Camera Labs

Hi all
 HopJack > The VR becomes more and more necessary when you shoot with the lens zoomed. So for 18 mm is not very useful, for 35mm could be a little bit helpful, at 55mm it is a little bit helpful. But not very much. At 200mm it is almost mandatory.
 fusiOn > Man you entered with all the glory in the new marketing trap made by Nikon. ISO and Megapixel has NOTHING to do with good pictures. 99% of the pictures will be only watched on the computer display. And on that a 3 Mpixel camera or 30 MP are no difference. It is absurd to watch your pictures at 300 % and look for the pixels and noise. Just look at them as a whole. Nikon could’ve make this articulation on the D5000 in the first place but they know that the ergonomics and the controls of the camera would’ve been compromised. They have entered in a GADGET race with Nikon and Sony. This is why they crowded this screen.

This D5100 is not 200 Euro’s better then D5000. No way. And I doubt that the image quality will be the same as D7000.

So I will still Buy the D5000 with a better lens or with the SB400 Flash.

GADGET race with Canon and Sony - Sorry !

Sorry, but I don't buy this.

First of all, I already said that the difference between 12MP and 16MP would be minimal (and would only really matter to those who make very large prints or heavily crop their images).

Secondly, I honestly don't know how you can say ISO has nothing to do with image quality, especially for someone like me who doesn't do many B&W shots. I don't have to blow up my pictures to see noise, at ISO800 on my D90 I can already see visible noise in the image on my rear LCD screen, and I quite often find I have to bump it up to that level in slightly dim lighting conditions. I've also taken some test shots with a D7000 and the noise performance on that camera at ISO6400 is the same as my D90 at ISO1600. For me, having an extra two stops of usable ISO range is a huge benefit, even if I don't use it that often. If you only ever shoot at ISO400 or below then you could argue it's not worth the price difference, but I don't know anyone who has never had to ramp up their ISO at some point, and then you still have the other points to consider.

Thirdly, if you read my post you would have seen that I recommended to wait until the price of the D5100 drops post-launch to become more comparable to the D5000, and more affordable for first time DSLR owners. Even if it only drops to 100 Euro more than the D5000, it's still a far better camera overall so the decision would be easy in my mind.

Probably it will be a little better, so you are correct. Why I say this, see D5000-->D90 comparison. But the D300(s)/D90/D5000 had the same image quality, only difference is the hardware beside the sensor. You dont pay a higher price for just better image quality, nowadays you pay for handling/ergonomics and speed.

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- Wout -
Lowepro Nova 200 AW filled with Nikon D90 + MB-D80
18-70 DX, 70-300 VR, 35 1.8 DX, SB-700

yes ic, right now its very difficult for the first timer choosing from a handful of cameras almost exactly the same cost. Camera Labs and other reviews help a ton, but until you've actually gotten your hands on it....

HopJack, remember the scores are relative to a specific category and a specific year. So the image quality score for the D5100 will not be comparable to the D5000 as there's several years between them.

As for the other comments, I really think we can get a great preview of the D5100 vs the D5000 by looking at my D7000 vs D90 comparisons.

In comparison to the Canon 600D / T3i, there seems to be similar spec's to rival each other, i.e. articualted screen, a boost of 16 mega pixels from the 12 on the D5000, also some creative filters. What i do find suprising is the the initial starting price of the D5100 being £30-40 more expensive thatn the 600D, when typicaly there seems to be more going for the 600D with more megapixels, wirless flash ect.., which from what iv'e read doesn't matter, plus im not going to argue this as im only a beginner myself. I understand these are upper entry models, & are keen for more amature photgraphers to use alsoo incorporating specs from mid-range Dlsr's. It is at this point where there's almost no price gap from the Mid-range to entry levels bar 100 - 200£'s...it just seems crazy & not good for first time buyers who want the new advantages from a entry level....

Yeah I guess you can just hope it's because it's new. Remember, the D3100 was quite up there when it came out last year and now with a good deal you can get it under $600. You're correct that 16MP and 18MP doesn't matter for most uses, but the technology of the latter is still worth a little more. I would still prefer the Canon 600D, but I think the D5000 was really getting long in the tooth and upper entry level Nikon shooters have a solid candidate now. The company may have just now caught up with Canon in terms of these features, but there's no doubt Nikon has made the most drastic improvements over the last year. I'm really impressed.

In reality the D5100 is not more expensive then the 600D.
699 euro for the D5100 and 719 euro for the 600D.

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Olympus E-500, 12-60, 40-150, 70-300

Hi!
How are the full review going, will it be finished anytime soon?

Sorry, I can't give any timescales, but it'll be the next review I do personally.

I just got my Nikon D5100. Maybe I could have waited till the prices go down, but I was in the US and decided to buy it (my next trip to US will be in a year - I am in Armenia:). This is my second "serious" camera, my first one was Lumix G1, which was a nice one, but I sold it as I was disappointed with its IQ in low light conditions, i.e. at ISO 1600 its noise was unacceptable (IMO). Compared to it, my D5100 gives similar noise at ISO 6400, which can be used if you desperately need to take that shot, and which you may only want to print in a smaller size. But shots at ISO3200 are quite good and just fit my needs in taking indoor shots without any flash (in a normally lit conditions). So the point made is - high ISO capability DOES matter! Later I will post some samples at my picasaweb and will share, although you may find a couple of them in picasa or flikr.
cheers -

I am contemplating buying the Nikon D5100 (body only) for my grandchild for graduation. I would like to buy one all-purpose lens so he does not have to change lenses (thereby getting dust, breaking, etc)
What would be the one lens that would take care of it all. Thanks

If he's new to photography then an 18-55. When he knows what he wants to do, he can upgrade to what he knows he wants.

If you want to spend a little more money, then the Nikon 18-200 or Sigma 17-50 f2.8 are nice choices.

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Nikon D5000 and D300 with 12-24mm, 35mm f1.8, 50mm f1.4, 60mm f2.8 Macro, 18-200mm, 17-55mm f2.8 (all Nikon)

The 16-85 would be my favorite. Nice wide angle and a little tele with a reasonable quality.

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Olympus E-500, 12-60, 40-150, 70-300