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Nikon Coolpix 5000 Nikon moves into the 5 megapixel era with a new chip, new lens, and new body, but no retreat from the legendary Nikon feature set! Select a topic Reference: Datasheet Coolpix 5000 Test Images --------------------------------- 1. Intro and Highlights 2. Executive Overview 3. Design 4. Viewfinder 5. Optics 6. Exposure & Flash 7. Shutter Lag & Cycle Time Tests 8. Operation & User Interface 9. Camera Modes & Menus 10. Image Storage & Interface 11. Video, Power, Software 12. Test Results & Conclusion --------------------------------- Print-Friendly Review Version Additional Resources and Other Links Reader Comments on Coolpix 5000 Review --------------------------------- Digital Camera Comparometer (TM) --------------------------------- <-- Digital Cameras (Home) <-- Digital Camera Reviews Index <<Viewfinder :(Previous) | (Next): Exposure & Flash>> Page 5:Optics Review First Posted: 9/18/2001

Optics

Built into the Coolpix 5000 is a 3x Nikkor 7.1-21.4mm lens, the equivalent to a 28-85mm lens on a 35mm camera. (This is a wider angle zoom than those on most digicams. As more cameras are appearing with the physically larger 5.2 megapixel CCD chips, we're beginning to see more models with wider-angle zoom lenses.) The all-glass lens is made up of nine elements in seven groups. The maximum aperture varies from f/2.8 to f/4.8, depending on the lens zoom setting, with the largest aperture available when the lens is at its maximum wide angle focal length. Apertures are adjustable in 10 steps with 1/3 EV increments, and are created by a seven-blade iris diaphragm. (The seven-blade diaphragm is a nice but subtle touch - it will produce less distortion in sharp, specular highlights than apertures made by diaphragms with fewer blades in them, and hence more irregular shapes. The seven-blade iris also provides finer-grained aperture control.)

Focus on the Coolpix 5000 operates under automatic or manual control, and ranges from 19.7 inches (50 centimeters) to infinity in normal mode. A Macro mode offers a range from 0.8 to 19.7 inches (2 to 50 centimeters). The Coolpix 5000's autofocus mechanism employs a contrast-detection method, and the focus can be determined from a five-area multi-pattern or spot AF area, in the same way as on the 990, 995, and now the 885 models. There are five possible focus zones (center, top, bottom, left, right), which can be very useful for achieving accurate focus on off-center subjects. The Focus option under the settings menu allows you to choose modes in which the camera chooses the focus zone, or in which you can explicitly set the location of the focus area (a nice feature that works well when combined with the spot metering mode, which can likewise be directed to determine exposure from the same 5 zones). In the "Auto" option for focus area selection, the camera chooses the area corresponding to the object closest to the camera. When the area focus option is set to Off, the camera bases focus on the central area. (One Playback mode information screen displays a focus area overlay, and shows which focus area was chosen for each image, by highlighting the appropriate set of marks in green.)

Two AF modes are also available: Continuous AF and Single AF. Continuous AF mode means that the camera is constantly adjusting the focus. In Single AF mode, focus is only determined when the Shutter button is halfway pressed. When the LCD viewfinder is off, the camera is always in Single AF mode. By default, when the LCD is on, the camera continuously focuses. A menu option lets you set the camera to Single AF when the LCD is on though.

The manual focus option is accessed through the rear-panel AF button, used in conjunction with the command wheel. (Avoiding the silliness of having both a "MF" button and a menu option that enables/disables it.) Like the 995, the Coolpix 5000 offers 50 focus steps from 10cm to infinity. The focus distance is reported in the top right corner of the LCD display.

Another neat Nikon feature is the "Focus Confirmation" option, available as a menu selection in record mode. When activated, this feature applies a strong "sharpening" operator to the LCD display. The result is that the LCD image very clearly "snaps" into focus when proper focus is achieved, making the LCD display much more useful that it ordinarily would be for manual focusing. Focus Confirmation can be set to be on all the time, off all the time, or only on when the camera is being manually focused. Very handy!

The lens itself has a set of body threads around its base, and it apparently can use many of the broad range of Nikkor accessory lenses developed for previous Coolpix models. These include accessory lenses for wide-angle, telephoto, macro, and fisheye focal lengths, as well as a slide copying adapter. A new very wide-angle converter will be available for the Coolpix 5000, providing an equivalent 35mm focal length of 19mm. This is very wide, unusual for consumer-level digicams. Once an accessory lens is attached, you'll need to select the corresponding lens type in the lens settings menu. (The camera adjusts its operation for different lens types by restricting the zoom range to avoid vignetting, switching to center-weighted metering for the fisheye adapter, etc.)

The Coolpix 5000's digital telephoto feature is enabled through the Zoom option under the Setup menu, and enlarges images up to 4x. An indicator on the LCD monitor displays the range of digital zoom at each step (from 1.1x to 4.0x). Keep in mind that digital telephoto only enlarges the center of the image, resulting in reduced resolution and more artifacts as more digital zoom is used. The camera appears to automatically switch to center-weighted metering and a center autofocus target when digital zoom is active. Also under the Zoom option, you can set the startup position of the lens (either wide or telephoto) and activate the Fixed Aperture function, which keeps the aperture fixed as the lens zooms. (This last being a very handy option when working with studio strobes or other strobes with fixed output levels.)

In their promotional literature, Nikon touts the speed of the Coolpix 5000. The lens on my test unit did appear to zoom in and out quite a bit faster than that on the 995, but the tradeoff is that it makes much more noise when operating. Nikon also claims very fast autofocus speed, but this claim is apparently limited to the "prefocused" shutter delay, when the camera is prefocused by half-pressing and holding the shutter button prior to the exposure itself. In my own tests, shutter lag was moderately faster than average in this mode, at 0.157 seconds, but only average in full autofocus mode.

Optical distortion on the Coolpix 5000 is a bit high at the wide-angle end, where I measured about 0.88 percent barrel distortion (average is about 0.8 percent). The telephoto end fared slightly better, though I measured roughly 0.19 percent barrel distortion (average is that level or a little lower). Both distortion figures are slightly higher than average for cameras with 3x zoom lenses in this class, but not far off the mark. (Barrel distortion in digicam lenses is a pet peeve of mine though, hence my attention to it here.) Chromatic aberration is moderate, showing about three or four pixels of red coloration and five or six pixels of green coloration on either side of the target lines. (This distortion is visible as a very slight colored fringe around the objects at the edges of the field of view on the resolution target.) The chromatic aberration doesn't seem much worse than average (on this test at least), but IMHO, "average" is too high for a high-end camera like the Coolpix 5000. (For what it's worth, the Canon G2's lens had a bit less, while the Sony F707's lens had the same amount or more.)