light capability of an SLR is necessary. The d5000 was good. The d5100 is even better. Really pleased with the results when combined with the 35mm f1.8.The d5000 took very good photo's for me, but I believe that the d5100 is slightly better. I suppose it is natural for technology to provide better tools over time, combined with what i've learned about photography over the past 18 months (the d5000 was the first SLR I had owned).As for the video element of this camera, like most SLR's video is still new but evolving at an impressive rate. Yes certain camera's will make it easier to film, but they normally come with a more hefty price tag. You'll also probably need to learn one or two workarounds with whichever SLR you choose to film with, but if you look at the work of guys like Philip Bloom or Chase Jarvis you will see that filming quality work with SLR's is possible. Obviously that have flexibility with their budgets, but if you're wondering if you can get decent footage from an SLR - yes you can.When I record video interviews, once I put the d5100 on a small tripod, get all of my settings the way I like them and adjust the focus on the subject (literally takes about two minutes), once I'm into live view mode I just hit the record button on the top of the camera and I'm away. Very easy and the HD footage is outstanding. So pleased with the video side of things from the d5100.On a quick side note: Editing video. I've read so many horror stories from people saying the couldn't open their video footage in various software editing programs, and this was the camera's fault or that they need editing software costing several hundred pounds, or need to convert the video format before editing. Not the case! I record in the highest HD setting on the d5100 for up to 20 minutes for each piece and luckily it works 100% perfectly with iMovie '09! I open and save the video footage with iPhoto (a useful workaround I picked up during my 7,000 hours of camera research!), and then import the video from iPhoto into iMovie. I am a novice and it is very simple. Believe me.Again it's just down to your preference but I like the flip screen with this camera (I was used to it from the d5000). I don't see myself snapping it off as it is very sturdy and I am never tempted to play cricket with the camera. It protects the back LCD screen from scratches, and a damaged screen would seriously make any camera less useful.I was also considering the Nikon d7000. It is roughly £300 more expensive and is certainly a more capable camera. But I didn't NEED it. The ability to save favorite user settings (U1 and U2 on the dial) are nice but I don't mind setting the camera when I use it. I also don't own any other lenses, certainly not the older Nikon lenses, so the built in autofocus capability wasn't important to me. If you have invested in lenses over the years, then it will probably be an important feature for you. If you've invested in lenses over the years, you are probably a fairly serious photographer so you'll most be considering the d7000 or even more sophisticated cameras. The LCD screen on the top of the camera is what I like a lot about the d7000, but again it wasn't that important to me. When I'm at a gig I read my settings by using either the flip out screen on the camera or through the viewfinder. No doubt the d7000 is more advanced than the d5100 and has a few extra features, but if you want to take good photographs and some video, their is not much (if anything) between the two cameras as far as the final product is concerned.Personally I would recommend buying the d5100 body only and buying one lens which will aid you as much as possible depending on what type of photography you are most interested in. I already have the lens which is perfect for me, the 35mm f1.8. It feels right for this size of camera, the quality is produces and the flexibility it allows compared to the kit lens is noticeable (my opinion). You can save about £50-100 just buying the camera body, and put that money towards buying a lens of your choice.As for the Canon/Nikon debate, it honestly makes me laugh how much time some people have to go on camera forum's or YouTube and tell people how rubbish one brand or camera model is. I am still very much a keen novice, but one thing I'm convinced of is that in the hands of a capable photographer either brand will give outstanding results.A great bit of advice which certainly worked for me, is that you should go into the camera shop and hold whichever camera's you are considering. You'll be surprised how one will just feel right.The same advice is worthwhile for choosing a lens. Most of the shop assistants will give you excellent advice based on what type of photography you're interested in. Investing in one decent lens will make such a difference to your photographs, and make your hobby more enjoyable.I have only been using a decent camera for about 18 months, so there was quite a bit to learn when making the jump from a point-and-shoot. One useful bit of advice I picked up, was that while you will want to shoot all of you photo's in the manual setting, you can use learn from the automatic settings that the camera chooses before going into manual and working with those settings. That technique allows a beginner to be pointed in the right direction by the great camera you've invested in, and you can make slight adjustments to the aperture or shutter speed and see how it affects the results. It gets you thinking and also means that you don't need to doubt whether or not the SLR was too big a jump. The automatic setting option is always there while you learn.Another thing to consider is how you feel about carrying a SLR camera with you. When I first got the d5000 I babied that camera too much and it meant that I didn't get as much use from it as I should have. First of all the camera's are very durable, even the lower spec cameras. So having it in your bag most of the time isn't a burden. If you're going to be walking around for several hours you may not want a bigger camera (d7000 or d300s) as they are considerably bigger. Professional photographers are okay with the bigger cameras as they normally have them attached to a tripod which the carries the weight of the camera body. Again, i'd suggest going into your local camera shop to hold every camera you're considering.A nice tip I picked up was using setting the function button on the front left of the camera to adjust your ISO setting. You can use the function button for a number for features, but as you can easily adjust aperture and shutter speed in manual, and using the function button to adjust your ISO means that you'll not have to go into the camera menu very often, which is what the buttons etc on the d7000 and higher end camera allow.Sorry if this was a bit long-winded from some of you, but I hope some of this review will benefit a few people who were in a similar situation to me - going loopy researching cameras!
127 of 129 people found the following review helpful.
Superb Camera
By Cambridge Ian
First up I need to say that I'm no great photographer and also that this is my first DSLR.Therefore my review will be from a new users perspective - especially if you (like me) are thinking of making the transition from a "pro-sumer" ultra zoom to a DSLR camera.My camera for the last 2 years has been a canon powershot SX20IS - 20x optical zoom and 12.1m pixels.I've been using the Nikon for a month and can say for sure that it will allow me to take better quality images than the canon but that it won't replace the canon entirely - theres space for canon the nikon and my iphone for taking pictures - I just need to know what to take out with me. Through choice it would be the Nikon - but the camera plus the lense(s) and other kit makes for a lot of gear and you can't just chuck it into a rucksack.To show what a total numpty I was a month a go it took me a while to stop looking for the zoom buttons and to do this manually on the lense - the massive advantage of this is that the zoom is so so fast - the AF is fast as well - and you can of course focus manually. I've only really used it in auto mode, sport mode (4 FPS continous shooting) and played with some of the scene modes, I've typically been taking shots of my kids while they play and the results in all conditions - sun, cloud and in doors with and without flash have been very pleasing.It is very simple to select auto and take great photo's - but to make sure you get the most out the camera you need to explore all the options and manual settings. I've purchased the D5100 for dummies book (also available on the kindle) - the sport mode was brillant for taking shots of my kids on fairground rides today - 350 shots almost all in focus and better than any compact camera could ever do.So far on top of the kit in the box I've purchased the following items - I think this is the minimum amount of accessories you can get away with... one point is that you need to buy NIKON comptatible lenses for the AF system to work - the 55-300 lense I purchased is brilliant value although definitely not top of the range.My shopping list so far (all from Amazon as the prices are tough to beat) is:32gb class 10 SD card.Transcend - Flash memory card - 32 GB - Class 10 - SDHCNikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G VR Lens Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G VR LensNikon D5100 For Dummies Nikon D5100 For Dummies (For Dummies (Computers))Hama 4426 Soft Lens Pouch 90x80mm Hama 4426 Soft Lens Pouch 90x80mmAmazonBasics Backpack for SLR Cameras and accessories - Black AmazonBasics Backpack for SLR Cameras and accessories - Black [Amazon Frustration-Free Packaging]Nikon Li-on battery EN-EL14, VFB10602 Nikon Li-on batteri EN-EL14, VFB10602I currently use photoshop elements as I had a copy on my laptop all ready and can't afford/justify the full version.To get a good overview of the basic feature the dummies book listed above is available in kindle format from Amazon - worth a download of the free sample or a read of the book through the "look inside" feature on the amazon product page.The total outlay would be close to £850 - but for this you have almost a complete setup - the extra battery was probably a luxury as I've taken 650 shots today alone and the battery is still showing full but best to be safe than sorry - you must use NIKON batteries - others will not work (I really wished it used AA rechargables but the battery does charge from flat in 90 mintes and the charger is small.To sum up - for me - a superb camera and one that will allow me to really work on and enjoy a hobby that I really enjoy.Exceptional value and superb build.I hope this review helps - there are some great techical reviews and help on the web - on dpreview and similar - all appear to rate this camera highly. If you're thinking of the D3100 I think the extra features on the D5100 make it the better buy.
97 of 99 people found the following review helpful.
Extremely good amateur photographer DSLR
By Mr. J. E. Johnson
After owning this product for 3 weeks now, I have learned an enormous about of technical and general information regarding how to get the very best out of photos with pretty much any subject you see down your view finder. The best thing is you can take amazing quality photos straight out of the box just by using either of the full auto settings and just pointing at what you want to photograph and pressing the shutter release button down. When you want to get past that and start experimenting with manual settings, you have 4 manual choices, which can ease you into them 1 step at a time if you wish. An example is, you can let the D5100 control your ISO, autofocus and metering styles without touching anything, whilst you control the aperature (the amount of light entering through the lens and hitting the sensor, with low f-numbers like f1.8 letting vastly more light in than f22) and the exposure (which is how long you expose the sensor to the environment via the shutter speed, with faster shutter speeds like 1/200 allowing less light onto the sensor compared to a 30 second exposure which is great for taking photos of stars and the moon!)Even if you don't know what things like ISO mean in terms of photo quality, the camera's menu shows you an example thumbnail of a photo you can take with the setting you're hovering over. For the absolute top ISO setting on the camera it shows a very star filled sky whilst ISO 100, which is the lowest setting shows a picture of flowing water in a well lit environment. This camera is great at low light shots when you refuse to use a flash, which is ideal for dark environments like shooting a gig, astronomy photography, dusk and dawn landscapes (where flash would be useless anyway due to distance) and taking photos in low light rooms at night and getting a more natural representation of what you actually see.The Nikon DX 18mm-55mm VR f3.5-5.6G lens is also a very nice piece of kit for general use and produces rather good quality pictures with little or no effort involved. The 18mm part allows you to take very wide angle photos which is perfect for landscapes and large group portrait photos (weddings ect) whilst you can choose anything all the way up to 55mm which zooms into your target, allowing a more content specific photo. The 55mm setting can get a good head shot of someone for a portrait quite easilyYou can use some third party lenses with this camera and still use autofocus with it, but these are quite rare. Because the D5100 doesn't have a autofocus motor inside its body, compared to the vastly more expensive cameras, you need to use AF-S DX or AF-I DX nikkon lenses or something like the sigma DG series which have built in motors inside the lens instead. This is very important to note because you can pick up a Nikon AF 50mm f1.8 prime lens (which means it doesnt zoom), which is designed for older nikon camera's, for around £50 second hand or £100 brand new BUT this will not autofocus on the D5100 (or the D3100 for that matter). However, you can still use AF lenses if you don't need autofocus, saving yourself a small fortune depending on what you need to take photos of and your photography style!To note, make sure you install the Nikon viewNX2.2 software that comes with the camera as it allows you to edit your photos to a good enough standard for publishing professional results, especially if you shoot in RAW mode, which is the best quality and allows the most post processing on your computer.
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