Nikon Coolpix 5000 Review

The Coolpix 5000 features a new 3x optical (28-85mm equiv 35mm) Zoom-Nikkor lens with enhanced wideangle coverage and a stepless 4x digital zoom. It is a F2.8-4.8 with macro; 9 elements in 7 groups; all glass, Nikon Super Integrated Coating (SIC) applied; glass- molded aspherical lens elements included.

Like the 995 and 885, the Coolpix 5000 employs the Nikon exclusive 5-area Multi AF focusing system. The user can allow the camera to select the "best" focus target or you can select the desired focusing zone manually. The autofocus range is 19.7 inches to infinity in normal mode or an amazing 0.8 inches to infinity when in macro mode.

The optional Nikon HN-E5000 lens shade will help keep sun flares out of the picture. Anyone that has used a wide angle lens on a 35mm camera knows that it is difficult to keep the sun from streaking those great outdoor scenic shots. The Coolpix 5000 with its 28mm wide angle coverage is going to be no exception, so this shade should be in your gadget bag.

Next to the lens on the front of the camera is where you'll find the AE and AF lock button.   Next to the AE/AF-Lock button is where the microphone is located.

It accepts some of the existing Coolpix/Nikkor lenses (using optional step-down rings) and accessories including Fisheye, a new 19mm Wide Angle, and Telephoto converter lenses.

12/14/01 update: Nikon just told us that the WC-E63 wideangle lens does not work without causing edge vignetting at full wide angle. Nikon will be coming out with a new WC-E68 wide angle lens specifically for the Coolpix 5000.

The Coolpix 5000 is also compatible with the Nikon MC-EU1 wired remote control.

The builtin flash has a Guide number 32/10 (at ISO 100, ft/m) with the following modes: Auto Flash, Flash Cancel, Fill Flash, Slow Sync and Red-Eye Reduction.

Using the builtin hotshoe you can easily connect an external Nikon Speedlight such as the new SB-50DX (shown above) or the SB-28, 28DX, 27, 26, 25, 24, 23, or 22s. No more hard to find or expensive brackets and connecting cables are required. The built-in Speedlight can be cancelled when using an external Speedlight.

The Nikon SB-50DX is a compact and reasonably priced ($199) but fully-featured flash unit. It has a 24mm to 50mm Auto-Zoom head (which unfortunately the Coolpix 5000 does not control), full TTL controls and can function as a wireless slave Flash. The SB-50DX has a guide number of 72 (ISO 100/feet) and when used with the D1 Series it offers 3D Multi-Sensor Balanced Fill-Flash. Close-up flash photography is also made easy with the SB50's minus 18-degree tilt position. A 14mm wide flash adapter is included that allows the flash to be used with lenses as wide as 114° angle of view. Also included is an IR filter to turn the SB-50DX into a wireless "master" flash to trigger other slave flash units.

The eyelevel optical viewfinder is a real-image zoom type with a magnification range of 0.3~0.8x, the frame coverage is approximately 82% and it has a diopter adjustment. Alongside the viewfinder are two LEDs to indicate the flash and focus status.

Rather than having a seperate and swiveling LCD section as with the other Coolpix 9xx series, the new Coolpix 5000 features a fully articulating, 270°, 1.8", 110,000-pixel, polysilicon color TFT LCD. It has a 5-level adjustable backlight and an 11-step hue adjustment. The frame coverage is approximately 97%.

There are three control buttons on the LCD. The MON button controls the color LCD and the information overlayed on it. The MENU button calls up the onscreen menu system. The Quick Review button allows you to quickly review pictures and then return to Record mode by tapping the shutter release.

When not in use or when using the optical viewfinder, the color LCD can be turned to face inwards and closed against the back of the camera. It can also be faced outwards and closed and used like other cameras with fixed LCD screens.

You can also see the zoom lens control, located just below the command dial. The telephoto side of the control serves to magnify the image in Play mode.

When using the auxilliary wide angle or telephoto lenses it will be necessary to use the color LCD as the viewfinder. Nikon's optional HL-E5000 LCD shade will come in very handy to allow the use of the color LCD out in the bright sunlight.