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Nikon D5500 Review

April 2015 | By Jeff Keller

Buy on Amazon.com From $796.95

Preview based on production Nikon D5500

The Nikon D5000 series has long been a good choice for photographers who wanted a very capable compact DSLR that offer a higher level of enthusiast features than the D3000 series that sits below it. Nikon's latest model - the D5500 - continues that trend, though the differences between it and the D5300 that came before it aren't enormous. The D5300, introduced in the fall of 2013, impressed us with its image quality, flip-out LCD, and feature set. We were less enthused about its menu system and live view performance.

So what's changed? In brief, the D5500 has a smaller and lighter body with an improved grip, a faster processor, touch-enabled LCD, 'flat' picture control, and built-in Wi-Fi. We'll see later if the company addressed some of the issues that we encountered with the D5300.

To say the D5500 sits in a crowded field is an understatement. On the DSLR side it competes against the Canon EOS Rebel T6i (750D) and Pentax K-S2, as well as the Fujifilm X-T1, Olympus E-M10, Panasonic DMC-G6, and Sony a6000 mirrorless cameras.

Nikon D5500 key features

24.2MP CMOS sensor with no optical low-pass filter
Ultra-compact and lightweight body
Multi-CAM 4800DX 39-point autofocus system
2,016-pixel RGB metering sensor, used for 3D subject tracking in AF-C
Sensitivity range of ISO 100-25,600
5 fps continuous shooting
1/4000 sec maximum shutter speed
3.2", 1.2M dot fully-articulating touchscreen LCD display
1080/60p video with clean output over HDMI and Flat Picture Control
Built-in Wi-Fi

The D5500 appears to use the same 24.2MP CMOS sensor as the D5300, though it is interesting to note that its top ISO setting of 25,600 is no longer an 'extension', as was the case previously. There's continues to be no optical low-pass filter in front of the sensor, which maximizes resolution, though moiré may be an unwanted side effect. The D5500 also features Nikon's latest Expeed 4 image processing engine.

The design of the D5500 has changed for the better. It uses what is known as a monocoque design which allows the body to be a single unit that also 'increases durability without weighing it down', according to Nikon. Indeed, the camera is very light and compact - even more than the D3300. The grip is also much deeper than on the D5300, making it a whole lot easier to hold onto. Nikon has also added touch functionality to the already-nice 3.2" fully articulating LCD, making menu navigation a bit less tedious.

In the video department, the D5500 continues to support 1080/60p recording but now offers a 'Flat' Picture Control, which allows for easier color grading in post-production.

Something has disappeared though, and that's the built-in GPS that was featured on the D5300. It's probably a safe bet that Nikon is assuming that people will use their smartphone app to handle geotagging on the D5500.

And that's about it as far as major changes go. Let's see how the D5300 and D5500 compare:

Compared to D5300

	Nikon D5300	Nikon D5500
Pixel count	24.2MP
Processing engine	EXPEED 4
Optical low-pass filter	No
ISO range (expanded)	100-12,800 (expandable to 25,600)	100-25,600
AF system	Multi-Cam 4800DX (39-point)
Maximum frame rate	5 fps
Maximum video quality	1080/60p
Flat picture control	No	Yes
LCD specs	3.2" 1.2M dot fully-articulating
Touch-enabled LCD	No	Yes
Eye sensor	No	Yes
Wi-Fi	Yes
Built-in GPS	Yes	Optional (GP-1A)
Battery used	EN-EL14(a)
Battery life	600 shots	820 shots
Dimensions	125 x 98 x 76mm	124 x 97 x 70mm
Weight	480 g	420 g

As you can see, the D5500 is an upgrade in every respect, save for the lack of a GPS, though we wonder how often that feature is used in general.

The body is incredibly light (it weighs 15% less than the D5300), yet doesn't feel cheap. The size of the grip is better than what's found on Nikon's more expensive D7200. While the LCD itself hasn't changed, the addition of touch functionality makes the somewhat frustrating shortcut menu easier to use.

One addition that many won't even notice is an eye sensor, which will turn off the LCD when you put your eye to the optical viewfinder.

While the size of the D5500's body has gone down, its battery life has risen by over 35% compared to its predecessor, using the same battery.

Bundles and pricing

The D5500 with the 18-140mm F3.5-5.6 VR lens - one of the three bundles Nikon offers.

The D5500 is available in three kits in most regions. For just the body, it's priced at $799/£639/€819. Adding the collapsible 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 VR II lens will cost you $899/£719/€939, and a kit with the 18-140mm F3.5-5.6 VR lens is priced at $1099/£899/€1149.

If you're new to digital photography you may wish to read the Digital Photography Glossary before diving into this article (it may help you understand some of the terms used).

Conclusion / Recommendation / Ratings are based on the opinion of the reviewer, you should read the ENTIRE review before coming to your own conclusions.

We recommend to make the most of this review you should be able to see the difference (at least) between X,Y and Z and ideally A,B and C.

Gear in this story

Nikon D5500

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Comments

Total comments: 271

The new grip on this camera alone justifies the upgrade in my opinion.

I was considering the D5300 and even the D5200's still lying around just to save a little coin. But no, once I held the D5500 in my hand, the decision was made instantly.

2 upvotes

Please stop speaking about a product you didn't even handle. I bought D5500 though I was reluctant in the beginning. It has its place near my D600 as a DX companion more than the D7*** series because it's so lightweight yet really enjoyable to handle with the new grip and used material. It's a little hollow but doesn't feel cheap as a rebel or the D3*** models I tried. The articulating screen is another boon I'm not going to pass, this is why I discarded D7200.
Actually, D5500 competes with my Sony RX10 for street photography and events . I took the 18-140 kit, and I'm satisfied with the new kit lens that is way better than the 18-105 I had with my D90.

1 upvote

Sensational is the word that comes to mind. I looked around for the best camera for the "best bang for my bucks" and the D5500 came up trumps.
Its light, has Wi-Fi, 24.2MP, 5 fps and HD video. With the zoom lens package, what more do you need? I did not think I would use the Wi-Fi that much, but I do.

2 upvotes

Could you comment about the audio noise? I just got this camera with 14-140mm lens. and it records a horible audio noise when VR is on or when i touch any camera controls or perform zooming, focusing, etc.
Are the mics too sensitive? In sample videos you got some pretty good sound quality. have you been usng external mics?

Your comments are appreciated!

0 upvotes

Also; the D7200: - I have a D7100 but NOTHING about the D7200 makes me want to go out & upgrade to that model. Again the so-called improvements are too small; no fully articulated screen, no GPs, or improvements in buffering, no increase in fps.
. . . Now, IF I were to compare Canon's 7D to their 7D Mk2 then yes we are looking at a real & worthwhile upgrade.

0 upvotes

Well 2 things
1. The D7200 did offer siginificant improvements in buffering
2. The replaced the 2013 D7100 which was still among the best in it's class. The 7d mk2 was a upgrade over the 2009 7d which was left in the dust for quiet a while.

0 upvotes

Another half-baked/half-hearted upgrade being toted as a new model from Nikon. SAdvice to Nikon: wait a bit longer before launching a "new" model - and WHEN you do launch a new model make it worth YOUR while AND ours, thank you.
More's the pity some people are getting excited about this "new" DSLR.
Nikon's approach is really starting to irk me now. (Don't they WANT to sell cameras? Don't they want to increase their share of the market? Don't they want a good reputation for producing reliable, great quality products that show REAL innovative flair???
They've made the D5500 smaller, why? - (Are they targeting kids or "small people" with this model)??? - so small that they had to leave out the GPS, what a bummer!!! They also brought out the D810 - WITHOUT installing DUAL Digic 4 Processors, - ditto the D4s, - whuch, theoretically would have seen an increase in FPS, hi ISO quality, etc on these 2 models.

Comment edited 12 minutes after posting

0 upvotes

there'll be plenty of people who wants to buy "DSLR" thinking that it will give them "Better" image quality (despite them only shooting auto & using cheap kit lens)

0 upvotes

Why do you think Nikon had you in mind when creating this camera? Take 'you' out of this and think about NEW customers they want to lure in their camp. For NEW customers 5300 is an OLD model, they want a new one. They are not upgrading, comparing features of the model this replaces - they are comparing it against other things in the same price bracket and THIS has a decent feature set to offer. It is not 7200, 610 or 810 - it is what it is. Yes, people are excited about the NEW camera, my friend just bought 5300 (old one) and she is learning slowly how to use it - comparing it to her previous Panasonic P&S. Because that is HER reference being a new Nikon customer... BTW, she could have bought the top of the range: yet she is aware her skills are not a match (it's called being 'realistic' and I respect that).

Comment edited 43 seconds after posting

0 upvotes

Everyone talk about mirrorless has more features. But what features do we really use on our cameras. My favorite feature on my D7000 is the double card slot and the d-lighting.

1 upvote

Double card slot is a very good feature, but it's harder to implement on mirror-less owing to size restrictions. D-lighting in one form or other is available on most modern cameras. As is HDR, etc.

0 upvotes

Creepily, Nikon bodies are beginning to resemble Canons more and more. Very soft curves, like a modern-day sedan...How about some more angularity Nikon? Differentiate yourself.

1 upvote

I care more about how the camera performs as opposed to the similarity in appearance it has to another brand.

0 upvotes

I'd rather have both.

0 upvotes

I agree, I'm not a fan of the looks, it really does look a lot like a Canon. I'm looking to upgrade a D700, and even that line is getting softened up as well, I don't like the trend.

0 upvotes

I just hope aping Canon is a benefit and not a detriment for Nikon.

0 upvotes

I'm ok with it as long as their sensors don't start to resemble Canon's.

1 upvote

I don't know why Nikon didn't fabricate the 5500 to meter with legacy AI(S) and D lenses- given its size, it would be perfect with anything legacy below 50mm. Is it a price cutting or marketing move to force those of us with old manual and AF glass to move up to the 7200? I would buy the 5500 outright if it wasn't limited to AF-I and AF-S lenses, but I'm probably in the minority. Otherwise a really nice camera that should compete well, along with the 7200,l against Sony A series.

0 upvotes

@DPR - I see that you include the T6I as a competitor to the D5500. Does this mean that the T6S is a competitor to the D7200?

0 upvotes

ignore posted incorrectly

Comment edited 2 times, last edit 2 minutes after posting

0 upvotes

I bought mine about a month ago kit lenses are fine added a nice 50 mm prime will add more as time goes on it is very easy to handle just found getting used to the vast amount of features a bit daunting auto mode is great though and there's some good walk thru videos available out there already.
I must tell you this was a replacement camera for my fav of the last 20 years a canon A E 1 (great film camera) so this is a very new journey for me and a challenge but am loving it
Cheers from Brisbane Australia

1 upvote

Can you please get someone to proof read your articles as there are so many missing words!

0 upvotes

ignore. posted incorrectly.

Comment edited 2 times, last edit 3 minutes after posting

0 upvotes

I actually liked this one, I had an older model Nikon before, so I am happy. Overall it did the job, not perfect, but none really are depending on your needs.

0 upvotes

"The Nikon D5500 is as close to a 'pocketable' DSLR as you'll find. While it's a bit larger than the Canon EOS Rebel SL1 (100D), you can slip the D5500 into a small bag if you're using a compact lens." -DPR

Neither a D5500/SL1 nor a mirrorless camera will fit in my jeans pocket, so they are equally convenient/inconvenient. In both cases, you are using a small camera bag.

1 upvote

Dude quit wearing those 'skinny jeans '.
GM1 + kit zoom or several fast pancake primes fit in my 'normal jeans pocket.

5 upvotes

So frankly there is not difference at all. Once you cannot fit in yuor jeans it is all the same...a 500 mm f1 lens or a 500 mm f8....one weighing 20 kilo the other a pound...all the same...right..

1 upvote

weight makes a difference. Size I don't think so. This is what makes the D5500 more enjoyable to use.

0 upvotes

In terms of handling and ergonomy this camera is amazing . I had the chance to hold one in store, displayed next to an older D5200, and the difference is night and day. Smaller, lighter, much better grip, much better button layout . That thing isn't even bigger than my old 4/3 E620, and more pleasant to hold, and a bigger and much better sensor . Even the OVF is ok, though not as good as Pentaxs' . The cam feels better balanced than the tiny Canon 100D , and that's no small achievement . Now if only they would make the lcd screen smaller, that would make room for bigger buttons and an even more comfortable layout, I don't see the point in having big 3"2 lcd screens, 2"7 is way enough . Add an electronic gauge level in OVF that would be a very interesting camera . Ah and focus fine tune , my 620 is 6 years old and
has it .

Comment edited 13 minutes after posting

3 upvotes

And I don't understand this no low pass filter thing , more resolution ? come on, I think it's a trick to maximize kit lenses output, I dare not think of a 24 mp photo without the filter , must be on the verge of hysteria, I have seen pics from an Oly E510 whose filter had been removed and it didn't feel good to my eyes, and that's a 10 mp sensor .

1 upvote

The lens on this camera is excellent, kit or otherwise. In fact, Nikon has gone to a lot of trouble with virtually all their kit lenses in the last 10 years to make sure they are sharp and contrasty. Their only shortfalling is their maximum aperture.

1 upvote

The need for low pass filter is reduced by the higher resolution sensor. To an extent the lens takes over the role

0 upvotes

I recently sold an EM1 kit looking to downgrade to something more midrange (life+priority changes, etc). Was hoping to look back into a Nikon but I'm just thoroughly unimpressed. The technology seems almost a generation or two behind what I left behind on m43.

Also being spoiled by 5 axis sensor IS ...

6 upvotes

Maybe so, but which of them will have better IQ and AF for the same price?

Comment edited 15 seconds after posting

12 upvotes

"Maybe so, but which of them will have better IQ and AF for the same price?"

Without a lens - none.

2 upvotes

Are you looking to buy a camera or a technological display?

2 upvotes

I agree with Delicverator. This camera as well as most Nikon, Pentax and Canon cameras are not for your Facebook selfy, PlayStation gamer, etc. set of novice camera buffs. It is more designed as a serious tool to create images and does this job as well or better than most. Even so, it has more gee gaw features than I would choose. Add focus adjust, a second command dial and a pentaprism viewfinder, and you can keep the rest. I suppose that's why Pentax has the K3 and Nikon the D7200 for people like me, but the D5500 seems like a pretty good camera.

As far as being a generation or two behind your old m43, I think your priorities are out of line if you're serious about photography. Then again, you did say you had life+priority changes which may be the reason for your thinking especially with respect to what is technologically important in a photographic tool.

1 upvote

I came from Pentax, with an excellent 3 axis sensor IS camera, and landed in the land of Nikon 1 cameras. Very different, but I totally enjoy them! As a complement I also (eventually) bought a D600, and that one is more than OK, but not impressive!

So now I mainly use Nikon 1 V1 & V2, using a few native lenses, complementing with F Mount lenses, covering, in FX terms 18-1080 (not counting TCs), while the wife use Nikon 1 gear for extreme telephoto (in FX terms 200-800mm), a Pentax K-30 for medium telephoto (HD DA55-300, an excellent, water-resistant and dust-proof, lens, at a bargain price), and an E-M5, for macro, and indoor work in low light!

Not found Nikon DX cameras of interest as yet!

0 upvotes

@Tord Sounds like you have a nice setup. I shoot almost exclusively Nikon FX but am looking really hard at a Nikon 1 V3 or a D7200 for light weight fun as I suffered a stroke in 2013 and have a harder time being mobile. Putting a lot of pixel density on a distant bird seems intriguing, at least in good light. I may regulate the D800 to the studio more and more and the D3S to the grandkid's baseball and football events. When birding in challenging light, the FX gear will still be the choice if I am feeling well enough to carry it afield.

I've saved very few of my older DX lenses from the past in case I ever decided to get another DX camera. That's the reason for considering the D7200. Two of them don't have focus motors so as much as I like this D5500, i can't consider it with my diabetic eyesight being less able to manually focus easily. Besides, I really prefer a real optical glass pentaprism viewfinder over a penta-mirror arrangement or an electronic viewfinder.

1 upvote

@Guidenet I had a heart attack, and a bit of a sore leg (serious motorbike accident 25 years ago), so my mobility is not the best. I wouldn't have considered the Nikon 1 range if it wasn't for Steve Huff, that explained what they are all about.

The Nikon 1 has, as yet, four unique lenses, and two very good ones, and one I have no experience of! Going from the longest, the 70-300CX, this is a superb lens, that easily beats anything I've used before, even the marvellous 80-400 VR II (which I own). These two lenses are very much alike, but for three things:

The 70-300CX is stunningly sharp in its long end, the 80-400 VR II isn't. At 300mm they are equals.

The 70-300 has an adjustable limiter (focus manually — touch the focusing ring and you're in full manual control — to where you want the lens to set its closest limit, turn the limiter ON, and your set!), and it weighs about a third of the 80-400 VR II, and costs about a third as well!

I love that!

0 upvotes

@Guidenet

The second most awesome lens is the 32/1.2, which in FX terms is an 85. And a stunningly good 85, at that, as it is fully metal design (like the 70-300CX). Optically slightly better than my 85/1.8G, but not much lighter ;-)! Very much Zeiss feel to it! No VR!

Third best, in my book, is the 6.7-13 VR (in FX terms an 18-35), but I seem to use my modified 10 more — so it is, in effect, an 8/2.0, in FX terms a 22 — as that is a more rugged lens, with no risk of dust entering the lens (I am at a bit dusty — due to a medical condition, I can't do much about). The 10 has no VR!

Then there is the best budget zoom, the 30-110, a superbly light, and useful, lens (excellent for macro as well, if you add a close-up lens like the Canon 250D). Roughly a 80-300, in FX terms. VR, of course!

Con't!

Comment edited 6 minutes after posting

1 upvote

There are several 10-30, and at least one 11-27 (the latter just as sharp at the edges as in the middle, but has no VR). I don't use these!

The 10-100 is the heaviest lens of all, and fairly sharp, but does not thrill me! There are both powered, and non-powered, versions. All have VR.

That's all!

0 upvotes

Why is Nikon resting ?

0 upvotes

Nikon is tired, it's been working since 1917.

6 upvotes

The average lifespan of a public company is only 40 to 50 years so Nikon has already beaten the odds Can it continue another 97 years? Let's hope so.

1 upvote

And Nikon will likely sell more D5500s than Sony+Pentax will sell in dSLRs combined.

Then the total D5500 unit sales will likely challenge the sales of the mirrorless sales from Sony, Panasonic, Samsung, Fuji and Olympus--not combined. Meaning Nikon will sell more D5500s than Panasonic will sell mirrorless bodies. (Perhaps only Sony's mirrorless body sales will come close to the sales for this single model from Nikon.)

The D5500 is an excellent camera, with good 1080p video. And Nikon is starting to fix the optical weaknesses in its lenses.

Nikon is not "resting" in the bodies department, however Nikon is not chasing the same market as say the Fuji XT1 or Sony A7II, or even the Oly EM1 with this camera. This D5500 is not a high end "enthusiast" camera. That's the D7200.

The D5500 is going to mostly almost always be used with a kit lens, and is sold to those who want a good bit more than a P&S, and think maybe someday they'd buy another lens for sports events or landscapes.

1 upvote

@howaboutraw
Don't forget to mention that dslr sales will probably be down 20-30% again like the past 2-3 years.

0 upvotes

ttran88:

That's irrelevant. Those sales aren't to be replaced by mirrorless sales.

The fact remains that the world economy isn't good, in many places, now including China.

And more important, if you bought a DSLR in 2007, it's still an excellent still camera in 2015.

So the only real motivation to buy a new DSLR in 2015 would be if you want video, or much better high ISOs, or better AF, or more mega pixels, and none of those are compelling reasons to replace a 2007 DSLR for most users.

1 upvote

Howaboutraw
you know what's more irrelevant, you talking about mirrorless. No one has mentioned mirrorless here in this series of comments. Is mirrorless that fearful?

0 upvotes

ttran88:

No, mirrorless isn't a fearful thing. It's just an obvious point of connection you'd missed.

0 upvotes

No EVF and no focus peaking due to no EVF in it. Even EVF hardly use much battery compare to rear LCD viewfinder use a lot more battery if it wasn't OLED or AMOLED. Wireless and GPS will chew the battery up pretty quick. So be sure to put on Airplane mode to disable both. Mirrorless weight is significantly lighter than conventional DSLR body. Nikon isn't confident about going to mirrorless much yet so same for Canon is not much confidence in it. Still long way off to go. I can understand they are too scare to change cos of lens mount is another issue problem though!

0 upvotes

Nice work, Now finish the D810 review!

9 upvotes

From looking at the comparisons with the D5300, the only useful thing upgraded is the battery life. They both use the same sensor, and processing engine, so no difference in image quality. They both have the same resolutions, although the high end is listed now as regular instead of extended, which actually means no difference. Buffers are the same, shutter speads are the same. The GPS has been removed, and can't be considered an upgrade, even if people didn't use it. So how can this review state that the D5500 is an upgrade in every respect, when only one useful item has been upgraded? A better grip? There never was a problem with the old grip contributing to shaky images...lolol. This simply looks like a review to sell cameras, not print the real truth. As more time passes DPReview gets less and less reliable.

16 upvotes

> So how can this review state that the D5500 is an upgrade in every respect

I agree, that statement is nonsense (or worse, marketing speak) and should be removed immediately.

5 upvotes

it's well argumented indeed.

I do think the smaller lighter body with the deeper grip is a improvement. The touchscreen is a good improvement.

Other then those 2 things why not buy the old model with a nice discount.

2 upvotes

Only thing you would gain in image quality if you shoot jpeg. New jpeg engine seems to preserve details and blacks better on high ISO-s.

0 upvotes

Hello koolbreeze,

Thank you for posting your concern. I think that that the writers upgrade statement is true, but it is read incorrectly.

I think the readers equate "every respect" as "every feature", which is not what the writer is saying.
The D5500 is an "upgrade" camera, not new design, which I believe the writer is saying. So "in every respect" is accurate,as the new features do indeed represent upgrades, not a new design. They are refinements, or afterthought adjustments to upgrade the design.
The D5500 is, I agree, an upgrade camera in every respect.

Thank you DP Review.

1 upvote

> The D5500 is, I agree, an upgrade camera in every respect.
Is the sensor upgraded? No
Is the viewfinder upgraded? No
Are the controls upgraded? No
Is the flash upgraded? No
Is the body more rugged? No
Does it have the AF motor its predecessors lacked? No
Is AF upgraded? No
Is video upgraded? No
FPS upgraded? No
Is GPS upgraded? No, in fact it's gone.
Upgraded in every respect? What a sick joke!

3 upvotes

You're conveniently ignoring the WiFi and the touchscreen, the latter of which improves the handling of the camera in every respect.

0 upvotes

The D5300 also has WiFi.
Now a well implemented touchscreen does make a difference.
But won't make the camera a upgrade in every aspect like DPreview stated.

1 upvote

Again, typical response from the PlayStation gamer crowd who equate gee gaw features with upgrading or advancement. This is a photographic tool. The new lightweight 14.9 oz monocoque body with a better, more ergonomic feel and fit is vastly a better upgrade than all your novice feature checkboxes put together.

If you want or need more feature upgrades, feel free to consider a model upgrade to the new D7200. The D5300 to D5500 update is just the typical annual upgrade where some things get refined and the good parts don't need to be touched. These are tools to make images with. If I need more, there's the aforementioned D7200 or maybe a D750 or D810. Pick your poison but don't whine that the D5500 is not a D750, D4S, 7D MkII, etc.

1 upvote

Guidenet, I'm not sure if you haven't read the posts above, or whether you haven't understood the discussion. We are objecting to the blatantly misleading statement in the review, i.e. that the D5500 is "upgraded in every respect". In reality, it is a mild iteration of the D5300, better in a few ways, not as good in a couple of other ways, but mostly the same.

0 upvotes

I agree, 'improved in every respect' is an exaggeration.

But, what exactly is wrong with incremental improvement of a mature design? Would you prefer they simply kept selling the old model? What would that do for you?

I did not imply the 5500 handles like a 7200, but it certainly handles a LOT better than the 5300, considering the touch screen essentially acts like a second control dial while shooting.

If I owned a 5300, I seriously doubt I would upgrade to the 5500 (same thing if one had a 7100 for the 7200 - unless you really need the buffer), but if I were looking for a camera in this class, the 5500 is very compelling when compared to the alternatives.

Unless, of course, one is a mirrorless fanboy who considers anything with an OVF obsolete technology, in which case, no amount of sane discussion of photographic facts will help.

Comment edited 3 minutes after posting

0 upvotes

I am not saying this is a wrong upgrade.
The contrary but the statement used by DPR is wrong.
And that is what's causing this discussion.

This camera will be putted against the 750d and 760d.
It has a clear advantage in video with 60 fps. It's also smaller and lighter. On the Canon 760d you get some nice ergonomic tweaks that require Nikon users to get the D7xxx models.

On paper these models are close. But given Nikon had a massive lead over the previous Canon 700d therefor we probably got spoiled.

1 upvote

I totally understand the disagreement with DPR's wording is what seems to be driving this conversation, but that's just semantics and marketing speak. No big deal. My point is if you upgrade features above what defines the D5xxx line, you get a D7xxx camera, and we have that available.

Within the specs of a D5xxx camera, things have been upgraded nicely, in my opinion. To me, those are the important features which appeal to photographers over camera owners. Moving to a tough but 14.9 oz body is a big deal, in my eyes. An extra stop in ISO and a touch screen might be big in other's views. An overhaul in the processing engine might be considered a pretty big thing as well, yet all this keeping the feature set aligned with the D5xxx specification. So, within that specification, one might consider the D5500 a pretty solid upgrade. It's just an opinion and viewpoint, not something to get riled up about. That's all.

Happy Easter to those who celebrate it. :-)

0 upvotes

My concern yet again, is that DPR, being a .... leading light ... in the imaging reviewing online market has let the editorial process down. I "nit picked" them a year or two ago with misleading headlines and agree that the wording here is a careless throw off which mis represents the camera.... as nice as it is (and I'm not a Nikon user)
Sadly DPR needs to change their name as with as many staff they have now, don't dedicate themselves to intensive reviews but what does happen, includes amateur and silly off handed comments and throw away lines.
DP News .... is more like it, if you want serious reviewing, then the time has come to look elsewhere.
There are many brands and models that are lacking from decent reviews now that have been out for a long time and have made more significant changes to form and function.

Comment edited 3 minutes after posting

0 upvotes

@Guidenet

I hear you about practical aspects of photo taking as opposed to new tech for the sake of it and generally agree. A camera designed as an image making tool is more use to serious photographers than a touchscreen, where Canon scored highly and strange comments about another brand still lagging behind in that respect ... I still have to use the tip of my finger to press a button or a touchscreen! So which camera takes better images? The one with the touch screen?
OTOH some of the new tech is useful for the whole process of work flow such as WiFi & Olympus' IS pretty nice for moving targets.
There's tech for techs sake, tech which is in it's infancy and will be improved like Olympus' 40mp shift sensor which Ricoh are working on and won't put in until it makes a real difference and tech which helps making good photo's easier.
But there's nothing like a nice camera grip, a good sensor, nice bright viewfinder, a good processor and a reliable AF system just to start with...

0 upvotes

Although there is always room for improvements and complain, I find this review an outstanding one. DR has good systematic coverage of various aspects of the camera that gives sufficient info to educated readers to discern objective and subjective data and viewpoints. Also, since DR uses a consistent format for its reviews, it really makes it easy for apple-to-apple comparison which has been one of the sources that I have used for due diligence for my past 5 DSLR and P&S purchases.
Thanks and keep up the good work.

As for D5500, a great camera for the price that has some new elements but not enough changes relative to my current camera to justify jumping the ship. Dropping GPS is negative for me. I heard about GPS issues with D5300, which Nikon decided to complete;y resolve it by removing it!!

4 upvotes

I'd rather have a V3 or J5 than this out dated tech.

1 upvote

So no built in VF for you. No optical VF for you.

And higher ISOs and better dynamic range aren't real important to you.

Those 1 cameras have fast AF.

1 upvote

You got to be kidding about the outdated tech comment. It indicates a lack of understanding about what tech is supposed to do through refined iteration.

Comment edited 4 minutes after posting

2 upvotes

Sonyshine...
You are no longer salvageable.

1 upvote

pentax ks2 far better buy

13 upvotes

..and you know this because you are probably a photography enthusiast, but newbies will have never heard of the Pentax. I actually have not come across a Pentax ad in a magazine since the *ist days..

0 upvotes

The Pentax is a good camera but has poor lens choices for most people. Not too many care for slow high priced old limited lenses you know.

0 upvotes

I don't think lens choices are going to be high on the list of buyers of this body. I believe the stats show 90% of people who buy an entry level body never buy another lens. So Pentax Ks2 is definitely a competitor for this kind of buyer and if needed the excellent Pentax 55-300mm lens will more than suffice for their needs

1 upvote

Apologies if this has been covered already, but has anyone experiences with the quiet shutter mode of the D5500?

How much more quiet is it compared to the normal shutter release noise?

0 upvotes

I'm interested by you comment on the lab test, p8. - '*We originally shot the scene with the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 Art as part of an attempt to introduce that lens as the standard across systems, but we ran into an issue whereby images from the D5500 were coming out noticeably noisier than the D5300. We found that at f/5.6 the native Nikon 50mm was giving consistent exposures shot-to-shot, while the Sigma was underexposing and yielding somewhat inconsistent exposures. Further testing is required and we'll keep looking into it.'.

Does that mean that the Sigma is not actually setting the f-stop that has been set?

0 upvotes

May be different t-stops.

0 upvotes

It could also be the angle the light was hitting the exposure sensor at?

0 upvotes

'As you can see, the D5500 is an upgrade in every respect' ???
Faster processor ???

am i missing something?

0 upvotes

Hello David,

Thank you for posting your concern. I think that that the statement is true, but it is read incorrectly.

I think the readers equate "every respect" as "every feature", which is not what the writer is saying.
The D5500 is an "upgrade" camera, not new design, which I believe the writer is saying. So "in every respect" is accurate,as the new features do indeed represent upgrades, not a new design. They are refinements, or from afterthoughts improving
the design. The D5500 is, I agree, an upgrade in every respect.

Thank you DP Review.

0 upvotes

Thank you for taking the time to explain however, the different aspects of a camera are its design, performance, functionality and access to that functionality. With regards to the latter, the addition of a touch screen certainly contributes to making the camera easier to; the additional battery life is a welcome addition. The processer, focussing, viewfinder and sensor are identical to its predecessor. Improved ergonomics are great but ultimately, these upgrades do not yield better pictures. If this were between the D7000 and D7100 granted, an upgrade in every respect. The purpose of a review is to state the facts and subjectively rate the product but not to impose the interpretation the reader should adopt, in my opinion.

Regards,
David

0 upvotes

OR getting the pentax ks2 which has weather sealed body and af motor!!plus IS!!

16 upvotes

With the D5500's price, you can even get Pentax K-3.

8 upvotes

and 100% VF as pentaprism and two control wheels

8 upvotes

Pentax fanbase is strong today...
Sun is shining, so you didn't go out with your Pentax, because the weather is not worth the camera's presence?

You know that for a price of pants you can buy a skirt? Whatever sex you are, I'm sure these are not equivalent products although they essentially cover the same body part...

4 upvotes

"You know that for a price of pants you can buy a skirt? "

My kilt cost $300, and it's only a 5 yard. ;-)

5 upvotes

lol at Pentax. Are they still in business?

0 upvotes

...yes Pentax are still in business and owned by Ricoh who are actually at #674 on the 2014 Forbes list.......and before you ask Nikon are at #1283 :-)

1 upvote

@philo123
Pentax is NOT "still in business". They collapsed few years ago. :)
While they were owned by Hoya, all Pentax factories were closed.
Now the brand and all patents is owned by Ricoh. In 2013 they officially closed down the "Pentax corporation".
So at the moment "Pentax" is simply a brand - much like "EOS", "Nikkor" and "Lumix".

You should appreciate that the name "Pentax" was acquired by Ricoh, who know how to make cameras (and own Tokina, who provide the lenses).
Many better companies were totally wiped out (Yashica, Rollei) or the brand was sold to Chinese rubbish-makers (Praktica, Contax).

Nikon at least survived and is an independent company, not a sticker. :P

0 upvotes

It doesn't matter if Pentax is owned by Hoya or Ricoh. What matters is the brand is stronger today than it was a decade ago with high quality gear such as the K3, 645z, and now the K-S2. This can only be a good thing for someone who appreciates a good photographic tool unlike the masses who buy crippled crap from Nikon and Canon thinking they are getting the same quality as their higher end gear costing 5-6 times more just by buying something with the same brand name

1 upvote

@jkhush05
I think it does matter. Pentax is a system with strong fanbase. I would love to see what would happen if Ricoh dumped the brand and sold cameras under own logo.

Anyway, as a Nikon user I can tell you why I chose it over Pentax: I find Pentax cameras immature. Yes, they have more features, but when you compare the implementation to Nikon, the latter is almost always better. Frankly, I prefer to have less features that work properly than more that I find cumbersome.
I particularly hate how the AF works. And the Pentax lens lineup.
Also, IMO Nikon does a better job with (same) Sony sensors.

So in general: if someone really needs what Pentax provides (e.g. more sealed stuff), they should obviously get it. But if Nikon (or Canon) seems enough, IMO it will be better in what it offers.

And if I were you, I would be scared by the latest S models...

Comment edited 56 seconds after posting

1 upvote

pkosewski, I guess Ricoh understands the value of a brand and its fan base, so the Pentax brand is not going to disappear anytime soon. I am happy you find what you need in Nikon, but I guess you havent really used any Pentax products of late. Both Pentax Cameras and Lenses provide everything most users need, barring sports maybe. The lenses that have been seen as the achilles heel for fast af is being revamped, yes there is room for improvement, but for landscape, portraits, street, travel etc, nikon does not best Pentax in any way. The new AF in the K3 onwards can focus in almost darkness and is accurate. And Pentax makes the most out of the Sony sensors not Nikon, you can research all you want on this.

0 upvotes

Also as for features, all of Pentax's features work as advertised, be it the focus peaking for manual focusing, the composition adjustment to use any lens as a shift lens, the Shake Reduction that Pentax has had since ever, which others are only implementing now, the astrotracer function etc to name a few, all of these features are bonuses to a system that performs well, is light, compact, durable and ergonomic. Not saying that other brands are crap and am not looking at sales numbers to feel happier about a better selling product, I actually use Pentax so I know it can perform as well or better than other brands in the same range at a better value so it seems unfair that people like to tarnish Pentax with no actual experience with the gear themselves. Again, am assuming you havent used Pentax personally either. I have used Nikon and Canon and found Pentax feels better in my hand and suits my needs better.

1 upvote

But in the end, like you said, its a personal choice, so whatever works for them I guess

0 upvotes

Well... I find Pentax IQ not that great, but that's always very subjective.
IMO Nikon shots have more contrast (throughout the lens lineup). And the OLPF-less sensors give quite a bit more details than the "unique filter design" in latest Pentax bodies (moire level is similar).

And clearly I'm looking for different features than you do. For me the important things are how the OVF is organized, how the shutter sounds and the buttons feel (especially the shutter release). As you can see... these are the basic features of a camera, which you use with each exposure.
You mention things like the astrotracer - I don't even know what that is. :)
And yes, I've used the K5II for a few days lately (with 18-135 WR). Not the happiest time of my life. Great IQ, but not very refined camera. And IMO the AF is really long in tooth.

As for the sensor: I don't know if you're a big fan of DxO, but Pentax K3 lost (slightly) to D5300. I've seen similar results on other websites (including DPR).

0 upvotes

Lol :) suit yourself, I find the Nikon images muted, unflattering and under-saturated. I have used my friends d7000 and it froze up near a waterfall, had af issues and the colors are real bad. And you clearly have no idea what you are talking about with regards to the OLPF. The K3 and newer models have no OLPF, it only simulates the effect of one by shaking the sensor. That means it actually lets you choose if you want maximum details or avoid moire. In other words. It gives you a choice, yup something Nikon users are not familiar with ;)

Btw Pentax lenses are known for their colors and contrast, if try them you would know, the limited lenses have a following for a reason and even their kit lens does ok for a cheap walkabout lens that is wr and is by default cause all Pentax bodies have ibis and focusing motors too.

The Pentax OVF is the best in class and people who know the difference will swear by the shutter feel, quietness and dampening of the K3.

1 upvote

And its ok to be ignorant of other features cause Nikon never will have anything like it. Just basic stuff their users can handle. And while we are talking about 2015, take a look at cameras from the K3 and beyond to see if the af is improved or not.

As for biased sites like the ones you are familiar with, for every one of these, there are at least 5 who will admit that right from the K5, Pentax squeezes more out of their sensors than any other apsc camera in the market, that is if you are looking for a fair review in the first place.

But you can be happy with your Nikon, no harm :)

Comment edited 3 minutes after posting

0 upvotes

If I were buying my first DSLR, this is probably the model I'd go for. Unspectacular (for review sites), but fully functional, feature-packed and reasonably priced.

5 upvotes

If and only if they used a pentaprism view finder of the D7x00 series....

0 upvotes

I seriously doubt most first time DSLR buyers would appreciate the difference between pentamirror and pentaprism.
Compared to D7x00, they will like the touchscreen and the MUCH smaller form factor.

0 upvotes

That's what Nikon and Canon have been banking on and winning big $$$ for years. Go with the "safe" (perceived safe, that is) brand name choice where they cost-cut important features instead of the superior underdog brand alternatives.

If I were buying my first SLR and had to buy new for whatever reason, I'd be buying a K-S2 (Realistically, I'd buy a used K-30 or K-50) and a Sigma Art lens. Even a new K-3 and D7000 costs less than a D5500 (yes they do weigh more) - talk about this camera being DOA to educated buyers.

Comment edited 31 seconds after posting

3 upvotes

Awesome DR at base ISO found in DXO. Though the NX1 is even better, the price is out of reach for many.
I also appreciate they have reduced the weight so much that it weighs less than a d3300. More than a decade ago, Japanese were trying to reduce fuel consumption even though fuel prices were affordable or few was asking for it.

That battery life is something too for something like a day of travel as a tourist.

1 upvote

The Corvette dropped 600lbs by the use of innovative engineering and materials. This camera probably just omitted metal for more plastic. I believe the D5100 was internally stainless steel with a plastic housing. This one is probably mostly plastic except for the sensor mounting.

0 upvotes

Good thing it is a different kind of plastic.

"Teijin Limited's Sereebo® has been adopted. This new material, which utilizes carbon fibers, is very lightweight, yet strong and durable."

I only wonder why the d5300 is heavier where it was first implemented.

Comment edited 5 minutes after posting

1 upvote

NX1 is not reviewed at DxO so you cannot compare...

0 upvotes

Honestly, plastic mixed with chopped up glass or carbon fibers is likely no stronger than the plastic polycarbonate itself. Carbon used in tripods is a sheet, continuous fibers and not little pieces.

0 upvotes

Never heard of fibreglass then....?

0 upvotes

Fiberglass is different. Mostly, it's a woven material, like they use in carbon fibre tripods. They can use random pieces, but the glass content is high (which is why fiberglass is heavy) an the plastic is an epoxy not a polycarbonate. Fibers added to camera bodies are more a gimmick than a genuine benefit.

0 upvotes

Fibreglass uses short strands and is multidirectional. It does not matter whether the fibres are moulded in a thermoplastic or imbedded in resin, the effect is the same.

Polycarbonate has to be quite thick to provide good rigidity and resistance to stress fractures, especially around corners and accessory holes. This material seemingly solves that issue and allows use of thinner mouldings.

Why don't you read something about it?

0 upvotes

Fiberglass mat: Wiki: Fiberglass (or fibreglass) is a type of fiber reinforced plastic where the reinforcement fiber is specifically glass fiber. The glass fiber may be randomly arranged but is commonly woven into a mat. The plastic matrix may be a thermosetting plastic- most often epoxy, polyester resin- or vinylester, or a thermoplastic.

0 upvotes

I know what fibreglass is. I am wondering why you have such a downer on fibre reinforced thermoplastic, since it uses a similar principle.

0 upvotes

Because it isn't the same thing?

0 upvotes

At this point its hard to tell what nikon is doing with these aps-cameras.... D5500 pros and cons are almost the same story of past models (5300/200/100). The big Con dpreview should add to the Con's list is the lack of nikon's innovation.

I just wish Sony, Pentax or Samsung to have a greater variarity of lenses.

1 upvote

But you have to keep in mind -- they aren't "entirely new" cameras, they are incremental upgrades and intended as such. They are just released yearly in order to add some little thing, and modify other little things. The real life-span of ANY camera level is 3-5 years. As long as every 3-5 years the cameras are much better than the camera 3-5 years prior, then everything is being done right. Only a fool changes out his consumer-grade camera ever 1 or 2 years anyway (unless its been thoroughly beaten up by good work). So the complaint really affects no one.

When you go from a D40 to a D3300 to a D5500, you feel fine.

I don't think anyone who went from a D700 to a D810 after 5 years of use felt bad at all. Obviously if someone is going from D3000 to D3100 to D3200 to D3300, it would be seriously weird. Let's keep things in perspective. The news may be boring, because we have to wait 3-5 years for serious innovation. But theres nothing wrong with it.

7 upvotes

I agree with that but when you see a lot of minor upgrades or little things added to next models, then you wont see innovation or better products or new lenses.

Its true, its getting boring... Even reading those same story dx reviews, but nikon can do better that and they have to... Specially in a dslr market that is going down very fast

1 upvote

For the record my old Canon 10D was the toughest camera i have ever own, heavy duty compare to modern one is not. The only biggest upgrade from 10D was 50D after I had 10D for years then went onto 7D for faster AF and 7D was very good at highlight blownout recovery without any problem in raw file even better than 50D. 50D did great job in low light though somehow even noisy but not complaining at all. Then I leap onto Sony Nex 7 for much better low light photos that I was after then now A7. Since then I am staying on A7. The new A7 II don't see much advantage since the native lens already got OSS. I would love to upgrade to D750 for much better high iso but don't have cash for that yet. lol

0 upvotes

Re the long debate below about DPR's policy on the prioritisation of camera reviews ; what happened to the old pre-commercialisation DPR's aim to be a leader of opinion not a follower ?

When DPR staff/journalists say they are responding to the volume of interest from their followers it is a feeble cop-out when most photography enthusiasts urgently want to know about the groundbreaking/state of the Art cameras to keep in touch with developments in the industry. Devoting all that time and effort to reviewing re-hashed Canikons must be as frustrating for the journalists as it is for the bloggers.

The point is that the lesser lights in terms of camera sales ( Sigma, Samsung, Pentax, etc. ) have no choice but to innovate to grow their market shares forcing them to differentiate their products by innovating.

( when this comment finds its way into the DPR stat's it will give another "tick" to Nikon !!! )

Comment edited 6 minutes after posting

11 upvotes

"what happened to the old pre-commercialisation DPR's aim to be a leader of opinion not a follower"

DPReview is now and has always been supported by advertising.

5 upvotes

IMHO that's not a satisfactory answer.
One can be supported by advertising /and/ be a leader of opinion.

Because if one can't, I don't like the implications of this.

5 upvotes

Like it or Not, Canon and Nikon drive a much higher rate of hits. Business is business, you publish what the most people want to see. I think DPR does an excellent job reviewing all brands. Sony is third in DSLR sales and yet had more camera reviews than Canon and Nikon last year.

0 upvotes

"When DPR staff/journalists say they are responding to the volume of interest from their followers it is a feeble cop-out when most photography enthusiasts urgently want to know about the groundbreaking/state of the Art cameras to keep in touch with developments in the industry."

You seem to be very comfortable speaking for 'most photography enthusiasts', and you have zero insight into our traffic figures. So it's not a 'cop-out' it is literally the truth. That's how we prioritize our content.

Comment edited 1 minute after posting

2 upvotes

"Traffic" relates to what followers are presented with and gives no indication of what they want to see ( I am creating more Nikon "traffic" even as we speak ). You have good tools on the site for collecting votes from your subscribers ; so put it to the test and prove me wrong.

If allowing your followers to decide on the priority given to reviews would be unpalatable to your backers then what about a simple poll that asks "which un-reviewed camera would you most like to be done next ?"

1 upvote

@dynaxx
I can give you an excellent hint on improving "traffic" on cameras other than Canon's and Nikon's.
Stop commenting DSLR reviews. :D

Simple fact is: most people using DSLRs don't give a damn about mirrorless reviews if they're not thinking about getting one.

On the other hand, I'm almost sure many mirrorless fans write most of their comments under Canon and Nikon DSLR reviews. Things like "who would buy this XIX century technology!" and so on.
Pentax and Sony A-mount supporters basically do the same thing. Canon and Nikon VS the rest of the world. :D

DPR has all the data. Do they analyze it (at least for fun)? I have no idea, but I'd love to do that.:D

0 upvotes

""Traffic" relates to what followers are presented with and gives no indication of what they want to see"

This makes no sense.

"You have good tools on the site for collecting votes from your subscribers ; so put it to the test and prove me wrong."

We use tools which tell us how many visitors come to the site, what content they visit, for how long, and how many pages they view. etc. This data pool is vastly larger than the number of people who would reply to a readers' poll, and the information is cleaner (i.e., bias, fanboyism, and brand loyal trolls with multiple accounts etc., don't have a disproportionate impact on the figures).

That's how we use traffic data.

Comment edited 3 times, last edit 8 minutes after posting

3 upvotes

A 24mp sensor is the "pearls before the swine" of kit lenses.

0 upvotes

The Nikon D5500, a revolutionary camera, everything you know and love, in the same body. We heard your suggestions, and we changed absolutely nothing.

-Nikon

Comment edited 20 seconds after posting

6 upvotes

Actually, I'm not even factually correct, they bumped the number to 5500.

5 upvotes

It's hard to improve on what is already the best in it's class for its cheap price point. Yes they could have added more options that the higher ends have but the price would have gone up too.

It's like being mad at Toyota for not giving Lexus options and build for the same price.

2 upvotes

Review page 1: "As you can see, the D5500 is an upgrade in every respect, save for the lack of a GPS, though we wonder how often that feature is used in general. "

0 upvotes

^^ The sensor which is the heart and soul of the camera is the same. The viewfinder, flash, AF, fps burst rate, buffer and many more are still just the same. And many people use GPS a lot.

0 upvotes

That people use Gps in a camera like this is highly debateable.
It's not a wildlife camera that you would take on hikes. And try to get images of native animals with. These people could benefit to backtrack to a certain location.

Other then that it's a smaller more ergonomic D5300 with a touchscreen. The d5300 didn't need much improvement given that it blew it's Canon counterpart out of the water. But the D5500 will have a fiercer competitor.

0 upvotes

Apart from the "no pun intended" when there's not even any pun to be found (and the general American obsession with stating whether any pun was intended or not), another solid, informative review :)

1 upvote

All cultures are like the English spelling systems, full of flaws, but unlike some, Americans tried to correct those flaws.

1 upvote

I don't really see how that relates to my comment, but fair enough :-) I think both English and American English have their pros and cons. The stating of whether or not any pun was intended... that's just awful, in my opinion ;-) if something was meant to be funny, be confident enough in your own wit to let people discover it on their own, and if it wasn't meant to be funny, just be happy that it could be considered funny nonetheless!

Sorry, that's just one of my pet peeves. For a more photography-related pet peeve, who's up for a discussion about what bokeh is, or which focal length gives a natural perspective? ;-)

2 upvotes

Incredible to see the noise performance of this 24 MP sensor. I would say all in all that is currently the best APS-C sensor on the market.

0 upvotes

I have D5300 (same sensor) and NX1 (28mp APS-C.) Can't really say the Nikon (Sony) sensor is better. The NX1's outresolves it, while low-light performance is very similar. Maybe if you pixel-peep the Nikon wins by a smidgeon, but what the NX1 loses in noise reduction (Nikon's algorithms are probably more advanced) , it compensates with a higher mp count. In real-world tests, it's very much a wash.

I'm a Nikon shooter, I bought the NX1 only for its 4K video capabilities, but then I discovered that it's ALSO a fine still camera with an IQ in line with the very best APS-C/DX sensors. Its feature set, however, is truly unmatched in its class.

7 upvotes

Yes I've been impressed looking at the NX1 examples - it more or less matches the nikon examples in terms of DR, noise and detail. Looking forward to the review of that camera.

3 upvotes

Papi61 - how do you find the AF speed of the NX1 compared to your D5300?

Comment edited 42 seconds after posting

0 upvotes

Looking at the NX1 low light raw iso 3200, the Nikon is clearly showing more detail, and a bit more noise, the samsung is loosing some detail, looks like the samsung has some default NR going on in raw.

0 upvotes

"how do you find the AF speed of the NX1 compared to your D5300?"

The NX1 has a lot more focusing points. Definitely faster.

2 upvotes

@sandy b

Not too interested in performance @ iso 3200 and above, I never shoot over 1600, 800 usually being as far as I go. Until 1600, it's indeed a wash.

1 upvote

D5600 and D7300 with 4K video by the end of the year?

Naaaah, it's Nikon, not exactly trailblazers. To add insult to injury, they just announced the J5 with 4K @15 fps? What? What are they smoking?

1 upvote

4K at 15FPS - that's not video, that's a high speed stills mode. :-/

1 upvote

Last time I watched a Panasonic 4K marketing video I've heard things like: 4K changes the way people shoot sport - they don't use high fps speed but do a 4K video and extract frames!

And Panasonic users were amazed and applauded the idea. Yes, yes! That's the future! We don't need high fps with focusing! We want to extract from 4K!

So maybe you're right. Maybe this is a high speed stills mode. Is that a big issue?
At the end of the day this is a $500 camera (lens included). How many bodies offer 4K at this price point? Name two.

0 upvotes

I'm a Canon user and usually do not like Nikon's ergonomics, but when I tried out the D5500 in a shop the other day I was highly impressed with the grip. A lot of surface area for my largish fingers to hold onto, in spite of such a svelte body. I don't know how well it would suit people with small hands, but for me, the level of comfort approaches a full frame 6D, and night and day compared to D5300. Very nicely done.

1 upvote

Exposure latitude comparison is really nice to have! Are you guys going to add some of the other previously but recently released models? Like the Sony A6000?

Comment edited 48 seconds after posting

2 upvotes

How much do visitors to this website pay to have access to a ton of great content: $0.00

The self entitlement expressed by many posters to have what they want and when they want it - and for free, is disgusting.

Perhaps there should be a policy that if you criticize DPR staff you shall be banished from the site forever. Those banished will probably go beat up Ken Rockwell next. This is a photography website, not psychology or a 12 step course on how to be a good boy and play well with others.

11 upvotes

I f you notice there are only a handful of the squeaky wheels seeking attention. Lately almost all are from 1 Sony forum.
Heck hath no fury like a Sony forum member scorned (or who saw a couple 'cons' listed in a Sony review). :)

6 upvotes

I agree DPR guys are awesome!!! However DPR is making something from clicks and web traffic.

1 upvote

On the other hand a site without readers is, an expense.

I tend to think that the high end techno nerds (ilke me to *some* extent - techno nerd, not high end that is) do forget that there are also regular DX and entry/mid level readers too.
And they possibly outnumber us.

Still I have to wonder how the 7D2 caters to those guys.
D810 review anyone?

0 upvotes

Fair point however the "R" stands for review. The site works on an advertising rather than subscription model. That only works if people can come here and find information helping them decide what to buy. That was certainly the case 9 years ago when I bought my first DSLR but with the proliferation of models DPR is not keeping up. It's not really possible to come here - or anywhere else for that matter - and get an objective comparative review of all the models competing in the segment you're buying in. You've got to find the reviews over several sites and try to reconcile the differences in methodologies. I don't know what the solution is but whichever site manages to be current and comprehensive will become dominant.

5 upvotes

I don't support banning people just because they happen to disagree with the staff. There's a relative freedom of speech that I can appreciate, at least for myself. If the price to pay is to tolerate a few bitter users then so be it.

The staff must have a really thick skin considering they have to deal with the offenders and be on the receiving end of their nonsense.

0 upvotes

We rarely ban people outright but we do apply an extra layer of moderation to people who persistently troll our content without adding anything constructive. This is in an effort to reduce the amount of noise in the comments.

0 upvotes

DPreview forgot another CON: It's huge and heavy compared to a Sony a6000...
Please read your A7II review and be a bit more consistent with apple vs. orange comparisons!

4 upvotes

Why are you hating on the A7ii which weighs so much more than this nice D5500?
It is strange that a DSLR weighs so much less than a "mirrorless" camera.
Now if only the A7ii was as good as the D5500 in the studio scene at +6 EV. :D

3 upvotes

I have both mirrorless and a DSLR. I find I like both of them depending on the situation. Mirrorless when I need to go light, but DSLR when I have the luxury and weight and size do not cause an issue (DSLR more comfortable to hold and change settings fast).

1 upvote

but the standard zoom lenses for the Sony are not in the same league.

0 upvotes

Is it "huge and heavy compared to a6000"? Really?
http://camerasize.com/compact/#580,535,ha,t

Weight difference is under 150g. For that you get almost 3x more shots per charge.
By the time you add 2 extra batteries, the weight is almost even. And when you add an adapter (to A-mount or other system), which most a6000 users do, it is almost as big as the D5500...

Of course you can use the a6000 with 16-50 kit and claim it is almost as small as a compact. And that is quite true, but with that lens it also produces images like a good compact...

Situation would be very different if E-mount had a huge choice of small APS-C lenses. It doesn't and - with recent switch to FE - I don't think it will have. So a6000 will remain a great camera to use with adapters and (big) third-party or A-mount lenses...

0 upvotes

Did this camera get the Sterling Silver Award, or only the lowly Silver Plated Award? :-)

0 upvotes

I've never seen a real award actually made with solid gold or silver... Heck, even the Oscars are gold-plated...

0 upvotes

It gets the scott sterling award ;)

0 upvotes

At this rate, the D5600 will be announced for Christmas and they will change the texture of the grip, put the GPS back in but remove the Wifi, and add a control for aperture in live view...

Then, next year, on the D5700, they will change the texture and grip again, take out the GPS and put the Wifi back in, stick in the AF system from the now "old" D7100, and change a font...

and on it goes

13 upvotes

Barney, can I suggest that one way to reduce the shouts of "foul" from people who haven't had their choice of brand reviewed may be to post something on dpreview which states when you asked for a camera from the manufacture, when it was received and a tag showing pending, making our first impressions, under review or completed review? that may show where the sticking points are rather than you lot needing to defend yourselves from the same accusations of ignoring brand x after each review.

0 upvotes

I'm not Barney but I would say that our readers should be able to trust that we're not ignoring brands because of "love" for another brand. It comes down to what products we have on hand, our current workload, and what our statistics show people are most interested in.

I think that having a "status" would just make things worse, TBH.

Comment edited 2 times, last edit 32 seconds after posting

4 upvotes

Sadly, reviews do not progress linearly - we always have more cameras in the queue than reviewers, and many factors - in and out of our control - can make it necessary to pause or delay a particular review.

I provide a weekly update on the status of major pieces of content in our weekly newsletter. www.dpreview.com/newsletter

Comment edited 54 seconds after posting

6 upvotes

A comment on the screen. The eye sensor switches the info display off when you put your eye to the finder, however the touch sensitivity mode changes to allow you to swipe your finger or thumb across the screen. This can control the focus point, or shutter speed/aperture. The latter effectively gives the camera a second command dial for shooting in M mode.

1 upvote

I would not dare to call the touch bonus is an "effective" alternative for a second dial. At the end of the day this is why we buy proper cameras instead of waiting for a FF smartphone - because they have manual controls...
Before we know it, some company will remove all dials and joysticks and replace them with touch sensitive pads...

That said, the "Touch Fn" (weird name) is actually quite useful.
I would only like it to offer more modes.

And IMO it could offer multiple modes at the same time.
It could be the focus point control as default, but something different when you hold a button (even 2: separate for horizontal and vertical swipe).
That would be rather nice...

0 upvotes

apart from not having fine tune it seems to be a handy cam...but for another $200 buy the 7200.

1 upvote

Why is it that this Nikon camera got a Silver Award but the similar recent offerings from Canon only got ... a Silver Award too.

Rats. I thought I had the basis for a most excellent conspiracy theory there.

7 upvotes

When in doubt, bitch about the lack of a corresponding Pentax review, like so:

"So why is it that this camera has been out for 23 minutes and already there's a review, but we're still waiting for the Pentax k-rg300 review 3.5 years after it was released?!?"

EDIT: I posted this before I saw SmilerGrogan's comments, below. w00t!

Comment edited 3 minutes after posting

3 upvotes

OK, I own only Nikons, and even I am beginning to wonder where the Pentax/Ricoh reviews are. But I understand that there are too many cameras and not enough reviewers. So we'll all just hang in here.... There's a 50/50 chance that the sun will come up tomorrow even though the whatever Pentax has not yet had its time in the limelight.

Comment edited 5 minutes after posting

6 upvotes

The urgency with which a camera is reviewed is directly proportional to the manufacturer's market share.

0 upvotes

@ nicolaiecostel - no. There are several factors, but the most important is the level of interest from our readers.

Comment edited 37 seconds after posting

2 upvotes

though @Barney, at least a preview of the K-S2 would be in order if you mention it as a competitor?

0 upvotes

We were not provided with any access to that camera prior to announcement, so when it finally did arrive, reviews of other products were a higher priority. We're shooting with it though and will have some content to share soon.

2 upvotes

Barney, isn't that kinda the same thing ?

1 upvote

Interest in a product works 2 ways, one, people need to want to know about it and there are enough people who want to hear about the new Pentax products, second, the more a review site writes about a product, the more people read about it and want to know more and try out the product. By giving smaller brands such as Pentax that actually try to give much more to its users for the price, regular reviews and news, it would help others take note and do justice to a brand that does care about its users needs, which is something any photographer with a heart can appreciate. I guess its not always easy and there are plenty of things to cover, but here's hoping that more brands other than just Nikon and Canon can get faster and more comprehensive coverage

0 upvotes

Nx1 review...just wonder if we will see it after the nikkn v4 review somewhere in november...

3 upvotes

Please be aware that DPR is a commercial site, which wants to be profitable though selling advertising. If they get more clicks on links to Nikon or Canon minor makeovers than a link to Samsung's innovative NX1, well guess which will get moved to the top of the review queue?

Dan.

Comment edited 59 seconds after posting

1 upvote

It's always a crying shame to see scrappy little Mom 'n' Pop minnows like Samsung being pushed aside in favour of industrial behemoths like Nikon.

1 upvote

Me too. The DPR staff (more specifically, Barney Britton) promised it for March exactly a month ago at http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/olympus-om-d-e-m5-ii/ (page 3):

"@bluevellet - firmware 1.2 for the NX1 threw a spanner in the works, since it required a good deal of re-testing and tearing up and starting again. The review will be out by the end of this month, barring any major disasters."

0 upvotes

We ran out of March, but the final touches are being put to the review now. It should be our next camera review.

Testing a more complex camera with a sensor that isn't well understood and whose firmware is still being updated takes a long time.

3 upvotes

I agree with richard. I've been shooting with nx cameras for almost 4 years now, but nx1 is such a different beast, that I'm learning something new day by day.

It has a pretty outstanding dr in low light areas. As proven by the new dpr tools, iso 100+6ev is ahead of any apsc camera and most (all?) ff ones. And it's much better than in camera iso 6400 of the nx1 itself.

So it's probably better shooting at -5ev and low iso, rather than using 0ev and high iso!!

That sensor is so much different than any other one. Another example: raw files are very flat, but can be graded in a lot of ways. But pp is tricky, and lr introduces problems by directly working on srw files. Better converting to dng, first.

Last, a new fw is said to come in few days, improving tracking af by a fair margin.

Comment edited 2 minutes after posting

0 upvotes

I disagree with fw getting ghings stalled. If I reviewed a final model that is sold that way in the shops then it is okey. A company that brings a cam to market with substantial fw updates shortly afterwards simply did not put a final product to the market and that is their problem. As if everyone is aware of such a fw update or even knows this is common with cams these days. So to mymind, if a brand comes up with a cam and fw 1.0 than it is okey to review it. If the results are subpar, next time that brand should do better.

1 upvote

@techno....Well i don't think it is reasonable to expect users to go to such lengths to obtain a good result. Nice to see younare enjoying the cam so much more than the nx300 btw and good for you to stick with sammy!

0 upvotes

Yup, I agree it's not easy to get the best out of nx1, but at least this is for me an usable camera, after the awful experience with nx300. I could say I'm 80% satisfied now, while before I was 80% unsatisfied :-)

0 upvotes

Samsung is NOT a mom and pop company sixby06.
It is one of the two biggest cellphone makers, they make televisions, cameras, washing machines and many other electronics

0 upvotes

The title should actually be touch , wait , wait, wait, and go. That title is Just so misleading, I'm thinking I can touch and get instant AF in live view. Oh so wrong.

3 upvotes

Now why would you shoot action/fast subjects using Live View ???
You do know this is not a smartphone camera but a DSLR and should be used as one.

2 upvotes

Maybe get more creative angles with the swivel screen?

2 upvotes

@ DER
so why equip the camera with a flippy screen, touch and WiFi. Clearly trying to market it towards the smartphone crowd. No?

0 upvotes

@ttran88
"Clearly trying to market it towards the smartphone crowd. No?"

Exactly, NO !

Comment edited 54 seconds after posting

0 upvotes

Please DPreview. Which model of camera is 100% score? Thank you.

0 upvotes

None of them. Almost all cameras reviewed here fall in the range between 75% to 85%. Feel free to map these grades to your favorite grading system.

1 upvote

Eduardo, is there such a thing as a perfect camera ? Now you know why there is no camera that scores 100%.

0 upvotes

Total comments: 271

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