Nikon Coolpix P5000 review

Nikon Coolpix P5000 Review

Reviewed by: Lori Grunin

Reviewed on: 29 May 2007

Though the P5000 performed poorly on several levels, you can't blame much of it on the lens. VR works extremely well -- at best, we obtained a sharp shot at 1/4 second that would typically require 1/30 second. Additionally, the lens maintains very good edge-to-edge sharpness and shows minimal chromatic aberration (fringing).

Keep in mind, however, that it trades off zoom range -- it's much easier to produce a better optical system if you keep the range of focal lengths limited, as Nikon does with its 3.5x zoom. The lens does show a surprising amount of barrel distortion at the wide end given its rather narrow 36mm-minimum focal length.

Image quality
When it comes to image noise, the P5000 fares well in some respects and abysmally in others. It can shoot some usable photos up to ISO 2000, depending upon subject matter, though to play it safe for sharpness and artefacts we suggest staying below ISO 800. But across the various ISO settings, colour consistency flies out the window.

That's a shame, because otherwise the P5000 produces very good photos, with excellent exposure, neutral white balance (though the preset renders a little pinkish under tungsten lights), appropriate saturation and properly selected flash output levels. Though we've seen better, its 640x480-pixel, 30fps movie capture will also serve to preserve those embarrassing moments on YouTube forever. It supports only digital zoom in movie capture mode, though.

Conclusion
Poor performance really drags down the Nikon Coolpix P5000, and unless you absolutely need a hot shoe for an external flash, it's hard to recommend when compared to the less expensive, zippier Canon PowerShot A710 IS, with its faster and longer 6x zoom lens.

Shooting speed (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

Typical shot-to-shot time

Time to first shot

Shutter lag (typical)

Casio Exilim Zoom EX-Z1050

1.8 

1.6 

0.4 

Canon PowerShot A710 IS

1.8 

1.8 

0.6 

Nikon Coolpix P5000

3 

2 

0.9 

Typical continuous-shooting speed
(Longer bars indicate better performance)

In frames per second

Canon PowerShot A710 IS

1.5 

Casio Exilim Zoom EX-Z1050

0.9 

Nikon Coolpix P5000

0.9