articles/Cameras/nikon-d5-review-page1
by Mike McNamee Published 01/02/2016
After much rumour and counter rumour, and even a
pre-announcement by Nikon themselves, they have
revealed the D5 to the world and showed it to the UK
public at the Convention Trade Show. It was joined by
the new D500 and a few other goodies.
The Nikon D5 Full Frame SLR
This is billed as the new Nikon flagship and comes in at a hefty £5,200
for this 20.5 megapixel machine. The camera is built for speed above
all other aspects: two high-speed XQG cards (you can also opt for 2x
CF cards with another model), 12fps, 200 Raw files burst depth and a
mind-blowing 3,280,000 ISO (normal range 100-102,400 ISO). As such
it is aimed fairly and squarely at the news sport and nature shooter;
landscapers and studio users can stay with their D810 and its equally
mind-blowing 36 mega pixels but less ability to stop a galloping police
horse in its tracks.
In the hand the D5 looks and feels like a D4s with just a couple of
millimetres here and there on the size (see the comparison table). Today
a D4s may be had for £4,192 from Park Cameras and whether you are
prepared to pay for the upgrade is purely personal. The idea of shooting
a 100mm sprint without taking your finger off the button and still
having frames to spare for the winner's celebrations might tempt some
(it is Olympics' year!). The ultra ISO might appeal to bat photographers
but the improved performance around the 1600 to 6400 ISO would
appeal to the nature shooters who are always short of shutter speed.
The other major feature of the D5 is the expansion to 153 focus points
and 99 cross-type sensors. AF sensitivity is maintained down to -4 EV
(ISO 100, 20 °C/68 °F) which enables superior low-light performance.
Subjects at the periphery are easily detected and vertical shooting is
vastly improved due to the implementation of cross-type sensors around
the edge of the focusing area. The new AF ASIC unit allocates maximum
computing power to AF at all times.
Movie-makers are not forgotten with high-definition 4K/UHD capability to
shoot 4K movies (3840x2160 pixels) at 30p/25p/24p in dot-by-dot native
pixel crop, which ensures the highest image quality. Shoot Full HD (1080p)
video at up to 50p/60p is available in multiple formats.
That's about as much as we can say for the moment; plans are afoot to try
to get a D5 into the hands of Ian Cook for a certain big game due in May
(called the European Champions League Cup Final, in Milan!) - now that
will give the camera a good workout!
There are 0 days to get ready for The Society of Photographers Convention and Trade Show at The Novotel London West, Hammersmith ...
which starts on Wednesday 15th January 2025