Solid workout of the Nikon P5100

[Neil]

I've been out in the wetlands over the last two days , testing the P5100 against the Nikon 8400 , Canon A640 and for fun , the trusty old 4500.
I'm sold on it as a very good digiscoping camera.
Fast Auto Focus 8400,5100,A640,4500
Very big,bright screen (viewable from above and the side ) 5100,8400,A640,4500
Easy to use menus/buttons 8400,A640,5100,4500
Reasonably quick processing A640,5100,4500,8400
Image quality 8400/A640/5100,4500 (too close to call and depends a lot on magnification.
Setup (eyepiece/adapters) 5100,4500,8400,A640
Other nice features 8400(raw/iso50),A640(programable self-timer)

The 5100 will be my number two camera for over 20 metres (the 8400 is still king for closer ), the A640 for Continuous shooting and Self-timer action, and the 4500 for very long distance and small,stationary subjects.
Neil

[Sleeper]

Thanks for your thoughts and findings Neil. I still have not decided between the 5100 and the 5000.

I do like the first image a great deal.

[JGobeil]

Neil,

Thanks for the info. You haven't included the P5000 in your tests. How would the P5000 and P5100 compare ?

[Mark43]

Nice shots Neil and thanks for the comparisons.

It may have been asked before and if so i missed it but will the FSB-6 adaptor fit the P5100?

[Paul Jarvis]

Intersesting comparison there Neil thanks for spending the time to do it.

[erniehatt]

And excellent set of comparisons Neil. Ernie

[Neil]

Jules,
The P5100 is an improvement on the P5000. The main difference is the AF speed.

Mark,
The 5100 is the same body as the 5000 and takes the same adapters. I'm using a third party adapter which gives me a 52mm thread for the Swaro DCA.
Neil.

[JGobeil]

Thanks Neil, I am slowly looking to replace my A95.

[orca]

Well done Neil, I'm really impressed with all the work (fun) you do and reports you give on this forum.
Now that my F30 is sick I just might get another camera, maybe the P5100 is the best all around replacement.

Paul

[GH]

Before anyone upgrades from the "trusty old 4500" I suggest they bear in mind two disadvantages of the P5100

1) It cannot take pictures in Tiff format and
2) It has no way to control the shutter remotely

I have had a P5100 for five days now having started with a 4500, and though I am very impressed with it, I will miss these features. I know storing Tiffs took an age, but I do find them easier to manipulate. Plus I found I got better results with a remote cord with the 4500. I haven't used it properly with my scope yet, so my concerns may be unfounded, but anyone wanting a replacement for a 4500, and is wondering whether to go for a P5100 or go the whole hog for an SLR should bear this in mind.

[Neil]

Here are some more images taken with the P5100 yesterday. They were taken from 50 - 120 metres in bright, hazy light. I am pleased with the handling of the whites of the Little Egret. I did have a problem following feeding whimbrels as I could only get one image in the frame before the bird moved on. Panning only partially works as they were feeding erratically. It does make it easier though using the Manfrotto 501 video head. I'm still in awe of the speed at which the camera proceesses 3 x 12 meg images and is ready to go again ( less than 3 seconds ). It's hard to go back to the 8400 after this. Neil.

Nikon P5100 plus swarovski STS80HD scope and Sw 30x eyepiece and DCA adapter.

Mai Po Nature Reserve,
Hong Kong,
China.
October 2007

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7892550@N03/

[Neil]

If anyone is interested I've started a gallery at my PBase site for the P5100.
http://www.pbase.com/neilfif11/nikon_p5100_photos

Neil.

[charlierocky]

Hi Niel, just a note to thankyou for your efforts and willingness to share this information. I am seriously thinking of purchasing the P5100 and your work is helping me to decide.
My current set up is Nikon 82ED scope with 30x eye piece, manfrotto tripod on the 501 fluid head, and hand holding a Nikon 5600. The P5100 with a FSB-6 should slot in nicely?
Thankyou once again for your efforts. :t:

[Neil]

Charlie,
Thanks for your kind words. It's nice to know I'm not the only digiscoper out there. We lost a lot of good friends to the "demon" DSLR over the last few years.
Neil.

[JGobeil]

Neil, I am truly amazed if not jealous at the sharpness of your pictures. I'd like to be able to do that. Congrads Master !

[NoSpringChicken]

Very impressive results, Neil. I really can't see any reasons now not to buy a P5100 if you are in the market for a new camera.

Ron

[iporali]

I'm still in awe of the speed at which the camera proceesses 3 x 12 meg images and is ready to go again ( less than 3 seconds ).
Hi Neil,

Many thanks for your informative posts. Have you tried to compare the "amount of details" of a 12Mpix image to, say, a 6-8 Mpix one? I find it very hard to believe that the optics of the P5100/scope can actually deliver 12Mpix worth of resolution - and if it does not, maybe reducing the image size could speed up the processing even more.

Best regards,

Ilkka

[Neil]

Ilkka,
You're probably right for digiscopers. I found the 6 megs from the Fuji F30/31 to be sufficient and the speed was good. I will do some tests by dropping the resolution down to 8 and 5 megs and compare the speed. I'll also take the same image with the 8400 ( 8 megs ) and the P5100 (12.1 megs ).
Neil.

[Mark43]

Mark,
The 5100 is the same body as the 5000 and takes the same adapters. I'm using a third party adapter which gives me a 52mm thread for the Swaro DCA.
Neil.


Thanks for that Neil:t:

[Neil]

I took the Swarovski zoom out of my bag yesterday and dusted it off to test with the Nikon P5100. I can't use the Green Macro zone without vignetting (10.1 mm or 47mm ) but the vignetting disappears at about 1/2 way on the camera zoom at 12.9 mm or 60 mm. You need to zoom more than this as you zoom the eyepiece through to 60x so I selected 100 mm. Here are the results of the test. The photos have been run through Noiseware and CS2 but are original size (no cropping).
The first image is at wide zoom in the camera lens and at 20x on the zoom eyepiece. The second is where vignetting disappears (60 mm in camera lens), the last three were at 101 mm in the camera lens and 30x,40x and 60x on the scope eyepiece. Neil.

Nikon P5100 plus swarovski STS80HD scope and Sw 20-60 zoom eyepiece and DCA adapter

Hong Kong,
China.
October 2007

[rob lee]

Hi Neil,
those images look great given the light, particularly the 40x. I am currently trying to sort out my A640 for digiscoping use but if this fails or proves too much hassle i am seriously considering getting rid ( despite the excellent macro) & getting either the 5000 or 5100, do you think the 5100 is that much of an improvment to make it worth the extra cost, I dont mind if i can see the difference. I know there were speed issues with the 5000, but i dont mind that either as i prefer my birds fairly static & close ( see attached pic taken today with my trusty Sony ). Rob.

[Vectis Birder]

It's nice to know I'm not the only digiscoper out there. We lost a lot of good friends to the "demon" DSLR over the last few years.
Neil.

There's room for both...I do both.

[Neil]

Rob,
The Sony gives a nice result. Quality-wise it's hard to beat the A640. It depends on how much effort you want to put into it though. I had a shortened adapter made for it (about 5 mm shorter ) and I'm using the Swaro DCA zoom adapter on the fixed 30x and 45x . With my set up I use it from about 9 - 15 mm in the camera zoom range which is sharp in Macro Mode. If you don't have at least 20 mm of Eye Relief it's difficult. If you are handy with tools and have a straight scope it would be relatively easy to build a wooden or metal straight bar with a sliding grove to take a bolt and wing nut for the A640 so you can slide it in and out as you zoom the camera lens. Alternatively a universal adapter that allows you to do the same.
The P5000/P5100 is much more eyepiece-friendly than the A640 so will work well with zooms as well as fixed eyepieces. I think the P5100 is worth it for the extra speed of AF and the fast processing of the 12 meg images. If you drop the resolution down to 8 or 5 megs you get longer bursts and a lot more images on a card.
Also the screen is brilliant. The best I've seen. Large and bright and very sharp for accurate focusing. The biggest let down with the A640 in my opinion.
I wouldn't stop using my A640 though and it's faster than the Nikons.
Neil.

[rob lee]

Hi Neil
thanks for the response, I am waiting for a Foxfoto universal adapter to arrive & then i will start trying to cobble something together, hopefully this will give me enough adjustment to find that "sweetspot" between lens & eyepiece. I think the main problem will be the fact that i use a Swaro zoom, but i will persevere as i know how good the A640 is although i agree with you about that screen. I look forward to posting my first succesful pics !
Rob.

[Robert L Jarvis]

Very interesting Neil and well done on your comparitive testing. Very much appreciated by all. The P5000/5100 certainly does the business as can the A640 but requires a little more perseverance. Having said that the A630/640 has now been superseded in case anyone is looking for this camera. Although there should still be examples around.

[horukuru]

fantastic neil !