Nikon Coolpix 5200: Does It Deliver?
by Stephen Caston on July 23, 2004 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Digital Camera
Color Reproduction
* For all of our color tests, we reset the CP5200 to its factory default settings. It was then set to record using the highest image quality option.We took a picture of our color chart using each of the following WB settings: Auto, Incandescent, and Manual. Click on a thumbnail below to view the full-size image.
| Auto WB | Incandescent WB | Manual WB |
 Click to enlarge. |
 Click to enlarge. |
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 Reference Chart ("actual colors") |
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Crops
| Auto WB | Incandescent WB | Manual WB |
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We are still waiting to be impressed by the performance of Auto WB in today's digital cameras. Unfortunately, the CP5200 is no exception. Although it's not horrible, you can see a yellowish-red cast in the Auto WB crop above (especially visible in the full chart). The incandescent setting does much better than Auto, producing very accurate colors. Surprisingly, the manual setting was too bluish, causing the purple color square to look more blue than purple. If you plan on shooting with available tungsten light, we recommend using the Incandescent setting to get accurate results.
Studio Shot
In this shot, we tested the camera's ability to reproduce colors in our studio shot using different WB settings. The camera was set to Auto mode without the flash.  Click to enlarge. |
 Click to enlarge. |
 Click to enlarge. |
The yellowish-red cast of the Auto WB mode is clearly visible on our studio shot. Again, the manual WB setting proved to be too bluish. The incandescent setting performed the best in our studio shot, producing the most accurate colors without a noticeable color cast.
Built-in Flash
For the flash test, we set the camera to Auto mode (with Auto WB). The picture was taken from 5 feet away.
The CP5200 showed average performance on our flash test. The image is a bit darker than we would like it to be and there is a slight bluish cast on the background (white paper).
Since the CP5200 has a "Party/Indoor" option in Scene mode, we decided to include a sample. The picture was taken 4 feet away from the subject. Click on the thumbnail to view the full-size image.
Click to enlarge.
The "Party/Indoor" feature uses a slow sync in addition to the flash to produce more natural-looking indoor pictures. We were pretty impressed with the results. The initial flash froze our subject and the slow sync that followed captured the ambient light in the room to provide an evenly-lit final image.
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FFS - Thursday, July 29, 2004 - link
ANANDECH Please stick to HARDWARE REVIEWSThere much better sites over Internet for DigiCams reviews... You just could not compete with there competence.
Do not make the same mistake as TomsHardware guide did.
What would be next - Games... :(((
That is my POINT OF VIEW
And I'm also very disappointed (to say at least)
Thou not about english, my is not perfect as well.
WooDaddy - Friday, July 23, 2004 - link
Ok.. I guess..You might not what to make up a phrase like that and instead just call it what it is; play to record transition. That's the term that is widely accepted and would prevent confusion.
From other reviews I've seen on the 5200, this 'feature' exists and there are timings for this as well. Maybe try a full press .. or read the manual. Nikon probably uses a different method for switching between play and record modes. Each manufacturer is different... and their customers know this.
It's upsetting that I have to look to other reviews to validate or invalidate what you're written.
(Also, it's "Timing", not "The Times". Simple 8th grade grammar. And yes, I'm pissed again..)
stephencaston - Friday, July 23, 2004 - link
WooDaddy: When I say shooting priority, I am not referring to Shutter Priority. I am referring to when a half-press of the shutter button will switch the camera back to shooting mode from playback mode, menus, etc. Shooting priority means the camera's priority is to take pictures as opposed to reviewing pictures or changing menu options.Sorry for the confusion
WooDaddy - Friday, July 23, 2004 - link
You know I had to say something...Better, has potential. A few comments though:
The garbage dumpster in the parking lot... Come on man. That's a horrible subject. You can do better. Would you show that to your friends and say "Hey look at this cool picture!". I think not.
Shooting-priority - There is no such thing. You probably saw it somewhere but it is a poorly chosen marketing term. There are only four types of exposure based shooting: aperture, SHUTTER, manual and full auto. Think about it.. Shooting-priority. Shooting priority over what? Not shooting? It's a marketing term gone awry.
Even though you are showcasing the Nikon, you should still have a reference point from another similarly marketed camera from another company. I mentioned this in my last post. Even though this is not a camera roundup, it still applies here as well.
I can tell from your subjects (the subjects in your photos) and your commentary that you are still new to photography as a whole. A REALLY OUTSTANDING book is Photography by Barbara London and John Upton. It's about $86 but it is a great book for beginners and pros alike. It's the standard textbook that all photographers use. If you want some suggestions for subjects, I can be of help. PM me and I promise not to bite.
The final word didn't really convince me. The features you mentioned as being good are features that most 5mp have or should have and nothing that stands out. Try out the Minolta G500 as it is a similar camera. Compare them and I bet you'll see what I mean. Also, use dpreview.com. Compare their reviews to steves-digicams and imaging-resource.com. You'll see the WIDE difference between them from dpreview.com. The level of professionalism and inherent photography skill vs gadget love is obvious. I want you to decide which side you want to be on. It seems like you'd like to be a dpreview editor but I think based on AT's focus, you might just want to focus on prices, features and that's it. Most of us know about dpreview and will go there.
It'll take some time, but you'll get there...
And I promise, I'll be less harsh as time goes on. Us photogs can be ruthless ;)
LoneWolf15 - Friday, July 23, 2004 - link
For about $100 less, one can get the Fuji Finepix S5000, which has lower resolution (3.1MP) but compensates by having a 10x optical zoom, aperture priority, shutter priority, and full manual, as well as a digital TTL viewfinder. It has 6MP resolution with interpolation, which I wouldn't use, but I think you get more for the money overall.