Nikon Coolpix 5600 Review

The Coolpix 5600is equipped with a 3x Nikkor optical zoom lens with a 35 - 105mm (in 35mm equivalent) focal length coverage. The maximum aperture is F2.8 to 4.9 and it has a dedicated macro mode. Auto focus is handled by a contrast detect TTL system and the focus range is 11.8 in. to infinity in normal wide angle mode and from 1.6 in. to infinity in Macro mode.

The eyelevel optical viewfinder zooms in and out with the lens and shows about 82% of the captured image. The two LEDs indicate the flash and focus/SD card status. There is no diopter adjustment.

The 1.8-inch color LCD can also be used as a viewfinder as well as for reviewing your images and movies and accessing the menu screens.

The built-in speedlight has a shooting range of approx. 0.4-3.3m / 1.3 - 10.8 ft. (Wide), 0.4-2.0m / 1.3 - 6.6 ft. (Tele), and can be set for Auto Flash, Red-Eye Reduction, Fill Flash, Slow Sync or Disabled.

On top is the power on/off switch, microphone and the shutter release.

Controls on the back: Upper right are the zoom lens buttons. The Mode Dial has positions for Setup, Movie, Auto, Scene, Portrait, Landscape, Sports and Night Portrait. The 4-way selector is for navigating menus and selecting pictures. In record mode pressing it "Up" selects the desired flash mode. Pressing it "Left" activates the 10-sec selftimer. Pressing it "Down" enables the macro focus mode. Below the 4-way selector is the "blue arrow" button which puts the camera in Play mode and the "trash can" image delete button.

The interface connector is a combination device used to connect either the USB 1.1 cable for downloading images to Mac and Windows computers or connect the Audio-Video Out cable for viewing on a TV set. The video signal is selectable for NTSC or PAL.

The Coolpix 5600 is equipped with 14MB of internal memory and a SD memory card slot, no card is supplied with the camera. Images and movies can be copied from internal memory to SD card or vice-versa. We recommend the purchase of at least a 256MB (or larger) SD card or your picture taking will be quite limited.

The camera can be powered by two standard AA batteries; NiMH rechargeable, lithium or alkaline type. Alkaline batteries will power the camera for up to 220 shots. The AA NiMH batteries are highly recommended and will last for up to 340 shots and can be reused hundreds of times.

An optional power adapter allows the camera to be powered from an A/C wall outlet.

The Coolpix 5600 has a menu option to set the Battery type - offering choices of Alkaline, COOLPIX (NiMH) and Lithium. Its purpose is to allow the camera to more accurately measure/display the remaining capacity of the installed batteries.

The optional Nikon WP-CP3 waterproof housing allows you to take a Coolpix 4600/5600 camera underwater safely to a depth of 130 feet. The housing can also be used to make the Coolpix 4600/5600 an all-weather camera, safe from water, sand or dust.