Nikon Coolpix P5000 Digital Camera Review

Model Design / Appearance
The Nikon Coolpix P5000 is built from magnesium alloy, so it is lightweight and durable. It is very sturdy and smaller than its competition; the Canon PowerShot G7 is a lot thicker and heavier. The P5000 looks like other Coolpix models such as the P4 with its thick but still compact body and protruding hand grip. The front of the camera looks very much like a compact model, but the back has elements from compact and DSLR models. Overall, I’d say it leans more to the compact look but the hot shoe and placement of buttons make it appear more sophisticated.

Size / Portability
Reading all the specs on the P5000, one might think that this camera would have an SLR-like shape. Not so. It is still compact, although not comfortably pocket-sized. It measures 3.9 x 2.5 x 1.6 inches and weighs 7.1 ounces without the card and battery, which feels like the perfect weight for this model. I could fit this camera into my pants pocket, but it was not comfortable at all and the protrusions looked very strange through denim. It surely won’t dent the ultra-slim market. This Coolpix has eyelets for the included neck strap on each side of the camera body. The P5000 will most likely require a pouch or small carrying case, and perhaps a full camera bag if users tote around the flash and lens accessories. The compact size of the Nikon P5000 is a deliberate move. It suits both DSLR owners as a backup camera and compact digital camera owners who want a more advanced model, but are not ready to purchase a DSLR.

Handling Ability
The Nikon Coolpix P5000 has some great handling features for being such a compact camera. The weight feels just right for its size, and the rubber grips and contours fit in the hands nicely. Rubber material wraps around the front of the hand grip where the fingers clutch the body. On the inner portion of the hand grip on the front, there is a divot where the finger tips rest to further ease handling. On the upper back of the P5000 is a wide and comfortable rubber pad for the right thumb. While the P5000 isn’t SLR-shaped at all, it certainly has the same handling comfort.

Control Button / Dial Positioning / Size
The Coolpix P5000 melds controls from traditional compact and DSLR digital cameras onto a single compact platform. Atop the camera is the somewhat small power button, but its size is not much of a hindrance because it is only accessed twice during shooting sessions. Nearby are the domed and nicely sized shutter release button and the surrounding zoom ring control. Exposure mode and control dials are also on the top of the camera. The mode dial has large and intuitive icons and text on it. The mode dial is a bit tough to turn though. The control dial is easier to rotate. Both have ribbed edges and protrude from the back for easier rotation.

The rest of the camera’s controls are located on the back. There is a set of five buttons to the left of the LCD screen. These look similar to Nikon DSLR backs, which a Nikon rep at the PMA show in March 2007 pointed out is part of their strategy to win over DSLR owners who want a compact camera to tote around. The buttons on the side are fitted into tight niches with hard contours around them. This makes the buttons harder to push and even hurts the fingers when using them frequently. The P5000’s multi-selector is on the right side of the LCD screen and looks more like a traditional compact camera component. The selector has large icons and looks cheap, but it feels fine. All of the buttons fit nicely in the camera body and are intuitively placed and labeled.

Menu
The Nikon P5000’s menu system is accessed by the Menu button. The menus appear with large text but can be changed to display as large icons within the setup menu. When I looked at the P5000 at the Photo Marketing Association trade show, the menus were quite different. Many of the items had the same options but were in a different order. And some options were strangely worded. That was a pre-production model though, and now the Nikon P5000 is on the market with an improved menu structure. Below is the recording menu.

Image Quality Fine, Normal, Basic
Image Size 10M (3648 x 2736), 5M (2592 x 1944), 3M (2048 x 1536), 2M (1600 x 1200), 1M (1280 x 960), PC (1024 x 768), TV (640 x 480), 3:2 (3648 x 2432), 16:9 (3584 x 2016)
Optimize Image Normal, Softer, Vivid, More Vivid, Portrait, Custom (Contrast, Image Sharpening, Saturation all with Auto, Normal, +/- 2 in full steps), Black & White (Standard, Custom – Contrast, Image Sharpening, Monochrome Filter: None, Yellow, Orange, Red, Green)
White Balance Auto, White Balance Preset, Daylight, Incandescent, Fluorescent, Cloudy, Flash
ISO Sensitivity Auto, 64, 100, 200, 400, 800, 800, 1600, 2000, 3200
Metering Matrix, Center-Weighted, Spot, Spot AF Area
Continuous Single, Continuous, Continuous Flash, Interval Timer Shooting (30 s, 1m, 5m, 10m, 30m, 60m)
BSS On, Off
Auto Bracketing +/- 0.3, +/- 0.7, +/- 1.0, Off
AF Area Mode Auto, Manual, Center
Auto Focus Mode Single AF, Full-time AF
Flash Exposure Compensation +/- 2 in steps of 1/3
Flash Control Auto, Built-in Off
Fixed Aperture On, Off
Noise Reduction On, Off
Converter None, Wide-angle Converter, Telephoto Converter

The menus are set on a dark gray background with the selected item appearing with a yellow background. The only setting that shows a live view in the background is the white balance – and that can be set to be changed by the Function button and control dial as well as in the regular recording menu. The perk with the Function setup is that it has a larger live preview. Below is the setup menu, which has its own position on the mode dial.

Menus Text, Icons
Quick Startup On, Off
Welcome Screen Nikon, Animation, Select Image
Date Set Date, Time, Time Zone
Brightness +/- 2 in full steps
Date Imprint Off, Date, Date & Time, Date Counter
Vibration Reduction Off, On
AF Assist Auto, Off
Digital Zoom On, Crop, Off
Sound Settings Button Sound (On, Off), Shutter Sound (1-3, Off), Volume (Loud, Normal, Off)
Auto Off 30 sec, 1, 5, 30 min
Format Card Format, No
Language Japanese, English, Czech, Danish, German, English, Spanish, French, Indonesian, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Finnish, Swedish, Chinese (simplified and traditional), Japanese, Korean, Thai
Interface USB (MTP/PTP, Mass Storage), Video Mode (NTSC, PAL), Auto Transfer (On, Off)
Func. Button ISO Sensitivity, Image Quality, Image Size, White Balance, Vibration Reduction
Reset All No, Reset
Firmware Version Coolpix P5000 Ver. 1.0

The Function button can be customized to perform common camera setting tasks: ISO sensitivity, image quality, image size, white balance and vibration reduction. This allows the setting to be changed without navigating through the recording menu. Not that the recording menu is overwhelming; it’s just faster to push one button rather than push a button and scroll around with the multi-selector. Still, the multi-selector makes the menus easily navigable and large fonts make them easy to read.

Ease of Use
The Nikon Coolpix P5000 is aimed at seasoned photographers, but it still caters to beginners and those who value ease of use. It accomplishes this with the inclusion of a help function that can be found by pushing the telephoto end of the zoom ring (marked with a "?" icon). When this is done in the menu, the selected option is explained. For instance, the Metering is described this way: "Choose the metering system used by the camera to calculate the correct subject exposure." Although the P5000 has manual and priority modes, it is also equipped with automatic and scene modes. The controls are properly labeled and the interface is intuitive, making it easy to use.