Nikon D5 DSLR 20.8 MP Point & Shoot Digital Camera, Dual XQD Slots - Black

4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars | 65 ratings

Price: 4084.05

Last update: 06-19-2024


About this item

20.8MP FX-Format CMOS Sensor
EXPEED 5 Image Processor
3.2" 2.36m-Dot Touchscreen LCD Monitor
4K UHD Video Recording at 30 fps. CompactFlash (CF) (Type I, compliant with UDMA) XQD Type Memory
Multi-CAM 20K 153-Point AF System
Native ISO 102400, Extend to ISO 3280000
12 fps Shooting for 200 Shots with AE/AF
180k-Pixel RGB Sensor and Group Area AF
14-Bit Raw Files and 12-Bit Raw S Format
Supplied With: EN-EL18a Rechargeable Li-ion Battery, MH-26a Battery Charger, USB Cable Clip, HDMI Cable Clip, UC-E22 USB Cable, AN-DC15 Strap, DK-27 Eyepiece Adapter, DK-17F Fluorine-Coated Finder Eyepiece, BF-1B Body Cap, BS-3 Accessory Shoe Cover, BL-6 Battery Chamber Cover, Warranty, Network Guide
Supplied With: EN-EL18a Rechargeable Li-ion Battery, MH-26a Battery Charger, USB Cable Clip, HDMI Cable Clip, UC-E22 USB Cable, AN-DC15 Strap, DK-27 Eyepiece Adapter, DK-17F Fluorine-Coated Finder Eyepiece, BF-1B Body Cap, BS-3 Accessory Shoe Cover, BL-6 Battery Chamber Cover, Warranty, Network Guide

Product information

Imaging
Features

Top reviews from the United States

AvidReader
5.0 out of 5 stars Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner!
Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2016
I am a professional photographer and I either own or have owned many other Nikon FF bodies, including the D4, D810. D750, and D700. I use these cameras as a job function; they pay my bills. So a lot of the gimmick features are wasted on me. I want bodies that do their job, do it well, and don't fail me.

The D5 is not the D4. It's not the same thing with a few tweaks. Even a few days of ownership are enough to be certain of that fact. That statement includes both positives and negatives, both of which I'll try to outline here. As the weeks and months go on I will update this review with further findings. I'm going to touch on four main issues: autofocus, high ISO performance, handling/ergonomics, and overall impressions.

First, the autofocus is incredible. Not good, not great; truly exceptional. I almost have to try to make it miss. The D4 does a great job of focusing in most conditions but it does struggle in a few situations. Erratic side to side movements are very tough, for example. I've yet to find a situation where the D5 struggles. Short of using superlatives I'm not sure what there is left to say on this subject. A+, 10/10, AAA.

High ISO performance is one of the hallmarks of the D series. It's always excellent and the D5 is no exception. When the light gets low the D5 steps up and doesn't disappoint. I'm primarily a RAW shooter but I've been shooting RAW+JPEG since I have received the camera. The JPEG's are superb. It's very obvious that Nikon has made significant progress with their JPEG engine. The RAWs are also excellent, but not quite as amazing (comparatively) as the JPEGs. They are still MORE than acceptable and I find them to be about a stop better than the D4. However, I expect a future firmware update, paired with software updates, to make them truly amazing in the months to come. JPEGs get an A+. RAWs get an A.

The ergonomics of the D5 are every bit as good as their predecessors. Everything is tight, well built, and well placed. There have been some small changes in button layout, all of which I think are improvements. The biggest improvement being the relocation of the ISO button. Instead of being located in the bottom left it's now near the shutter, making changing ISO on the fly much more convenient. It will take some relearning of muscle memory, but in the long run it will definitely be a positive.

My overall impressions are highly positive. I think that Nikon's changes have been for the better and that those improvements have been significant. The high ISO quality has been improved and even a minor improvement (combined with more resolution) is impressive. The focus improvements are significant and immediately noticeable. The low ISO dynamic range seems little lower than I would have hoped for, but it's not a concern for my work and I can't imagine buyers of this camera would be concerned with it either.

As I said, I will update this review in the future after I use it more, but if my long term impressions are anywhere close to what I've seen so far, I'll be highly pleased with this purchase.
Aaron Harris
5.0 out of 5 stars Magic, just magic.
Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2017
Some people will give this camera a stellar review because its their first real pro body, but trust me, its good for those of us that have owned pro bodies before. I've been shooting with pro bodies since 2004. I've owned 1Ds, 1Ds-II, 1Ds-III, D3, D3s, D810, others... So I'm not impressed just because its a pro body. However I did love the Nikon D3s so much that I stuck with it from 2009 to 2017 (and I still have it), so its not like I'm just a gear junkie. I can't compare it to a D4 or a D4s because I skipped those.

Anyway, let me summarize.

AF
I'm accustomed to the amazing 51 point AF system that came with the Nikon D3s. It was revolutionary and my understanding was that it didn't really get significantly better in the D4 or D4s, which is why I waited. Now the D5 has 153, 3x more! Is it 3x better, well no... but its better and not just marginally, its REALLY GOOD. It rarely misses, but when it does miss its not far off and typically yields a usable 5x7. Whats even better is that it can do it in nearly zero light, "moonlight they say", but I get solid AF in what I'd call pitch black. I tend to shoot natural light (no flash) and this camera can AF in any situation. Its hard to quantify these things. My summary is that it yields much higher hit ratio than the already amazing D3s and it does it in nearly zero light.

Noise
If you're pixel peeping at 100%, I see slightly less noise than the D3s at 100%, however the D3s is 12mp. If you scale the D5 down to 12mp it looks much cleaner than the D3s. Compared to the D810, there is no comparison. D810 isn't bad considering the amount of data you're collecting but even when you scale the D810 36mp image down to 20mp or even 12mp, it doesn't look nearly as clean as the D5 or D3s. Though IMHO still very clean and not a bad choice for low light -- just not the best choice. I find D3s, D810 and D5 are all phenomenal up to about ISO 1600. D810 is usable but D3s and D5 and are still very clean through 6400. At 12800+ the D5 seems to be about a 1/2 stop ahead of the D3s in noise when pixel peeping each at 100% or maybe 1.5 stops ahead if you scale the D5 down to 12mp. Where the D5 really shines apart from the D3s is the D3s is not usable after 25600 IMO other than B&W, though the D5 if scaled down to 8mp or 10mp is usable in color at ISO 102,400 or instagram photos at 204,800. The D5 starts to get a color tint at ISO 400k which is when I must go B&W. But to be able to grab a photo in extreme low light at ISO 400k and actually have something you could put on your wall (B&W) is simply amazing, magic.

Dynamic Range
Let me start by saying, yes yes its true, the D810 is better at recovering blown highlights or deep dark shadows at bright ISOs like 64 - 800, but beyond 800 the D5 is equal and beyond ISO 800 the D5 begins to out perform the D810 in recovering highlights and shadows. So its a matter of taste. IMO low ISO shots are for studios and landscapes, in those situations you can set up your shot perfectly with lights or bracketing and don't need highlight or shadow recovery as much (though its convenient). I almost exclusively shoot above ISO 800 and thats where the D5 is like magic, yes there is noise but to be able to recover 2.5 - 3 stops of shadows at ISO 6400 is pretty damn impressive!

Speed:
D3s was already fast enough for me at 9 or 11 fps. 14 is just a whirlwind of memory card eating. It is great when capturing bracketed shots handheld (which you shouldn't do) or when capturing kids, one of the 50 photos you just snapped is bound to have a non-blinking smile in there ;)

Ergo and Weather proofing:
As good or better than the D3s, they're almost identical. One complaint I thought they'd have fixed by now is the custom button assignment. I still can't assign any function I want to any button I want. Its like they're teasing me. Why? I just want to assign Auto-ISO to that button for that rare moment that I need to capture something in a split second. Nope, can't do it. Silly Nikon. Touch screen is pretty cool, though I'd have bought the camera even if it didn't have it. I love to be able to pinch and zoom and slide around while zoomed to make sure no one was blinking, or double check that yes in fact the D5 did get perfect focus AGAIN... Wow...

I could go on, there's plenty to love.
Peter Henry
5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely superb camera.
Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2016
I LOVE THIS CAMERA! I've had and still use many Nikons including an 800 and a D4. The D4 did what it was supposed to, but had a number of shortcomings. The D5 is simply better everywhere. Superb noise and image quality. Great sensitivity. Super fast shutter and frame rate for action. Lots of customization to make it work the way you want. Buttons in the right places with the right customization capability. Great movie capability as well as stills. Incredible control on images as well as mechanics. Better autofocus on moving subjects than I have had before. Intuitive display. Touchscreen is nice. Feels great in your hand.

I just wish it had a built in GPS - but it works fine with several external GPS units, they just add unwanted bulk. And 24MP would have been nice. The 800 is great but more than I need many times. 20MP is right at the edge for great wildlife with sometimes shaky framing. But I think Nikon did the right trade offs on capture rate and image size for this generation.

An hour playing with the menus, tweaking the customization and practice shooting and the D5 felt like home. The menus and options follow the standard Nikon formats, with additional possibilities around things like time-lapse, movie settings, controls and notably shutterless photography - using the electronics of the sensor for very quiet and fast operation.

I have been using this camera in far more settings than I ever used the D4. It is great for many purposes. Sports. Wildlife. Portraits. News. While I recommend against handheld panos for stitching, the leveling display in the viewfinder has given me great results for landscapes and scenics. It is quickly becoming the first camera I reach for.

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