Nikon D5200 Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm VR Lens Kit - Black (24.1MP) 3 inch LCD (discontinued by manufacturer)

Product Information

The reason you'd want to buy a more expensive model, like my favorite Nikon D7000, is not for picture quality, but because if you really know how to use all the controls and settings as I do, the D5200 demands most of these settings be adjusted in the menu system, requiring you to stop shooting and piddle with the camera at arm's length. By comparison, if you want to adjust the autofocus system of the D7000 from one shot to the next as I do when snapping different kinds of subjects, I can do it with the D7000 held to my eye instead of having to piddle in menus. (Since the D7000 is a higher model but a year or two older than the D5200, the D7000 is discounted to about the same price as the D5200, but its LCD doesn't swivel.) Looking at the EXIF data, the time elapsed in this sequence is only one second from start to finish! The D5200 not only exposes well, it exposes well even when conditions are changing faster than the eye can see. pixel RGB metering sensor delivers highly accurate metering for exact exposures and provides precise data to the camera's Scene Recognition System

Nikon introduces the latest D-SLR to its mid-range DX-format line-up, the 24.1 megapixel Nikon D5200, designed to bring out your creative side. From beautiful still photos to smooth Full HD movies, this camera empowers your freedom of expression, letting you capture your own unique view of the world. More about the Nikon D5200 after the jump.As expected, shots-per-charge life is long, much longer than "mirrorless" cameras. It probably runs 1,000 shots per charge; I never ran out a battery! For stills, you can enter Live View mode to preview the effect or simply use the optical viewfinder. For movies, the recording is slowed down (dependant upon the chosen effect) as the camera uses a lot of processing power to apply the effect, leading to footage that can have a rather staccato feel. Note also that the camera sets virtually everything in the Effects mode - exposure, shutter speed, white balance, ISO, file type and quality - so its only creative in terms of the arty effect that's applied. Five of the same effects can be applied to an image or movie that you've taken, though, so you can have the best of both worlds (albeit without the luxury of a preview). There appears to be various contributing factors. Nikon’s default digital sharpening in its JPEGs is less aggressive than Canon’s, but this is a matter of personal taste and is easily customised on either camera, so it’s a trivial matter. However, even when comparing their raw output developed in Lightroom, the EOS 650D was still a match for the D5200, despite their differing resolutions. That concludes our look at the D5200's interface and feature-set. Now let's take a look at the D5200's image quality... There’s the same 3in, 921,000-dot articulated screen as on the outgoing Nikon D5100, which is a great asset for video and shooting stills in live view mode. Continuous performance is roughly the same as the newer D3300, delivering 4.9fps for 32 frames before slowing to a still-excellent 4.2fps in our tests. This was only possible when lens distortion correction was disabled, though – otherwise, it lasted for just six frames before slowing to 1.9fps. Raw continuous performance was similarly short-lived, slowing to 1.6fps after just four frames. The D3300 slows to 1.7fps but after six frames, so it’s a touch faster here.

Nikon claims Full-Time AF, but I seriously doubt AF works well. it's horrible on the D7000 in video mode.

The sensor can clean itself by way of high-frequency vibrations that will, at least in theory, shake off any non-adhesive dust particles that may have settled on the low-pass filter during a lens change. You can specify, via an option in the Setup menu, whether you want sensor cleaning to take place at shutdown, startup, both or neither, with the default being 'both'. The cleaning process pleasingly has no practical impact on startup times, which were near instant. The new image sensor is complemented by the more powerful EXPEED 3 processing engine and a larger buffer as well. An increasing number of digital cameras are now being shipped with features designed to appeal to those looking to get a little bit more creative with their photography.