With excellent low light performance,
reliable results and speedy access to the most common settings, the
D5200 makes it easy to make the most of your photography, whatever the
conditions. Focusing could be a little faster, but other than that it's a
great choice for the all-round, ambitious consumer.
Good
- Graphical interface
- Low light performance
- Image quality
- Articulated screen
Bad
- No touchscreen
- Undercut by close competitors
Build and features
The D5200's 3-inch LCD flips out, twists through 270 degrees and folds back on itself, and when combined with the Live View option to frame shots on the screen rather than through the optical viewfinder, it's great for less conventional angles -- either low down or over your head.
The D5200's articulated screen makes it easy to take shots from unusual angles
This is great for beginners as it shows at a glance what effect you'll have by changing one setting on the state of the other two.
The D5200 interface is a masterclass in putting the most common functions within easy reach in a very small space.
Kit lens is a good choice, with built in stabilization and a shallow depth of field at the widest apertures. Aperture range runs from f/3.5 to f/5.6, and it was easy to precisely focus on selected elements within the frame thanks to the camera's 39 focusing points.
With 39 auto focus points, it's easy to isolate the exact spot you want to keep in focus (click image to enlarge).
Stills performance
Low light performance is nothing short of excellent. Sensitivity runs from ISO 100 to ISO 6,400, expandable to ISO 25,600 equivalent, and even at higher levels the grain in the image is fine and well controlled, and doesn't greatly impact on the quality of the shot. If you need to trim this further, exposure compensation runs through +/-5.0EV in 1/3 EV steps.
Keeping
a firm hand on the amount of grain that manifests at higher
sensitivities helps the D5200 put in a good performance in low light.
However, the D5200 has captured far more detail than is immediately evident, and it's easily recovered in post-production. Lifting the shadows and dampening the highlights reveals both the view through the door and the detail within the upper parts of the building.
Shooting
in RAW format captures a lot of information that isn't immediately
obvious, but which can easily be recovered in post-production.
Even when there's only a muted palette to play with, it's able to pull out a good range of colors, so skies and areas otherwise lacking in features are smoothly graduated and contain sufficient depth that the result is a true reproduction of the original scene.
Color reproduction was good throughout testing. Even with a limited palette
there's smooth graduation across areas of similar tone (click image to
enlarge).
You'll
have to look very hard to find any evidence of color fringing when
using the kit lens, and when you do it's minimal (click image to
enlarge).
With 24.1 megapixels on its sensor, the D5200 gives plenty of options for cropping in on fine details (click image to enlarge).
Still life test
The still life test involves shooting a selection of everyday objects with the camera set to auto, allowing it to make up its own mind on the best way to expose the shot.Under all lighting conditions -- studio lights, ambient light and using the on-board flash -- it produced the same punchy colors and balanced result as was evident in general outdoor photography. Prime colors, such as red and blue, were particularly well reproduced, while natural wood textures, and fur, were detailed and finely-rendered.
There was a fair amount of shadow in the flash-lit shot, but it wasn't so severe that it became a distracting element within the composition. With the studio lights switched off however, the D5200 not only slowed down the shutter speed, but also widened the aperture, which in turn shortened the depth of field, so less of the composition remained sharp.
The
D5200 performed well under all lighting conditions, with well
controlled shadows when using the on-board flash.
Video Performance
The D5200 shoots full HD video at 1,920x1,080 at 60fps or 50fps interlaced, or 30fps, 25fps or 24fps progressive. You can perform progressive capture at 60fps or 50fps if you trim the resolution to 1,280x720, and you can cut it still further to 640x424 if you're shooting primarily for the web.Although you can set the sensitivity of the stereo mics manually there's no wind-cut feature, so the noise of a stiff riverside breeze was pretty obvious in my test footage, but other than this the D5200 performed well.
The image was crisp, with accurate colors. It coped well with significant movement, such as walking while filming, even with the lens' vibration-reduction feature turned off. It also compensated swiftly and smoothly -- without any stepping -- to changes in the level of available light.
Conclusion
Nikon has put barely a foot wrong here. The only thing that might count against it is the price comparison with Canon's EOS 650D. Sure, Nikon has the higher pixel count at 24.1 megapixels, compared to the 650D's 18 megapixels, but when you're talking high teens and beyond, those extra pixels become less important.
The EOS 650D also has a touchscreen display, and for many users that's becoming more of a draw, which is lacking on the D5200. So, it's good to see that Nikon has put so much thought into the physical layout of the hardware controls, which when combined with the speedy access it gives to the most common settings makes this a camera that's easy to learn and quick to adjust.
In truth, then, the two are neck and neck, and when the price of the D5200 starts to fall -- as is inevitable -- your choice will likely be determined by whether or not you already have a stock of compatible lenses for one brand or the other. If not, know that you won't be disappointed with either camera. Both will impress, and have sufficiently decent specs and features to serve you well for years to come.
Checkout Sample Pictures Clicked by Nikon D5200 Beast:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/nikon_d5200/pool/with/8295852315/#photo_8295852315
