Nikon P5000 (2nd look) (1 Viewer)

To All,
I have had a chance to put the P 5000 to the test in the field some more and some good, some bad to report.
What I like:
1. Takes a lot of "good" shots. Meaning it focuses fast and accurately. Of course this is where "the wheel meets the road" as they say so compared to Canon I get way more keepers.
2. Pretty quick start-up.
3. Feels good in hand/easy to hold.

What I do not like:
1. Shutter speed control does not have enough choice. The Canon I use has multiple steps between the standard 125th -250th-500th of second the Nikon does not. This makes getting the proper exposure harder. As a matter of fact I found that zooming in and out slighty controlled exposure better than adjusting shutter speed.
2. The Nikon LCD display for some reason is a bit hard to see in daylight which is not all that big a deal but what I miss on the Nikon when compared to the Canon is that the display on the Canon gets lighter or darker based on adjustment made to shutter speed and f-stop so you have an idea if your exposure will be correct before you take the shot this does not happen on the Nikon.
3. Vignetting on the Nikon is more troublesome for me than the Canon but I want you all to know I have never used an adapter so if you use an adapter you may be better off. Point is I had to zoom in tighter therefore light is less available to take the picture. Low light shots may be a real issue for me!

Other points:
1. I did not use the vibration reduction opition. Why? Well I just have a hunch that it may mess with the picture in ways I am not sure of so I need to do more testing on that.
2. All pics taken were in maual mode with image optimization custom setting image sharpening +2. That is the only setting I changed.

So overall I like the camera and will have more input as I get better using it. My biggest grip is the lack of availble shutter speeds, tougher to control vignetting (for me handholding) and the LCD which does not show current exposure levels. But I can tell you for certain it focuses way better on tough subject than the Canon which is huge! The attached pics have what I consider two very tough subjects (the grackle and the tree swallow). I am not sure but they may appear overly sharpened as a result of the camera setting I used. Lots more to mess around with on the camera but I think it is absolutly a solid addition to the digiscoping line-up and most users would be very happy with its performance.

Hi Skean,
thank you a lot for the 2nd look ;-)
I guess the P5000 is not the super-cam everone hoped for
but considering no camera this far is made for digiscoping (except the zeiss-thing ;-) one has to find the best compromise i guess

Looking at your older pics with the canon shows that everone has to get to know the new equipment...i think the p5000 is capable of very good shots, as soon as you two become friends ;-)

would be glad about a 3rd look ||

Bye
Tobias

Great shots there Skean!

My P5000 should be arriving tomorrow so I'm looking forward to getting it behind the scope and trying it out too.

You should be happy with these photos. They look encouraging for the P5000. The screen issue worries me and I wonder whether a screen shade would help.
Neil.

Congradulations for the very nice photographs. I just got a P5000 and I hope to be able to succeed as you do.

i'm not totally convinced that this camera will be much better than the P4 i use already but here's hoping.
only testing will tell.
i know i'm keeping the old camera and bracket just in case.

Another quick note which may be giving me some trouble with this scope that I had not thought of... I switched from using my 20-60x zoom some months ago to a 30x fixed eyepiece. While this may have been okay for the Canon I was shooting with it may not be good for the Nikon. Higher magnification less light! Now I am wishing Zeiss made a wide angle 20x eyepieces for the 85mm scope!

No digiscoping this weekend, but did use the P5000 to take general pictures in the garden. Here is a robin I captured taking food to the female sitting on a nest.
Full zoom on the camera, ISO 200 Taken with camera only (Not Digiscoped)

Malc

The more I use this camera the more I like it. I'd have preferred an upgraded CP4500 design, but I'm finding it can produce really sharp photos almost if not equal to DSLR quality in the right conditions.

I've swapped from my 20-60x to using the 30x as the camera suits a wider eyepiece. I also find I get better results when the lens is positioned c.1/4" from the eyepiece glass as opposed to as close as possible which was better for the CP4500. I use the camera in 'A' mode and for shutter speeds I'm getting mostly 1/125 and 1/250 which is quite fast enough for my needs. Using lower camera zoom (c.2x) with the 30x gives crispest results.

I find the VR is one of it's better features as I've yet to resort to using a cable release which I always needed with the CP4500.

I haven't got the URE-20 yet, which I think will aid even speedier set up and use.

Feathered one said:

No digiscoping this weekend, but did use the P5000 to take general pictures in the garden. Here is a robin I captured taking food to the female sitting on a nest.
Full zoom on the camera, ISO 200 Taken with camera only (Not Digiscoped)

Malc

Click to expand...

Great shot, Malc. Was that with or without VR?

Taken with VR Mark

Malc

As a real novice Digiscoper I had my first trip out with my P5000 and ofcourse it was dull and wet at Minsmere but managed these shots despite mother nature. Im sure ill get better with time and have better conditions but reasonably happy with camera and first attempts....

What kind of distance were the subjects from you.

IanF
"I find the VR is one of it's better features as I've yet to resort to using a cable release which I always needed with the CP4500."


Ian,
What do you think VR does with the image to get its effect? Or more precise... You are taking a shot and during the exposure time the camera moves slightly so the camera using its brain figures out what the picture should look like and makes adjustments to the image that is recorded.... Does this sound right? Well my question would be why does it not allow you to record the original image at a higher shutter speed thus greatly reducing the need for VR in the first place? The image quality must be degraded compared to an image recorded without VR. That is my guess. My conclusion would be if you wanted the absolute highest quality picture it would be had without VR. Not sure if I am on the right track. Oh and I am still having issues with how fast this camera is. I think it is very slow in term of light gathering but I may be something wrong!
Skean

This may help (or may not). A bit slow to load as contains an animation :
http://www.nikon.co.jp/main/eng/portfolio/about/technology/nikon_technology/vr_e/index.htm

To be honest I don't know how the VR works on the P5000 but it seems to be very effective. I can't recall ever taking a really sharp photo with the CP4500 until I started to use a cable release - no matter how high the shutter speed. Yet with the P5000 straight out the box without reading any instructions you can get decent results - even full frame they're very sharp.

It may be that as sharp photos can be taken without using the VR - I'll have to try switching it off and see what happens. The low shutter speeds do seem a little odd. I haven't explored the settings fully yet but on checking most photos are at 1/125 or 1/250 or thereabouts - normally I'm happy with 1/60 or even 1/30 with the CP4500.
So far the only thing about the camera I've found disappointing is the level of noise above ISO100. ISO200 is usable at a push but it depends on how much detail you want.

These were all taken on a bright day with good light but also a stiff breeze from 20-25yds.

it's funny but in Nikon's literature they recommend not using VR if you are using a tripod setup.
i never used VR on my P4 and can't say one way or another that it makes much of a difference if camera is secured with a bracket to scope.
if you are hand-holding then yes, maybe i can see some benefit.
having said all that i will give VR a go when i try out the P5000.

Well I see I was wrong about my assumption on how the technology works. According to the Nikon site (thanks normjackson for link) there are little gyro motors actually twisting and turning stuff inside to to keep things still relative to the focused point. Very cool. But it does beg the question as to why you would turn it off at all. Save battery life? I need more field testing!!! Hopefully today! Ian I also found iso 200 not good to work with but I do not have never tried to clean up the noise afterward.

Robert L Jarvis said:

What kind of distance were the subjects from you.

Click to expand...

Both of these were not too far away, perhaps 10-15m's only, as much further in yesterday's weather wasnt as clear with the rain and light...

Also, a question for Ian, Skean or any other experts. Ive set up my camera as per alot of posts already made but when trying yesterday for the first time i couldnt work out best method of capture...... Id focus with scope then go to camera which would then focus itself and had some fair results. However i found better results if after i part pressed the focus/shot button and it locked on target i then re focused scope to get exact focus and then took the shot etc. Seemed to be sharper but am i getting this right or making hard work of it. Sorry for going all way back to basics but trying to improve and figure it all out.... Also what are your settings on Noise Reduction and Auto Focus Mode?
Thanks all.