Have been shooting digital for years using my old reliable (and still reliable) D70. Have amassed a small but premium lens collection so transition to Canon was not an option. Furthermore, I am loyal to Nikon and Nikkor build and optics. I was looking to upgrade my D70 and looking at the D90 and D700 but did not have the ready reserve of cash for that kind of outlay. Though is my have been a technical step back to go to the 5100 I felt it could be a good bridge buy just to get my hands on some of the advances in digital photography over the years. The paradigm of “technology gets cheeper over time” is correct. Overall, the advancement and features of the 5100 have come as a more than pleasant surprise. Image quality and video or outstanding. The 5100’s built in intervalometer now means I do not have to use a PC to control my camera for time lapse or extended bulb shots. I am pleased with the camera. Pro Image quality Features Video Con Lens limitation Feel A note on the con. If you have a Nikkor lens collection of any size - you know it has been an investment. One drawback to the 5100 is that it does not have a focus drive motor in the body - read, must use AF-I/S lenses if you want autofocus. If you have some older lenses you may be limited to manual focus. Not a big deal with Nikkor AF-S range of lenses. There is a small learning curve with the back plane buttons and trick-wheels. The placement is not the traditional Nikon DSLR setup - so you will have to do some muscle memory retraining. Feel is subjective - but to my hand the smaller and lighter body just feels off and a bit too plastic/toylike in the hand. If you do much shooting you may find the light weight a plus. Over all - the 5100 is a good value and should be a good bridge DSLR to all but advanced and professional shooters.Read full review
I have been shooting with the Nikon D60 for a year and a half and have been more than satisfied with the results. It originally came with the 18-55 lens and I also got a 55-200 but those were upgraded to a 18-105 and a 70-300 over the past year. I have now had the D5100 for four weeks, received for a milestone birthday, and I absolutely love it. For me it provided everything I needed without having to reach up to the D7000. The image captures from the D5100 using either the 105 or the 300 are very very high quality. The D5100 has the same image sensor as the D7000, which is a nice benefit. When I go out to shoot, I shoot. It is nothing to snap two or three hundred clicks in very short order. And very few of them do I ever have to delete while still on the memory card in the camera or discard later once downloaded to my pc or laptop. The settings and functions are easy to learn and easy to use. The additional "Scenes" and "Effects" I am still playing with but the ones I have used have delivered as Nikon promises. I still do an awful lot of landscape photography, as well as sunrise and sunset images, and the D5100 executes exceedingly well with both the 105 and 300. Very rarely do I ever end up with an under- or over-exposed image regardless of the setting or function that I use. As mentioned in my D60 review I enjoy the use of a viewfinder and even though the D5100 has liveview I still now prefer the viewfinder. Of course, using the built-in "Selective Color" function means I have to use liveview and that is fine. And, speaking of which, selective color works just great. I have experimented with it on various types of scenes, all hand-held without a tripod, and the results are quite remarkable considering the unit snaps two photos. That, in itself, says much about Nikon’s VR capabilities. I greatly enjoy the 3" display, over my D60's smaller one. Not just for the size, but the color clarity is superb. The addition of the articulating display was brilliant on Nikon’s part as it assists framing difficult shots with relative ease. The performance of the D5100 in low-light situations, with either the 105 or 300, is outstanding. I have not yet experimented with the "Active D-Lighting" function that works to improve the dynamic range between low and high light, so cannot address that. Once I have done so, I shall update my review. As a final note, I am, at this point, keeping my D60, and have the 105 on one of the cameras and the 300 on the other because I just hate to take the time to change a lens and I do still get great images from the D60. However, depending on what I plan to shoot the D5100 gets first choice of lens and the D60 takes the backseat. For the money I do not think the D5100 can be beat for quality of performance.Read full review
I've always wanted to get deeper into photography, but I was never willing to cough up the money for a real DSLR. I wanted to have a decent camera for my upcoming honeymoon so I did my research and ended up buying the Nikon D5100, and I'm glad I did. I am nowhere near a professional photographer, so there was no need to spend a ton of money on a pro-level camera. The Nikon D5100 has been reviewed as the best upper-tier entry level camera on the market, and although I have not physically tried other cameras, I would have to agree. The D5100 has many features that higher end cameras have, yet at quite a lower price point. The picture quality is really impressive IMHO, I have not taken a bad picture (the ones I put effort into)as of yet. The noise level has been very low from the start, and only gets a bit fuzzy with a lot of zoom, or lack of light. All other pictures are crystal clear, and for this, I give the D5100 four stars. On a side note, I have played with the F-stop, aperture, and ISO settings and have managed to reduce noise even more, but still have a lot of learning to do. The D5100 comes in a nice compact package, and is fairly light weight. Even with a decent sized zoom lens the D5100 has a good balance to it, and doesn't feel front-heavy. The size itself is really nice, yet I have fairly large hands, and had to get used to holding on to the camera so it was fully secure in my grip. I gave this category three stars because of this. On a side note, I recently purchased a battery grip and have no issues at all holding the D5100 now. Some people may prefer the D5100 without the battery grip, but I think this is the way to go for comfort, plus extended battery life. With all of the features that the D5100 has, I feel I couldn't go wrong with the money. For those who simply enjoy a point and shoot type of camera, the basic settings are perfect and produce quality results. For those who want to make adjustments themselves, this camera totally rocks. I still haven't tried every setting to maximum potential, but the hours I have spent tweaking this and that have produced some truly awesome results. I bought the D5100 body only, and purchased lenses of my own choice which I think is the best way to go about it if you want to get the best out of this camera. I am definitely not throwing the kit lens (18mm-55mm) under the bus, it just was not for me. All in all, I would recommend this camera to anyone looking to enter the world of photography as well as seasoned pros who might want a less expensive camera that takes really good shots.Read full review
I have been a Nikon photographer, part time pro and full time enthusiast, for most of my life, and I am surprised to find that the D5100 is the best camera I have ever owned! I was really reluctant to buy it because of the lack of a top screen, buttons and focus motor, but I have never been happier. It has a seemingly endless list of features including HDR, which no other Nikon has. I read the reviews and did not think I would use HDR much, but I was wrong. I put in on my function button! The low light capability is nothing short of astounding! I used to work so hard with my monopod to get good twilight shots, but now I can handhold and get better results. The exposure has probably surprised me the most. It is always correct, 99.9%. This is the first Nikon I have not had to bracket with. Battery life is better than advertised too, but I always use an external flash when I need one. So bottom line, if you are like me and afraid to "move down," take the reviews with a grain of salt. This is an incredible camera, better in every way that matters to me, and you quickly get used to working the menus and learning to not look at the top of the camera. My only wish is that it was a little bigger, but that is just my preference.Read full review
I bought this camera to replace the Nikon D3000 I had. This camera is lighter in weight than the D3000 and the picture quality is so much better! I love the effects on this camera, the pop out screen, the 1080p video capability and the fact that it is still very easy to use. So far, I am very impressed with this camera. I know we are going to have a very happy life together :)
Great camera. Had a Sony Alpha 330, but prefer this one as it has better functionality and better user interface. Battery life is fantastic. I now only carry two batteries for a day long shoot, where with previous cameras I carried 5 - 7. I have a friend that gets ~200 shots per battery with her Canon, I get 800+. Batteries only take an hour or two to recharge. Only drawback is the flip out screen goes to the side rather than flips out from the bottom. Overall I highly recommend this camera. Just make sure you get DX lenses, or the auto-focus doesn't work. For the money, this is better than I expected. I use cameras hard, and this one is holding up with NO sign of problems. The Sony I had lasted one year...
Nikon has always been my choice for cameras and I plan to get years of fun out of this camera. I do a lot of traveling to far off places and this camera will get a lot of use. I love all the features it has. I shopped around for the best price as you know, these days are all about bargains to get the most for your money and this package deal was by far the best I've seen. I've compared different brands for features and value and this camera was the one I kept coming back to.
Picture quality is great. 16 megapixels is not a large jump from the 12 megapixel images I had with my Nikon d2x. Dynamic range is great. There is very little graininess at the high ISOs. Picture quality is fantastic. Best value on the market for any dslr. Very lightweight. Accessibility for buttons and controls is not as effective as with the more "professional" expensive models like the d7000. The viewfinder was hard to read when the sun rays strayed onto it. The tilt swivel screen was great and the addition of video gave more value to the camera. This camera is sturdy enough, but sometimes it seems a little bit on the delicate side. But, what can I say, I am used to a Nikon d2x. I got this camera because of the quality of images it produces. It will make a great portrait camera.Read full review
I bought this to replace my Nikon D50. I wanted the newer technology offered by the D5100 and I am totally pleased. The ability to take high quality stills and use the same great lenses to then shoot HD Video has made the purchase worth the money. Nikon has simplified the user interface so taking pictures is all you need to concentrate on. The D5100 has a large tilt and swivel LCD panel which makes low or high angle shots so easy to do. Nikon has been my choice from film to digital and I find myself pleased with every update in their technology.
I haven't had a chance to use it a whole lot yet, but I did enjoy every moment of using it so far. Everything from the image quality of the feel in the hand is great. Word of advice thought (you should be expecting it in the first place), don't expect this to be a beginner's camera. It's a professional camera for better control of the image (just saying this to explain why I put in a "no" as the answer for "Is it easy to use?" not to give it a bad review).
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
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