Labs

The P5100 is designed for keen photographers, with manual exposure, hot shoe and threaded lens ring for accessories, and a smart magnesium body. A command dial makes it easy to adjust settings, although it's odd that the shutter speed goes in whole steps rather than thirds, and disappointing that there's no manual focus. The biggest letdown is speed, around three seconds between shots even in continuous mode.

Image quality is the best we've seen from a compact, with incredible detail and exemplary colour. Unlike other 12 meg compacts, noise isn't terrible in low light.