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Nikon CoolPix 5700 Nikon expands their 5 megapixel offerings, with a long zoom, a new body, but the same legendary Nikon feature set! Select a topic Reference: Datasheet CoolPix 5700 Photo Gallery! CoolPix 5700 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 5700 Review --------------------------------- Digital Camera Comparometer (TM) --------------------------------- <-- Digital Cameras (Home) <-- Digital Camera Reviews Index <<Executive Overview :(Previous) | (Next): Viewfinder>> Page 3:Design Review First Posted: 5/29/2002

Design
Building on the well-received design of the Coolpix 5000, the new Coolpix 5700 employs many similar design elements. For starters, the 5700 model features a less conspicuous pop-up flash unit and a (much) longer 8x zoom lens. The new electronic viewfinder takes up less space than the previous real-image optical viewfinder, making the 5700 a little more compact in the vertical dimension than its predecessor. The large lens barrel provides a rounded contour on the left side of the camera (apart from the bottom corner, which is squared off by the LCD hinge) and provides useful surface area for additional camera controls. A carryover from the Coolpix 5000, the Coolpix 5700 has a "Vari-angle" LCD design that swivels, a feature I personally like a great deal. The Coolpix 5700 has an all-black, body composed of a mixture of metal and plastic. It's fairly compact at 4.3 x 3.0 x 4.0 inches (108 x 76 x 102 mm), about 0.2 inches shorter than the 5000, and 0.3 inches wider. It has a pleasant heft, somewhat heavier than the 5000, due no doubt to the mass of the larger lens. It weights 16.8 ounces (480 grams) without battery or memory card. The battery adds another 62 grams to its weight.

 

 

Visible on the front panel are the lens and self-timer lamp, the latter at the top of the handgrip, just below the power switch. The telescoping lens extends as much as two inches when the camera is powered on. (The lens extends two inches when set to its telephoto position, but only a bit over an inch at its wide angle setting. There are body threads at the base of the lens barrel, presumably for mounting an accessory adapter, but it's hard to see how you could use front-element accessory lenses with the 5700, given how much the lens extends when it's zoomed. A removable plastic lens cap protects the lens from scratches, and comes with a tiny strap to tether it to the camera body and prevent it from being lost. Tucked beneath the Coolpix logo are two small holes for the microphone, used to record audio when in movie mode. A large hand grip, coupled with the deep recess between the grip and the lens barrel, provides a firm hold on the camera, and a rubbery coating provides a good gripping surface for your fingers.

 

 

The camera's right side (as viewed from the back) houses the memory card compartment (a Type II Compact Flash slot) and an eyelet for the neck strap. I liked the positive snap-action operation of the memory compartment cover: The spring action is apparently contained in the hinge mechanism, and it feels much better than the usual friction snap-latch I commonly find on the outside edges of these flaps on most cameras I test.

 

 

The left side of the camera is rounded to conform to the shape of the lens barrel, and holds several control buttons, the second neck strap eyelet, a connector compartment, and the speaker. The four control buttons (Flash / ISO, Image Quality and Size, AE/AF Lock, and Focus Mode buttons) on the side of the lens serve dual purposes, changing one setting when pressed, and another when pressed and held while turning the Command dial. A rubbery flap covers the connector compartment, which houses the DC In, A/V Out, and I/O Digital jacks. The flap remains fastened to the camera body and folds out of the way easily, using the new, more substantial connector/hinge tab design I saw and approved of on Nikon's new D100 SLR. Also visible from this angle is the diopter adjustment dial on the viewfinder eyepiece.

 

 

The top of the camera has a handful of controls, a small status display panel, the pop-up flash, and the external flash hot shoe. You can either pull the flash up manually, or the camera will pop it up automatically when needed. The hot shoe has the standard five-contact design used by the Nikon Speedlights, but should also host some third-party flash units. (Particularly since the camera doesn't use most of the special Nikon-proprietary contacts on the flash shoe.) The small status display panel reports most camera settings, including battery power, and is very useful for making quick camera adjustments. Top panel controls include the Power dial and Shutter, Mode, Exposure Compensation, Illuminate, and Function buttons. As on the 5000, a Command dial on the top panel is used in conjunction with various buttons on the body of the camera to change settings.

 

 

Many of the controls and user interface elements for the Coolpix 5700 are on the back of the camera. At top left is the electronic viewfinder (EVF) eyepiece, with a diopter adjustment dial on the left side. On the right side of the eyepiece is a Monitor Select button, which toggles the viewfinder display back and forth between the EVF and LCD monitor. A rocker button in the top right corner controls optical and digital zoom, as well as playback viewing options. The remaining controls include the Menu and Quick Review buttons, Mode switch, Four-Way Arrow pad, and the Erase and Display buttons. The right edge of the back panel is sculpted, providing a nice indentation and associated ridge that provides just enough of a lip to give your thumb something to hold onto.

 

 

Like the Coolpix 5000, the 5700 has a "vari-angle" LCD monitor, which lifts off of the back panel and swings outward. Once out, the monitor swivels 270 degrees. One benefit is that in addition to facing a variety of angles, the LCD can flip around and face the back of the camera when closed, protecting it from any scratches.

 

 

The bottom of the Coolpix 5700 is nice and flat, with several raised inserts of resilient plastic that increase the camera's grip on tripod mounting plates. The tripod socket itself is a rugged metal unit. The tripod socket is also roughly centered on the camera body, which is good for mounting stability, but which does put the lens quite a bit off-center from the mount. This isn't an issue for normal shooting, but does mean that a special tripod head will be needed to shoot panoramic images, to compensate for the parallax error introduced by the offset between the lens' optical center and the center of rotation for the tripod mount. Having the tripod socket centered also means that some tripod mounting plates will prevent you from removing the battery while mounted to the plate. (Again, not an issue for most users, but something I'm attuned to given how much I shoot in the studio with cameras I test.) Finally, a small plastic plate next to the battery compartment pops out revealing a connector for the power/vertical hand grip accessory.