Nikon Nikon Coolpix 5000

Nikon Coolpix 5000

Nikon Coolpix 5000 Review, by Tracey Capen March 22, 2002

Show More Show Less

0 Comments | 0 Topics | Print Only This Review

• Reviewed by: hschiff

  Strengths: Excellent picture quality

  Weaknesses: Very poor flash lighting,Difficult menus to access, poor ergonomics

  Overall: The flash is inconsistent. One shot is illuminated well and the next is much too dark. The wide angle/tele button is positioned very poorly so my thumb is almost always inadvertently pressing it. Likewise changing functions and settings is awkward. The menus are not easy to master and then after mastering them it takes so long to access them that I find I use Auto mode most of the time. I formerly owned the Olympus 3000 and it was much easier to use, took excellent quality pictures. My next camera will probably be another Olympus

• Reviewed by: steeltree

  Strengths: Sharpness, weight, size and auto or manual setup

  Weaknesses: zoom and flash

  Overall: A great camera for price but 3x zoom is a little short. Has additional digital zoom but you dont get the sharpness. Built in flash is very weak at times; better plan to use the hot shoe and add on flash or miss a lot of shots.

• Reviewed by: Lem Metro

  Strengths: Macro to portrait capabilities, 5MP picture quality, 28MM wide angle, accessories galore, compact stylish design, rugged construction, 270 degree monitor rotation, price.

  Weaknesses: Short telephoto, no focus assist lamp, exposure meter placement.

  Overall: Armed with the latest firmware version 1.7, my brand new CP5000 is ready to rock! With the addition of RAW mode, speedlight modifications, quicker processing times, etc., most of the minor complaints are solved by a simple download. The way I see it, there are really only a couple of legitimate complaints with the CP5000. Power is no problem. The EN-EL1 lasts longer than 1800mAh rechargables in other cameras, plus I keep a 6V 2CR5 lithium one use in my gadget bag. It lasts for days! Most of the negative things I read are because someone felt they paid too much for the camera or they are overwhelmed by its myriad functions and capabilities. Timing is everything when purchasing a digital camera. If you bought the CP5000 before April 1st, 2003, when the $200 rebate began, you probably did pay too much for it. I paid less for this 5MP beauty, than I did for a 4pm point and shoot a year ago. So much less, that I can now add on a flash, a super wide angle and telephoto lens for what most people paid for the camera itself! The CP5000 is not your father's Nikon! This space age dynamo will deliver in a big way if you can master its complexities. I certainly intend to! And then I will sell it for more than I paid for it. By then some other highly desirable platform will be bargain priced and I will purchase one of them. Until then, I will enjoy owning the finest, most capable, least expensive high end compact zoom digicam on the market.

• Reviewed by: brookiedog

  Strengths: utilizes nikon accessory lenses, batteries and compactflash memory from prior nikon units. unparalled macro capabilities, firmware update to 1.7

  Weaknesses: sloooooowww shutter speed for its' class

  Overall: I don't "get" all the arguments/complaints I read on this board. Let me counter-point some of the criticisms above (I like my 5000, but I do have some other complaints about it): Batteries: hard to find?! short-lived?! Rechargeable AA's have a shorter life and burn faster. I am getting about 1.5 hrs continuous life out of my rechargeable Li-ion batteries now...which are plentiful on ebay for about $35 since 2001. Look at the battery-pack add-on for more life with this camera. Hi-res setting: takes 30-40 seconds to "develop". Digicam's don't "develop", secondly, the write time of your images are partly a function of the speed and capacity of the compact flash card. You can get a HI (TIFF) image to store in under 30s with a 256meg card with hi write speeds (but also takes up battery juice). Granted, writing a 9 meg file still takes awhile... TIFF files aren't recognized by "most software"? reviewer above - are you smoking dope? TIFF is the standard and has been since the 80's when it was created! Any software I have worked with grabs TIFF files with ease. Built-in flash is weak: agreed here, but that's why there is a shoe on top...use it!! NEVER use a built-in flash on anything! My complaint is the SLOOOW lens...one of the slowest out there, but if you master the camera controls to overcome some of the noise levels a slow lens can produce, you can master digitial photog with this unit. I am waiting for the day when I can buy a digi-SLR$$$$$

• Reviewed by: nancyput

  Strengths: Crisp clear pictures

  Weaknesses: Print Image Matching

  Overall: Nikon just came out with a firmware update for this camera that greatly improved the performance. Now you can turn off built in flash when using external flash in a studio situation, new support for raw images, brighter viewfinder, control options for Shutter Release Speed, and improvements in autofocus performance. Note that PRINT Image Matching is no longer supported by COOLPIX 5000 firmware version 1.7