Its feature set and pricing mean that it sits extremely comfortably between the beginner-friendly D3100 and the high-end D7000 - it’s clearly aimed to attract the attention of enthusiast photographers with out cannibalizing sales of is sister models. A camera maker can judge the success of its market positioning by seeing how many individuals are questioning ‘which model is proper for me?’ on discussion forums - and we feel a D3100/D5100/D7000 progression would reduce such doubts. The official line is that the D90 maintains its position in the range, but both its naming and overlap with other models suggest that its role is now much more one of historical interest than future significance.
The D5100 has a extremely similar 16.2MP CMOS sensor to the excellent 1 observed inside the D7000 but, understandably, loses out on that camera’s high-end create and feature-set. So there is no wireless flash control, magnesium alloy create or 39-point AF program but the underlying image high quality is all but identical.
As has become normal for a Nikon at this price point, the D5100 presents a single control dial, pentamirror viewfinder and no built-in autofocus motor. Nonetheless, it gains 1080p video capability (at 30, 25 or 24fps), saved utilizing the efficient H.264/AVC codec, plus a 920,000 dot totally articulated LCD panel to help shoot it. These are both considerable gains over its predecessor the D5000, and the improvements extend to the D5100 having smaller, neater construction along with a far more conventional side-mounted hinge for that LCD.
These changes resolve two rather awkward aspects of Nikon’s existing lineup: if the D5100 and D7000 wind up becoming neighboring models it’s going to steer clear of the inelegant overlap that existed between the D5000 and D90. It also ensures a much more elegant appearance to the models themselves (the D5000 was several points, but fairly wasn’t 1 of them).
Despite the fact that the D5100 is listed as having an Expeed 2 processor, it’s worth remembering that Nikon Camera doesn’t use this naming program to denote any certain components, so the actual chunks of silicon and capabilities are not necessarily exactly the same as those inside the D3100 or D7000. Nonetheless, moreover to a similarly specced 16.2MP sensor, the D5100 provides exactly the same ISO settings as its massive brother - extending up to an equivalent of ISO 25,600. It also inherits 14-bit Raw shooting - 1 of the elements that helps give the D7000 its impressive dynamic range - which is some thing Nikon utilised to provide only on its a lot more expensive models.
The D5100 is slightly smaller than the Rebel T3i/EOS 600D - most likely its nearest competitor. Both are slightly larger than the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2, which is built about a smaller sensor, and obviously lacks an optical viewfinder assembly (instead making use of a top quality electronic finder). Ergonomically, the G2 may be the most ‘involved’, and has probably the most physical control points and a touch-sensitive LCD screen, but overall the 3 cameras are physically quite comparable.