Product Reviews

As well as enjoying success in the professional arena, Nikon has made its presence known in the prosumer digital camera market with the Coolpix 990 and 995 models (see Labs, issue 86). Nikon's latest addition to the prosumer range, the Coolpix 5000, slots in right at the top as the flagship Coolpix model, boasting an increase in optical resolution to five million pixels.

Changes are immediately apparent, as the 995's lens section that swivelled to take advantage of less conventional viewing has gone. Instead, Nikon has learned from the likes of Canon and opted for a fold-out rear LCD that can be moved to accommodate various needs. The camera is smaller too, and while this will appeal to those travelling light it seems to make it more susceptible to shake and movement when you press down on the shutter release.

The Coolpix 5000 has a 3x optical zoom lens covering 7.1-21.4mm and sports a maximum aperture range of f/2.8-4.8. In 35mm camera terms, this equates to a 28-85mm optic. This range suits most general needs, and is a well-thought out and balanced choice. Close focus in macro is a versatile 50-2cm. Just make sure that at the shortest settings there's enough natural light hitting the subject, as the flash, which is positioned above the camera, will struggle to have a noticeable effect.

If the 3x optical zoom isn't enough, there's a 4x digital zoom that can be used in various ways to maximise what the optical lens has captured. Like its predecessors, the Coolpix 5000 is compatible with optional accessory lenses for wider angle and telephoto effects.

So, how does this camera perform? First, the flash exposure had a tendency to seriously underexpose. However, Nikon claims that this will be addressed by the time you read this review. The next problem involved getting the camera out of Program mode, which is done through the User Setting options. Nikon has tried to keep the camera simple to use for those with no desire to take control, but there are better ways to provide point-and-shoot simplicity than the method used here.

That said, once you've configured your User Settings, they're accessed quickly from then on. You can use the FUNC button and command dial to access them without paging through the LCD menus, which is a neat touch. The other options

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for exposure control befit a serious camera and are Shutter and Aperture Priority or Manual. Finally, as mentioned earlier, the diminutive size is a slight problem. The Coolpix 5000 travels well in a decent-sized pocket, but when it comes to handling it's less stable than bigger and heavier cameras such as Minolta's DiMAGE 7 (see Reviews, issue 85, p172).

Putting these issues aside, the Coolpix 5000 starts to look much better. Images are captured at a maximum of 2,560 x 1,920, with resolutions down to 640 x 480. In addition, if you want to keep the image dimensions the same as from a 35mm film camera, a 3:2 ratio can be set, changing the image size to 2,560 x 1,710. Shots are saved onto the supplied 32Mb CompactFlash card. The slot supports both Type I and II formats. The Coolpix 5000 can also record TIFF files, and standard JPEG is available with three levels of compression.

The 256-segment matrix meter has shown its ability in previous cameras and performs well again. For the dedicated photographer wanting more than point-and-shoot, there are spot and centre-weighted options too. The spot meter can be set to measure from the camera's five-zone autofocus system, and there's a good shutter-speed range from 1/4,000th second (depending on the mode) down to eight seconds. Sensitivity can be set for 100, 200, 400 and 800 ISO with an Auto setting too. Noise was apparent with higher speeds, but that is the norm. The finder has a diopter adjustment that can be set from -2 to +1, but, common to many cameras, the image shown is only 82 per cent of that recorded. The rear 1.8in LCD provides better coverage at 97 per cent.

As this is a prosumer camera, there are more advanced options. For instance, there's the shooting menu for adjusting settings such as sharpening, colour and white balance. Also provided is Nikon's acclaimed Best Shot Selector, which takes several different shots of the same scene and selects the best one.

Under testing, the Coolpix 5000 turned out some superb images. Lens distortion at both ends is well controlled and makes the camera an excellent general-purpose proposition. For critical copy work - perhaps using the macro mode where distortion may be more of an issue - it can't match a specialist macro lens, but you really need an SLR for that. Resolution and colour reproduction combine to provide a very capable machine, and with a five-megapixel CCD there's much that can be achieved with it. That said, it didn't perform as well with high-contrast images, which is a common complaint for some digital cameras.

We have a few issues with the Nikon Coolpix 5000, but in terms of final image quality it didn't disappoint and we obtained some very good A3+ photos. Plus, with small dimensions and a five-megapixel CCD, it will be highly appealing to some users. At the end of the day, though, it doesn't do enough to stand out.