Nikon D5100 Features
Available at Amazon, Adorama and B&H Photo Video
Introduction
If you'd like more functionality than you get with the entry-level Nikon D3100 but don't want to pay the price of the more professional D7000, then the D5100 might be the best Nikon digital SLR for you.
Like its more expensive sibling, the D5100 has a 16.2 megapixel sensor and an ISO range that goes all the way up to 25600.
But the D5100 also shares some aspects of the D3100: most notable are the shape and size of the camera (it's small and light) and the lack of a built-in lens autofocus motor (which means that if you want to use autofocus you need a lens with its own motor).
Though similar in many respects to other Nikon cameras, the D5100 also stands out in its own special way with a flexible 3 inch LCD screen that flips out from the camera body and rotates.
Flexible LCDs help you take still images from odd angles, and they make video capture significantly easier.
Feature List
| Megapixels | 16.2 |
|---|---|
| Stabilization | In Lens |
| Memory Card | SD / SDHC / SDXC |
| Max. Shutter Speed | 1/4000 |
| Max. Photo Capture | 4 per second |
| ISO Range | 100 to 25600 |
| Movie Modes | H.264 1920 x 1080p (30, 25, 24) 1280 x 720p (30, 25, 24) 640 x 424 (30, 25) |
| LCD | Flexible 3in (921,000 dots) |
| Viewfinder | Pentamirror (95% coverage) |
| Autofocus | 11 point |
| Face Detect AF | No |
| Sensor Dimensions | 23.1 x 15.4 (1.5x crop factor) |
| HDMI Port | Yes |
| Live View | Yes |
| Built-in Flash | Yes (Sync: 1/200) |
| Compatible Lenses | Nikon AF-S or AF-I |
| Battery | EN-EL14 LiIon |
| Dimensions | 5.0 x 3.8 x 3.1in 128 x 96 x 79mm |
| Weight | 18oz (510g) |
New and Notable
The D5100 is the first Nikon digital SLR to include in-camera filters: special effects that can be applied to still images and movies without the need for a computer or special software.
Olympus pioneered in-camera special effects (which they called "Art Filters") and Canon has recently jumped on the bandwagon. With the D5100, Nikon is also getting in on the action.
Effects are not applied to existing images in the memory card — you switch into "Effects" mode to express your artistic side.
Effects mode only works in live view so that you can see a preview of the image you're about to take. The processing required for effects slows down the display, which means that the Effects mode is best used with static subjects.
The seven special effects you can leverage with the Nikon D5100 are:
- Miniature — creates the look of a diorama or the results you'd get with a tilt/shift lens
- Color Sketch — makes the image look like an illustration
- Silhouette — darkens the entire image
- Low Key — darkens the entire image
- High Key — brightens the entire image
- Night Vision — creates monochromatic images with ISO values up to 102400
- Selective Color — converts all but one color to monochrome
