Viewfinder (4.5)
The viewfinder for the Nikon Coolpix 5200 is a real image zoom viewfinder with LED indicators. It’s so small that its presence on this camera is fairly laughable. My eyelashes were constantly in the way.
LCD Screen (6.0)
The LCD screen, unlike the viewfinder, seems logically sized for the camera’s petite body. The screen measures in at a usable 1.5 inches, diagonally. Though this is not too expansive by current trend standards, the most disappointing element is the 110,000 pixels of resolution used to compose the image. This is quite meager when it is really all the user has to rely up on and it seems to be the bare minimum used on any screen at this point. The LCD is also susceptible to solarization, needing to be viewed head-on. It seems Nikon, unlike Sony, views the LCD as a secondary element on point-and-shoot cameras and scales the screen down to the compact frame. This may result in unnecessary viewing strain and could create difficulty in framing in less than optimal conditions.
Flash (6.5)
The Nikon Coolpix 5200 does not have an external flash jack, leaving the user with the internal flash as their only option. To control the flash setting, the user must press the up arrow on the four-way controller and select from among the following options: Auto, Auto with red-eye reduction, Flash cancel (off), Anytime flash, and Slow Sync.
Zoom Lens (7.0)
The Nikon Coolpix 5200 is equipped with a 3x optical, 4x digital Nikkor Zoom, which is controlled via the Wide Angle and Telephoto buttons located on the back of the camera in the upper right-hand corner. The equivalent zoom range is 38-114mm with minimum F-stop ratings of f/2.8-f/4.9 to provide some speed to the lens.
