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

Product Information

The most obvious difference between the D5100 and its predecessor is the addition of a side-hinged, fully articulated LCD screen. The D5000's LCD screen was articulated, but slightly awkwardly, via a hinge at the base of the camera's rear. This caused problems in some shooting positions, especially when the camera was mounted on a tripod. The D5100's screen is hinged in a more conventional way, along its side, which allows it to fold out from the left hand side of the camera. It is fully articulated, which means that the display can also be folded inwards, for protection.

Because of the way viewfinders are measured (using a fixed lens, rather than a lens of equivalent magnification), you also need to take the sensor size into account, so the numbers in the diagram below are the manufacturer's specified magnifications divided by the respective 'crop factors'. While we appreciate that many of the control layout changes have been necessitated by the new side hinge, we found ourselves a bit disorientated at times, often reaching for buttons that weren’t quite where we expected them to be (pressing the ‘Review’ button when we wanted to start recording movies proved our most common mistake in this respect). Of course, for someone completely new to Nikon DSLRs this is unlikely to be a problem at all. AF still a little sluggish in live view mode, full-time AF not very effective in live view or movies 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.One figure hidden away in every SLR's spec is the size of the viewfinder (often in a format that makes comparison between competing models impossible). The size of the viewfinder is a key factor in the usability of an SLR - the bigger it is, the easier it is to frame and focus your shots, and the more enjoyable and involving process it is. Arabic, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, 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.

As with all recent Nikon DSLRs the D5100 offers the full range of Picture Controls that allow you to choose how JPEGs will be processed by fine-tuning individual elements such as saturation, sharpness, brightness and contrast. While the default settings are limited to a choice of: Standard, Neutral, Vivid, Monochrome and Portrait, all of these can be individually edited, with a further option to add your own custom profiles if you like. In terms of handling, the D5100 balances quite well with light lenses such as the kit Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR and Nikon 35mm f/1.8G prime lens, and not so well with lenses that are much heavier than the camera body. Despite its small size, the camera fits nicely and feels good in hands. The location of the new buttons and controls won’t take much time to get used to, although I personally prefer the older layout with the buttons located on the left side of the LCD.

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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. If that’s still not quite enough, you can also call upon a ‘Night Vision’ option that pushes the sensitivity up to ISO 102,400, although these images can only be recorded in monochrome and are, as you might expect, super grainy in appearance. Thanks primarily to the placement of the articulated monitor’s hinge on the side of the camera, the D5100’s button layout has undergone a fairly dramatic reshuffle from where regular Nikon users might usually expect to find things. For example, all of the buttons located to the left-hand side of the screen on the D5000 (and pretty much every other Nikon DSLR besides) have had to shift elsewhere on the D5100, with some now found on the top plate and others located to the right-hand side of the monitor. Customer needs to carry the product to the nearby Authorized Service Center to get the product repaired or inspected. It can mount unmodified A-lenses (also called Non-AI, Pre-AI or F-type) with support of the electronic rangefinder and without metering. [8] Optional accessories [ edit ] Uncropped or Unedited image from Nikon D5100 using an AF-S DX Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens for reference. Taken with maximum aperture at day time without flash. Details: F-stop: F/3.5 (Max aperture), Exposure time: 1/50 sec, ISO speed: 200, Focal Length: 18 mm, Flash fired: No, White Balance: Auto, Shot at day or night: Day time Uncropped or Unedited image from Nikon D5100 using an AF-S DX Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens for reference. Taken with minimum aperture at night time with flash. Details: F-stop: F/5.6 (Min aperture), Exposure time: 1/60 sec, ISO speed: 3200, Focal Length: 55 mm, Flash fired: Yes, White Balance: Auto, Shot at day or night: Night time