Nikon D5100 DSLR Camera
I've had lots of 35mm film experience mostly in color, and done lots of work with high ISO film during my time in the defence force. There we learned to get the shot, not the pretty. We had limited time and high pressure to just get the shot, in focus and usable in court.
That is the way I've been shooting most of my life, and I can truely say - I am enjoying this camera. It will get the shot if left to it's own occord, but still gives you lots of options when you have the time to setup the shot.
First impression this camera is quite light, or very light for me. When I took the frame out of the box without the lense attach, I was shocked. It does however make for easy shooting for long periods.
As a sub R10K camera including 2 lenses (55mm and 200mm) this camera could not be seen as a professional camera, however the 16.5Mpx makes and high quality sensor makes it a very strong contender.
Now the main reason I decided on this camera was for the ISO 6400, which can overdrive into ISO 25600.
As a parent of 3 young children, the school concerts and ballet shows have started. Lighting at these events are notoriously bad and one normally are not allowed to use a flash as someone is normally recording the video of the show.
The Nikon according to reviews handles this very well making it possible to shoot a stage performance without disturbing the dancers or the principal shaking my daughters hand. The Nikon actually has a setting for this! They call it "Quiet shutter-release" with "Auto (flash off)".
The present options are very good and the additional "Auto (No Flash)" is very good. In this mode the camera will do everything in its power to shoot in low light conditions without using the build-in flash. White balance selection is also very good and color temperatures looks very accurate.
The HD video recording is unbelievable. The build in VR stabilizer in the lens helps, but external stabilizing would be suggested. The build-in microphone would not be good enough for anything but ambient audio, but the camera does have a stereo mini jack socket as well. No audio level indicator is provided, so professional audio would have to be obtained externally to the camera.
I would suggest this camera to any amateur photographer and starter professional.
Nikon D5100 Detail
