Nikon Coolpix P5100

Value (7.0)
The Nikon Coolpix P5100 was released in fall 2007 at the same $399.95 retail price as the P5000 when it came out. This is $100 less than the 12.1-megapixel Canon G9, its closest competitor. The Canon G9’s components are better, but the two cameras have very similar exposure modes and controls and appeal to the same high-end crowd. The Canon G9 also gave a better overall performance in our image quality tests. The Nikon P5100 appears to be the budget option.

Who It’s For
Point-and-Shooters – The P5100 is versatile enough for point-and-shooters to comfortably tinker with, but they won’t fully appreciate all the camera has to offer.

Budget Consumers – At $399, the Nikon P5100 is less expensive than its direct competition, the $499 Canon PowerShot G9. It still isn’t priced to fly off the shelves though.

Gadget Freaks – These consumers will love the flexibility of adding flashes and conversion lenses.

Manual Control Freaks – A slew of manual exposure modes and a loaded palette of manual controls will please this crowd.

Pros / Serious Hobbyists – The P5100 is designed to be a compact camera for DSLR owners. Pros and serious hobbyists wouldn’t use this camera for their work, but would likely use it for toting to the park or family outing where a bulky DSLR would be out of place or a hassle.

Comparisons
Nikon Coolpix P5000 – This 10.1-megapixel digital camera is the predecessor to the P5100 and comes with the same stabilized 3.5x optical zoom lens and 2.5-inch LCD screen. The new model looks exactly like its predecessor with its controls and body. There are few changes: the P5000 has a slightly smaller 1/1.8-inch CCD and an older image processor with an older version of Nikon’s face detection technology. The most important changes come in the performance of the new model though. The P5100 outlegs the P5000 in terms of color, noise, resolution, dynamic range, video performance, and low light (although just barely in low light).



Canon PowerShot G9 – This digital camera is Canon’s version of the high-end compact. The G9 retails for $499 and has 12.1 megapixels, an optically stabilized 6x optical zoom lens, a 3-inch LCD screen, and even a hot shoe for Canon flash accessories. It also has full manual controls and face detection like the P5100. The G9, however, has a convincing edge: it includes RAW file shooting unlike the JPEG-only P5100. The P5100 may have performed well in our round of tests, but the Canon G9 performed even better. The P5100 had lower overall noise and better dynamic range, but the G9 had more accurate colors, finer resolution, better exposure in low light, and superior videos.


Kodak EasyShare Z1275 – This digital camera also has 12.1 megapixels in a fairly unassuming body with similar measurements of 3.5 x 2.5 x 1.2 inches. The Z1275 has manual, priority, and program modes along with full auto and more than a dozen scene modes. There are several manual controls including a 64-1600 ISO range at full resolution, but some shortcuts were taken by Kodak. For instance, the white balance setting cannot be manually set. This camera has a 5x optical zoom lens, 2.5-inch LCD screen, and 64MB of internal memory. It doesn’t have face detection or a hot shoe, and its speed isn’t much improved with a published 0.3-second shutter lag. It does have a 1.7 fps Burst mode and a high-definition 1280 x 720-pixel movie mode that shoots 30 fps. It retails for $229.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 – The 7.2-megapixel TZ3 may have less resolution but it has much more zoom. It has a 10x optically stabilized zoom lens. Its reach is wider with a 35mm equivalent range of 28-280mm. The TZ3 is one of the best performing compact digital cameras we’ve seen and that goes for pictures and videos. It records 640 x 480 and 848 x 480-pixel videos at 30 fps with much better accuracy. It comes in a body that is about the same size at 1.47 inches thick. It doesn’t have a hot shoe, manual exposure modes, or conversion lens compatibility, but the Panasonic TZ3 is a tempting option with its relatively low $299 retail price. 


Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W200 – This 12.1-megapixel point-and-shoot has a Manual mode that allows control over the shutter speed and aperture along with a selection of manual controls like ISO and white balance. The Sony W200 has a stabilized 3x optical zoom lens and a 2.5-inch LCD screen. It also has an optical viewfinder. Its Burst mode is faster than the P5100 at 2 fps, and lasts longer at 100 shots. The W200 has face detection and nine-point autofocus along with perks like HD output and musical slide shows. It has only 31 MB of internal memory, but an attractive $299 retail price.