The Nikon D5200 is a new 24.1-megapixel DSLR camera that can record Full 1080p HD movies at 1920 x 1280 pixels / 25fps or 50i/60i with stereo sound. The high-resolution 3-inch flip-up LCD monitor makes it easy to compose shots from difficult angles, while the wide ISO range of 100-25600 should handle virtually any lighting condition. 5 frames per second continuous shooting mode, EXPEED 3 image processor, 39-point autofocus system with 3D Focus Tracking, 2016-pixel RGB metering sensor, high dynamic range mode, Active D-Lighting, seven different special effects for photos and movies, and a new generation of Design graphical interface completes the main specifications of the Nikon D5200. Available in three colors, black, red, and bronze, the Nikon D5200 costs £719.99 / $899.95 / €899 body only, or £819.99 / $899.95 / €1029 with the 18-55mm VR lens kits. The D5200 is also compatible with the optional WR-R10 Wireless Remote Transmitter and Receiver and WR-T10 Wireless Remote Transmitter, which let you control key camera functions from afar, and the GP-1 unit, which records the camera's exact position when a shot is taken. accepted.
Right up front, we have a very interesting thing: Nikon uses a Toshiba 5105 sensor in the D5200, not a Nikon or Sony (or Aptina-derived) sensor. I find this fascinating for several reasons: Nikon's old consumer strategy was to reuse sensors in as many bodies as possible to reduce overall sensor costs.
Unlike almost everyone else in the industry, Nikon has a more diversified approach to sensors than any other company. This appears to be the very first larger sensor (>compact camera) that Toshiba has offered.The test results on this sensor are very good, almost equivalent to the current state of the art, perhaps with one minor caveat.
Tested Features of Nikon d5200
- slow-mo
- 4k video
- iso
- grains
- color tone
- W.B
- picture style
- blur
- bokeh
- low light
- picture quality
- touch screen
- auto light optimization
- burst shoot
- autofocus
- Sharpness
Nikon d5200 features a rating in Photography
- iso range: 10\10
- color tone: 9\10
- white balance: 9\10
- background blur: 10\10
- bokeh effect: 10\10
- grains coverage: 10\10
- highlights & shadows detail: 10\10
- autofocus: 10\10
- jpeg quality: 9\10
- continuous shooting speed: 10\10
- depth of field: 10\10
- live view photography: 9\10
- eye tracking: 10\10
- flashlight photography: 10\10
- HDR mode: 10\10
- Touch Screen Focus: 9\10
- sharpness: 10\10
- image stabilization: 9\10
Key features of the Nikon d5200
- 24.1MP DX format CMOS sensor
- EXPEED 3 processing
- ISO 100-6400 standard, up to 25600 expanded
- 5 fps continuous shooting
- 39 point AF system, 9 sensors cross type
- 2016 pixel RGB metering sensor
- 1080p30 video recording, built-in stereo mic
- 921k dot 3" vari-angle LCD monitor, 170° viewing angle
It's hard to understand what Nikon is doing here. There doesn't seem to be an obvious reason to differentiate between the D3200 and D5200 sensors: the D5200 is so different from the D3200 in so many other features that it doesn't need a possible sensor difference. There's apparently an untold story going on behind the scenes, as combining the D3200 and D5200 bundles with the same sensor should offer economies of scale, but Nikon decided not to go down that route. Instead, they decided to use the same sensor in the D7100. So the most produced body (D3200) gets one sensor, the other two most produced bodies (D5200 and D7100) get another.We'll get back to the sensor in a moment, but we have other things to talk about with the D5200.
Outdoor Photography Test of Nikon d5200
For example, the D5200 was a delayed release, another unusual thing in Nikon's DSLR history. Instead of announcing and shipping the D5200 worldwide, Nikon held back the North American release by several months. It is unknown if this was because NikonUSA wanted to clear more D5100 inventory, or if Nikon was trying to allocate a lower initial build of the product than usual. Still, it's just one of the D5200's anomalies that seems to indicate that Nikon is making different choices with consumer DSLRs than before.
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The D5200 was introduced outside the US and Canada on November 6, 2012 and shipped later that month. In North America, the camera was announced at CES in early January and shipped in February 2013.
The D5200 is the third in Nikon's mid-range consumer DSLR line, preceded by the D5000 and D5100. A key defining feature of the D5xxx series was the rotating LCD, and this remains the case with the D5200.The 3" tiltable LCD remains at 921,000 dots, and apart from some minor additions to the menu, almost everything from the D5100 is unchanged, including the viewfinder and battery stats.
The D5200 uses SD cards and has a side door. Camera options include wireless remote control, WiFi (WU-1a) and GPS (GP-1). Overall, the D5200 has pretty much everything you'd expect from a mid-range DSLR, including built-in sensor cleaning, live view, silent mode, intervalometer, and more. If you're interested in a full list of specs, check out my D5200 specs page.
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One thing any D5200 buyer needs to remember is that it has no support for lenses without focus motors. This means that autofocus only works with AF-S (Nikon), HSM (Sigma) or Tamron and Tokina lenses that specifically say they have a built-in focus motor. Older AI and AI (manual focus era) lenses don't measure up on the D5200, although you can put pre-AI lenses on the camera without damaging it.
Most users of this level of camera will miss any buttons that control ISO, white balance, metering or AF mode. You can program the Fn button to do ISO or white balance, but that's probably one less button than most users want. If you're setting the same thing over and over (eg white balance) you'll be left with the shooting info display highlighted, which means Info, Info, OK, go to select, OK. I don't think that's a good enough abbreviation. Maybe it was when the system was designed, but the cheaper mirrorless competitors have done a better job with their touch systems, so I can't give the Nikon system any more credit.
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That's the problem in high tech. What got you an A a few years ago only deserves a C today. Nikon doesn't seem to be moving forward fast enough. Don't get me wrong, I fully appreciate the historical legacy that allows a trained Nikon user to continue doing the same thing on a new camera, and I'm not asking Nikon to stop it. Nikon doesn't need to remove it from current models; instead, they need to add newer and slicker ways to achieve the same result faster, as surely their competitors are doing. With how many things we have to control on a sophisticated camera like the D5200, we want a faster approach, not just the same old slow approach.
indoor Studio Photography Test of Nikon d5200
I've mentioned the shooting information display a few times before: it's been improved and is a bit clearer, although it still has that wonky look for a lot of simple things (like aperture and shutter speed). Unfortunately, there's no eye sensor in the D5200, so we're back to the old shutter release on/off, which can be very distracting. However, you can just turn the LCD so it's not visible to remove this distraction, but then you won't have quick access to things via the Shooting Information display! He takes, he gives; almost constant in constant tweaking of Nikon designs that have not been broken.
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Fortunately, the Automatic ISO program has moved forward. It's pretty much the same as the D800, which is about as sophisticated as Nikon or anyone has made it, and useful.
Live View is called up by a lever below the mode dial, rather than the new control we saw on the D600, D800 and D4. The mode dial itself has the usual lower emphasis on scenes and effects and doesn't have its own positions on it like the D7000 (ie no U1 and U2 positions).
Nikon has figured out the IR remote control: we have a front and rear receiver. If that wasn't enough, a new wireless remote system was launched with the D5200 (I'll write about the WR-R10/WR-T10 separately when I have more experience with them). The 'drive' control, which adjusts single shots, continuous mode, self-timer and remote control, has also reappeared and is in a nice handy position at the top of the camera.
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One big problem for some will be the cache: it's not big enough. When shooting raw (14-bit compressed NEF) you'll hit the buffer limit in about a second, maybe less if you have some advanced features turned on. Of course, JPEG shooters don't have this problem, and Nikon really seems to be targeting JPEG shooters with their consumer DSLRs now.
Now we're in that realm where the pieces of the puzzle don't quite add up. The 24MP sensor is large. We're talking about 20" prints at native print resolution without any resizing. But is 8-bit compressed JPEG really what you want to make 20" prints with? We're at a similar point to where we'd be if we put big-cylinder V8s in all cars, but then put in limiters and forced acceleration and cruise controls plus other restrictions to get better mileage. Why not have an appropriately sized engine in the first place?
This means that the D5200 handles itself like a Nikon DSLR for the most part. A Nikon user will get the hang of it quickly enough, although we have the usual menu where the options move around without much reason.
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Although the camera is mostly polycarbonate and feels a little hollow in a few places (tap the plastic and you'll see what I mean), it also has a somewhat solid and simple approach to control. There are no levers or edges that stick out; everything is nicely trimmed into protective positions and the Direction pad actually feels a bit more solid than on several Nikon bodies. In some cases, Nikon has even thrown in a few subtle tweaks. For example, the Delete button is recessed and has a slight ridge around it; it will not be accidentally pressed despite its relatively precarious position.
Night Photography Test of Nikon d5200
Battery — I'm not a fan of the EN-EL14. It's barely over half the capacity of the EN-EL15 used in higher-spec cameras. With the rotating LCD, there's more temptation to use live view on the D5200 than on the D3200 (it shares a battery with that camera). The fact that you're using either the Shooting Information display or the LCD menus to set most things like WB and ISO means you'll also be dipping into the power-hungry LCD more often.
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It seems clear that Nikon chose the battery because they believed that the D5200 user is an "occasional" user and not someone who takes hundreds of photos a day. This affects battery performance. The CIPA number is 500 shots. I find that I'm a bit below that threshold in general camera photography. It's not terrible when you get around 450 shots on a single charge, but it still means I need two batteries with me if I'm really shooting all day. Video users carry a lot of batteries with them. The timing I get is in the 90-minute range.
Writing to the card — Turns out, this is something you want to pay attention to. The basic buffer is 14 images in JPEG Fine Large format, 6 in NEF. Unless you have a UHS-I capable SD card, you'll be waiting for the buffer to clear on almost every burst. You can get out of the stuck JPEG format by simply switching to JPEG Normal Large, but again this points to the target customer Nikon was designing for and again brings up the question "why do we need 24mp when we're compressing image quality?" "question. Older, slower cards definitely limit the buffer as you fill it - I have one three-year-old card that took three times as long to empty the buffer on the latest.
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Autofocus - no real complaints here. If you're coming from one of Nikon's 3- or 11-sensor DSLRs, the 39-point system will feel luxurious, competent and comprehensive. With AF-S lenses other than kit lenses (which use a smaller motor), focus performance can be quite fast, even on moving subjects. Tracking is slightly less capable than high-end cameras with faster CPUs, more AF sensors and more metering information, but the D5200 is definitely the best available DSLR in terms of AF performance that Nikon has produced. Basically, Nikon has brought its previous high-end consumer DX AF performance to a mid-range camera. If the system has a downside, it's that it can't be AF Fine Tuned. You are locked into how well the factory in Thailand calibrated and how well your lenses fit the specs. I have one lens that needs +10 AF Fine Tune on most of my bodies and that means it just doesn't have much sharpness on the D5200 unless I manually adjust the focus. On the other hand, my big 400mm f/2.8 has never needed AF fine-tuning on any camera, and it clicks beautifully on my D5200.
DOWNLOAD ALL RAW WITHOUT EDITING PICS
Video autofocus is still the same old slow hunt. It's reasonable for static or near-static subjects, but if the subject is moving a lot or you're moving the camera, it's not reliable. Virtually every camcorder these days refocuses Nikon's video modes on a DSLR, and the D5200 is no exception.
Metering — Same old tricks: over-reliance on tonality under the actual AF sensor, making exposures seem a bit inconsistent on the D5200 taken in the same light. Focus on something dark and the exposure will be a bit hot; focus on something bright and the exposure will be a little dark. Easy enough to compensate and fix, but still, I just don't understand this bias that Nikon has put into the system; it tends to cause the matrix part of the metering system - which is as good as it is - to perform less than it should.
Cinematic Video Raw Clips link Bellow
Image Quality - The good news is that, with one exception, the Toshiba sensor performs pretty much like the state-of-the-art Sony Exmor sensors (used in the D600 and D800, for example). High efficiency, good dynamic range, familiar Nikon Picture Control colors and more. See my D7100 review for more on this as this camera shares the same sensor.
There's a big exception: data that lives five steps or more from mid-gray (eg, deep shadows) can have sample noise, which many call "banding." For almost any normal exposure and post-processing, this is not a problem. However, if you ever need to do a lot of deep shadow recovery, or if you use Active D-Lighting Auto on high-contrast scenes, be careful as banding can be carried over into the visible area. Unlike film grain or high ISO noise, sample noise looks artificial, almost as if you're shooting through fine mesh. Note that the pattern noise is only in these very low tonal values, so most of your image will look fine, but the low shadows you've induced will have a pattern.
