TheNikon D5200 is an entry level camera which has APS-C format whith a 24mpx CMOS sensor. The ISO range ISO 100-6400 extendable to ISO 25600. The camera has a 2016 pixels metering sensor, very precise and also has 39 points autofocus system, which 9 on the centre are cross type. In video section we have 1080p and we can film or take pictures on any angle thanks to the 3" foldable screen.
We have 5fps in the Nikon D5200 with 24 mpx (RAW files are huge) is not bad at all for an entry level camera, and that is thanks to the Nikon's EXPEED 3 processor.
Starting with the fisical aspect:
In the frontal:
#1 We can see the Nikon logo in the flash compartment.
#2 This is the lens (in this case is the AF-S NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR ).
#3 This is the autofocus help lamp which will be turned On if focus can't work well. We can deactivate it in the menu.
#4 This is the trigger, if you press it half way it will focus, then if you press all the way down camera will take the picture.
#5 Is the ON/OFF switch.
#6 This is the grip (very confortable to handle in my opinion).
#7 In the grip we have an IR (infrared) port for a remote trigger.
In the left side:
#1 Is the flash button, if we press once, flash will pop-up and if we hold the button dawn and we turn the dial we can change the flash settings.
#2 The Fn (function) we can customize it in the menu, by default is configured for ISO.
#3 The white dot is for match the lens.
#4 This button is for release the lens.
#5 This switch is for alternate between autofocus and manual focus.
#6 This switch is for activate or deactivate the vibration reduction (stabilization).
#7 Is absent from the picture because I missed unintentionally, the hook is where we put the camera strap.
#8 This is the zoom ring.
#9 This is the focus ring.
#10 This is the conexions compartment: we have TV out, HDMI out without compression, mic conector and GPS conector (image below).
In the back side:
#1 This is the viewfinder. Through the viewfinder we can see the 39 focus point and the grid if we activate ir in the menu. We can also see the shutter speed, the aperture and the ISO parameters.
#2 Whith this button we go into the camera menu.
#3 This is the 3" foldable screen. Is not a touch screen.
#4 With this button we acces to the speed menu in the display.
#5 The button AF-L/AE-L is for locking the autofocus and the autoexposition. On top of the button we can see a littel key which is for protect your images on the galery. On the galery, if we press this button on an image it will be protected and it will not be erased by accident. Pressing again you unlock the image.
#6This is the mode dial. We will see it in depth later.
#7 In the side of the mode dial we have the Live view switch.
#8 This is the dial for change the parameter like shutter speed, aperture or ISO. If you are in the galery you can switch the images.
#9 Whith this button we access to the galery.
#10 Multidirectional panel for navigate through the menu.
#11 Button OK for confirm.
#12 Zoom In.
#13 Zoom out. The "?" is for the help message. If we press the zoom out button in the menu the help message will pop-up in many options and gives you information about what each function do.
#14 This is an LED witch notifies you that the camera is working.
#15 This button is for erasing pictures or videos on the galery.
#16 This is the optometrist.
#17 In the left side of the camera, just next to the menu button we have another IR (infrared) port for a remote trigger.
#18 This rubber protects the eye and is interchangeable.
On the right side of the camera we only have the SD card slot. I must say that for this camera you need a big storage because of its huge files and also a speed card for video. If you don't have a speed card, video will have lag. I recommend a 32GB or a 64GB SD card for this camera.
On the top of the camera:
#1 On/Off switch.
#2 Trigger.
#3 Record video button. Only works in Live View.
#4 Exposure compensation button. If you keep it down in manual mode (M) and turn the dial, you can open and close the diaphragm, is barely visible in the picture but just slightly above on the right of the button there is drawn a diaphragm. If you are in other than manual mode (M) and holding down this button, you access to the quick menu on screen for the exposure compensation and if you turn the dial you increase or you decrease this exposure. In automatic mode it does nothing.
#5 Is the info button. This button turn the screen on or off, without turning off the camera. This can come in handy for night photography if you don't want the backlight illuminates your face and scares the bugs or whatever you are photographing. Also to not disturb your eyes at night because you can turn off the screen and see the information directly from the viewfinder.
#6 Release mode. With this button you can choose to shoot once, slow burst (3 fps), fast burst (5fps), configure the timer on the menu, remote shooting with 2 second delay, instant remote shooting, and quiet mode.
#7 Live view switch.
#8 Modes dial: (M) Manual, you set everything manually. ( A) Aperture Priority, you set the aperture and the camera chooses the speed automatically. ( S ) Shutter speed priority, you set the shutter speed and the camera set the aperture automatically. ( P) Programmed, you can not set up or the aperture or shutter speed, is an automatic mode but you have some control over things like exposure compensation, ISO sensitivity and little else. ( AUTO) Automatic mode is like the ( P) mode but in this mode you have no control over anything, the camera has absolute control over all functions. The mode below is like the auto mode, you have no control over anything and flash will not pop-up. (SCENE ), you can choose between several scenes, is an automatic mode . The scenes there are: Night portrait , night landscape, party / indoor, beach / snow, sunset, dusk/down, pet portrait, candlelight, flowers , autumn colors, food. The following modes are: Portrait, set the camera for making the pictures stay sharper. Landscape, set the camera to get great pictures of landscapes. Children, set the camera to prioritize shutter speed because children do not stay still. Sport, set the camera to full priority to the shutter speed to capture the right moment. Macro, set the camera to aperture priority for perfect depth of field and capture tiny things in detail . (EFFECTS ) Effects is also an automatic mode. You can choose from the following effects: Night vision, gives priority to the ISO sensitivity, you can only take pictures in black and white, you can not take pictures in RAW mode. Color sketch, the camera processes the image taken turning it into a drawing . Miniature effect, camera adds a focus in some parts of the image giving the appearance of a miniature. Selective Color, you can choose a color from the screen and the rest of the image will come out in black and white. Silhouettes, set the exposure for the sky leaving everything else black, generating the silhouettes. High key, is used to take very bright and white or light colored image without overexposing photos. Low key, unlike the high key, this mode is to get dark colors and dark tones without underexpose the image.
# 9 Stereo Microphone sensitivity can be adjusted on the menu.
# 10 Flash. It will pop-up by pressing the flash button or automatically depending on which mode you are in the mode dial.
# 11 Flash conector, external microphone conector, etc.
# 12 Speaker.
# 13 Autofocus assist lamp.
On the bottom we have only the screw for the tripod, the hook for the camera strap and the battery slot.
Here I add some pictures of the camera.
Now we will see what we find on the menu:
On the left you see the different sections of the menu. This section we see is the "Playback Menu" and see that the icon is highlighted in yellow, this indicates where we are in the menu.
The first thing you see is "delete" followed by the icon of a paper, if we access to that menu it gives you the option to delete the selected images, selected dates or all that is in the gallery.
Then we have "Playback folder" in which you will choose the folders you want to display in the gallery and give the choices: "current" if is selected in the "Shooting Menu" which we will see later, and the choice to see all folders.
"Playback display options" gives us the option to choose what we will see in the gallery, if only the images or if you also want to see the image information (histogram, shutter speed, etc..).
"Image Review" gives us to choose between ON and OFF, and serves to show or not the image after capturing the image.
"Rotate all" is if you take a picture vertically, the image will be well displayed in the gallery without the need to put the camera vertically to view the photos, this is only valid in the gallery, not in the preview image.
"Slide show" It speaks for itself, is for seeing a slide show of our images.
"DPOF print order" is for compatible printers with this technology, and allows you to print your photos directly from the camera.
Now the shooting menu:
" Storage folder" is for creating new folders or choosing from those we have created, those we want to display in the gallery, we can also rename or delete folders.
" Image quality" here we can choose from : RAW + JPEG Fine, RAW + JPEG Normal, RAW + JPEG Basic, RAW, JPEG Fine, JPEG Normal, JPEG Basic. Depending on what we choose we will need more or less space on the SD card because if you choose RAW + JPEG you are keeping two files, one in RAW and one JPEG. I always recommend shooting in RAW for the quality that offers this file but that is my opinion .
" Image size" gives a choice between: Large ( 24mpx ) , Medium ( 13mpx ) and small ( 6mpx ). Unless size of the sensor used less weighed images. This can be useful if your pictures are just for social networks like Facebook and others.
" White Balance" lets us adjust the white balance with some default settings for the camera like: incandescent, fluorescent, direct sunlight, flash, cloudy, shade or Preset manual.
"Set picture control" is to choose the type of image processing, is only valid for images taken in JPEG and processed by the camera, not valid for RAWs. We can choose from: Standard, Neutral, Vivid, Monochrome, Portrait, Landscape. Each of these can be fine-tuned to suit the user for more precise control over such settings as contrast and saturation.
" Manage picture control" lets you load or save more values to the picture control.
"Auto Distortion Control " automatically corrects for peripheral distortion (requires a CPU lens with distortion control support). I personally have disabled and I can correct the distortion in post processing .
" Active D-Lighting" Improving the amount of detail in dark or brightly lit areas, you can choose from: auto, high, extra high, normal, low, off.
"HDR ( high dynamic range)" The camera takes two shots with different exposures to combine into a single image.
" Long exposure NR" Noise reduction for long exposures. Possible options are: on and off.
" High ISO NR" noise reduction at high ISO. Possible options are: High, normal, low, off.
" ISO sensitivity settings" Sets the ISO sensitivity of the camera and the maximum and minimum values of ISO in automatic mode.
" Release Mode" You choose the shooting mode: single frame, continuous L (3fps), continuous H (5fps), self-timer, delayed remote (ML-L3), quick-respose remote (ML-L3), quiet shutter release.
" Multiple Exposure" while active you can take 2 or 3 shots and then combine multiple photos into a single image . You have to take the pictures manually, so try not move your camera between shots. Changes the settings between shots to achieve the desired effect ( I do an overexposed photo, another well exposed and a third underexposed ). You can choose between 2 shots and 3 shots. After taking the second / third shot the images are combined into one.
"Interval timer shooting" Here you program the camera to do a series of shots. You can choose when you want to start, when it will start taking pictures, how many pictures you want and how many seconds you want to have between shots.
"Video settings" You can choose the video resolution from 640x424, 1280x720, 1920x1080 and you can set the sensitivity of the mic.
In the custom settings menu you can set all the camera. The camera does not have as many options as a professional camera but has enough to be an entry level camera.
"Restore config. Personnel" to restore everything as it was by default. The following menus have another internal menu:
"Autofocus" Here you can choose how many focus point you want to use (39 points or 11 points), you can choose whether you want the camera to shoot when you press the button or only shoot if focused (very useful in my opinion), you can decide whether turned off or let the autofocus assist lamp.
"Exposure" you can choose how many steps you want to have in the exposure meter.
"Timer / AE Lock" here you set the timer and everything to do with it. You can also set the AE-L button (seen above). You can set the focus sound, you can display the grid in the viewfinder, make it look the ISO in the viewfinder, showing the file number in the viewfinder, choose whether to display the date on the image (if you decide display the date and time can not erase the image then becomes part of the image).
"Bracketing / Flash" here decide whether the flash is TTL or manual, you can decide how much power you want to use in manual flash. Bracketing is to take multiple images at different flash exposures or diferent white balance exposures.
"Controls" is to set the Fn button for ISO, white balance, active d-lighting, hdr, + RAW, auto bracketing, autofocus area, live view, AE / AF lock, AE only, single AF, AF-ON .
In the setup menu:
In this part of the menu does not have much to see, here we can format the card, choose the brightness of the screen, clean the image sensor electronics and manually (lock mirror up (cleaning)) I recommend the lattest may done by a professional, and we can choose the video mode, PAL or NTSC.
We can also choose the output resolution of the HDMI, reduce flicker, set the date and time, language, leave a comment on the image or view the accessories that connect to the camera.
Finally we can see if we have the latest camera software.
In the retouch menu we can retouch and edit images, including RAW files, if you need to preview the processed image would look like. In this menu there is not much to explain because is understood what each function is.
Finally the section of My Menu, in which you can add shortcuts to everything we've seen in all menus, that means, we can choose what we use the most in the menu and have it more accessible.
Well, this is all about the Nikon D5200, an entry level camera, but very powerful. It has been a rather long review but this camera offers many options. If you have any questions do not hesitate to leave it in the comments below. Best regards and hope to see you in the next post.
