The controls on the rear:   The lever at the top switches quickly from Record to Play mode. The Flash button cycles through the various flash modes or you hold it in and rotate the command wheel to select the ISO speed. In play mode it toggles the thumbnail index mode. The 4-way selector works the same as always, it lets you navigate the menus and make selections (without being pushed in the center - take note Mr Sony!), it also lets you select images during playback. The AF button selects the focus mode (normal, infinity, macro, selftimer), you hold it in and turn the command dial to use the manual focus feature. In play mode it deletes images. The bottom button selects the image quality or if you hold it in and rotate the command dial it changes the image size.

Located on top is the Power switch, it is built around the shutter release. The large dial is the Command Dial and is used to select mode and change various parameters.

Press and hold the MODE button and rotate the Command Dial to select the desired recording mode (Program AE, Shutter speed priority, Aperture priority or Manual).

Press and hold the Exposure Compensation (+/-) button and rotate the Command Dial to select the desired exposure override value (-2 to +2EV).

Located on the back above the color LCD is the monochrome data LCD. You can see the most commonly changed camera parameters at a glance without turning on the color LCD.   Unfortunately it is NOT illuminated ... why won't the camera makers do this ?   It would cost so little yet add so much value.

Here are all the possible icons and displays for the data LCD.

The Coolpix 5000 is equipped with a CompactFlash Type II card slot that allows the use of any size Type I or II solid state flash cards. Nikon includes a 32MB CF Type I card with the camera.

We have just received confirmation from Nikon USA that the Coolpix 5000 now officially supports the 512MB and 1GB IBM Microdrives.  The following should be noted when using a Microdrive:

• Compared to CompactFlash cards, battery life is reduced due to the electrical needs of the Microdrive.
• Since the Microdrive has moving parts, the temperature of the card increases with continuous use within the camera.
• Compared with CompactFlash cards, the time to write is sometimes longer.
• The data in the Microdrive can be easily damaged by shocks because the Microdrive has a working mechanism inside.

New to any Coolpix is the ability to record audio in Movie mode. On the left side of the camera is the A/V port that carries the video and audio to a television. The video format is user selectable between NTSC and PAL. The camera has both a microphone and a speaker builtin.

On the right side above the CompactFlash access door is the USB data port. The Nikon MC-EU1 wired remote control can also be plugged into the USB port.

The DC IN port is for connecting the optional EH-21 AC power supply.

The Coolpix 5000 comes with the Nikon EN-EL1 lithium rechargeable battery pack and can also be powered by one-use 2CR5 6V lithium batteries. This is the same battery pack used by all the new Coolpix cameras. It can power the camera for approx. 100 minutes with the color LCD on.

The EN-EL1 battery pack is charged outside of the camera by the supplied charger. This is a small and compact charger that can replenish a fully depleted pack in about 120 minutes.

Nikon will also have a new MB-E5000 external battery pack/handgrip that holds 6 x 1.5v (AA) batteries. This will attach to the bottom of the camera, more info on this later.

An alternative Coolpix (5000, 995, 885, 775 or 880) power source is the Maha PowerBank, a $59 lightweight, external 7.2v lithium battery with more than twice the capacity of the Nikon EN-EL1 battery.