Nikon D5. Basic Functionality

The heart of the Nikon D5 – a new 20.8-megapixel full-frame sensor made in-house. Good news for travel photographers who previously had to add the D800 or D810 to their D4s for landscapes. Now there’s enough resolution for landscape photography. This high resolution of the sensor also makes it possible to slightly crop a photograph if you don’t have the perfect frame when you take it. For landscape photographers extra megapixels wouldn’t hurt either. For example, stacking makes you crop the image after stitching, so having a bit more resolution to spare wouldn’t hurt at all.

High-speed burst shooting

The Nikon D5 lets you shoot both slow and fast bursts. In the first case the camera shoots 5 frames per second. It’s no surprise these days. And in high-speed continuous shooting mode Nikon D5 shoots much faster – 12 frames per second. If you’re used to shooting in high-speed burst mode and have learned to control the length of the queue, you’ll have to adjust to the D5 all over again. In a short press, the camera shoots a series of three to six shots.

That speed makes it easier to capture even the briefest of moments, like a motorcyclist on a curve, or clumps of earth flying out from under a horse’s hoof, or the flash of a gun salvo. When shooting at lower speed, the vast majority of photos just went to waste – the climax of the action came in moments before or after the shot. It is important to say that during continuous shooting, the camera continues to focus and does so accurately and quickly.

In case you need even more speed, you can use the mirror lift mode. In this case the camera stops tracking your subject, but starts shooting at 14 frames per second.

Accurate and fast autofocus

Thanks to the latest focus sensor with 153 focus points, 99 of which are cross-type the user can choose from 55 points , the camera focuses quickly and accurately. With tracking focus set, the Nikon D5 successfully holds focus even on fast-moving subjects, including those that move toward the photographer.

The response range of the focusing sensors is such that the camera focuses with confidence in low light, and can swing even the most aperture-prone lenses.

The range of ISO sensitivity on the Nikon D5 is huge – from 100 to 102400, with the ability to expand down to the equivalent of ISO 50 and up to an astronomical three million.

High ISO sensitivity range and good performance at high values

Landscape photographers will certainly appreciate the ability to shoot at low ISO, which is very useful for obtaining the effect of “soft water” or floating clouds.

At the same time, high ISO up to 25600 can be considered as working, and the figures up to 64000 are a compromise. The camera is capable of handling most of the challenges that confront reporters working in dark rooms, and sports photographers who shoot indoor stadiums. A fast working aperture lets you work in low light with fast shutter speeds, important for capturing movement.

the camera makes a moderate noise at the fastest values of apertures from 3200 to 6400, which means the camera could be recommended for such photography. Combined with noise reduction techniques, you can expect good results from the Nikon D5.

A great camera for travel

Weighing in at about 1.5 kilograms, it doesn’t sound like the best camera for a travel photographer. And yet it isn’t. The Nikon D5 has advantages that any traveler will appreciate.

The sturdy magnesium alloy body is waterproof and dustproof, which means the camera won’t suffer well, not too much in the rain and won’t let dust, sand, and dirt in. In harsh weather and environmental conditions, you can focus more on the photography itself and not on how to save your technique.

The 20.8 megapixel sensor produces not only reportage-quality pictures, but also excellent landscapes. A huge selection of high quality optics allows you to solve any problem that may arise in the travel – from shooting the starry sky another curtsey in favor of the moderate noise in high ISO photography to ethnic holidays, portraits and architecture.

Great video capabilities

Nikon D5 captures both Full HD video at 60p and 4K video at 25p. 4K clips are limited to three minutes so far, but the manufacturer promises to increase the clips up to half an hour in the next firmware update. The camera handles brightness fluctuations in the scene well, and also leads the subject with autofocus. It is possible to connect an external microphone for the best sound recording.

A special TimeLapse capture mode with flexible settings lets you record time-lapse video without a set of separate files, but merge them into a video at once. But for those who want to edit the footage and add the wrap effect the camera has an interval mode with flexible settings.