CP+ 2016: Nikon shows off new D5, D500 and DL compacts
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Attendance is up at this year’s CP+ show in Yokohama Japan, and that’s partly thanks to new products from some of the biggest camera manufacturers, including Nikon. We’re at the show, where large crowds are gathering around Nikon’s booth to get their hands on the new DL-series compacts, and two new DSLRs, the D5 and D500.
CP+ 2016: Nikon shows off new D5, D500 and DL compacts
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Here’s the new D5, Nikon’s new flagship FX format DSLR. Built around a new 20.8MP full-frame CMOS sensor, Nikon claims the D5 to offer leading high ISO performance due to color filter array tweaks that allow the sensor to capture more light than before. The D5 also features a newly-developed EXPEED 5 image processor. This powerful processor is necessary to provide continuous shooting at 14fps and 4K video capture.
CP+ 2016: Nikon shows off new D5, D500 and DL compacts
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The D5 features a new autofocus system with 153 AF points, 99 of which are cross-type. All points focus down to -3EV. Only 55 points are user-selectable, but that’s OK: in AF-C, Nikon’s trustworthy 3D tracking system will automatically select the right point for you as it tracks your initially selected subject. And it’s more reliable than you might think.
Here’s why: the camera’s metering sensor has doubled in resolution compared to the 91k-pixel sensor in the D4s, to 180k. The increased resolution makes a big difference in the camera’s ability to identify and follow a subject you initiate focus on. It even means that face detection now prioritizes eyes during viewfinder shooting (you’ll literally see the camera automatically select an AF point over a person’s eye in Auto Area mode), and continues to follow them no matter where they move to within the frame – even at 12 fps.
Frankly, we’ve never quite seen anything like it.
CP+ 2016: Nikon shows off new D5, D500 and DL compacts
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CompactFlash media has been around a long time, and slowly, other formats are emerging which may ultimately replace it. Canon’s new Canon EOS-1D X Mark II features twin card slots for CF and CFast, but Nikon has chosen a different route (and different media) offering two versions of the D5, one with support for twin CF cards (shown here) and one with dual XQD cards. XQD is capable of greater data throughput but for now, the cards are pricey, and lack the familiarity (and ubiquity) of CF cards and card readers.
CP+ 2016: Nikon shows off new D5, D500 and DL compacts
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Nikon’s circular screw-in eyecups have been a feature of its professional SLRs for decades, but the D5 features a distinctly Canon-like removable eyepiece, which can be replaced with various forthcoming viewfinder accessories – details are currently a bit vague. One thing that we did learn, however, is that once it has been removed, this eyepiece is very difficult indeed to get back on.
CP+ 2016: Nikon shows off new D5, D500 and DL compacts
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Ethernet, USB 3.0, HDMI and a microphone jack are just some of the D5’s many I/O ports. Few will be routinely used by the average enthusiast, but this is a camera built for the many and various needs of professional photographers in various fields.
CP+ 2016: Nikon shows off new D5, D500 and DL compacts
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As such, the D5 is built like a very nicely sculpted brick. Fully weather-sealed and manufactured to the highest standard that Nikon can manage, the D5 is designed to withstand heavy professional use for many years.
CP+ 2016: Nikon shows off new D5, D500 and DL compacts
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Next up is perhaps the most keenly-awaited camera (at least among our readers) of recent years. The D500 is Nikon’s long-awaited replacement for the venerable D300S. We thought the day would never come, but here it is. At 20MP, the D500 offers lower resolution than the D7200, but an altogether higher quality of build and a deeper feature and performance set. It’s also the first DX camera to offer button illumination.
CP+ 2016: Nikon shows off new D5, D500 and DL compacts
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Key to this feature set is autofocus. The D500 uses the same AF system as the D5, but because its sensor is smaller, the AF array covers more of the frame. Almost all of it, horizontally. This – plus the 1.5X crop factor of the APS-C format sensor, makes it very attractive for sports and wildlife photography. And a maximum frame-rate of 10 fps doesn’t hurt.
CP+ 2016: Nikon shows off new D5, D500 and DL compacts
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Although not quite as bulletproof-feeling as the D5, the D500 is without doubt a ‘pro’ camera and one that we suspect will find its way into many professional photographers’ hands. It’s a great second camera to a D4 or D5, but also makes an attractive ‘long lens’ body for anyone shooting a full-frame Nikon system.
Like the D5, the D500’s autofocus system seems to be spookily capable of tracking subjects around the frame (‘3D tracking’), even in our limited use of the camera up to this point. It can even do so effectively at its maximum 10 fps frame rate, no doubt aided by the faster processor and the same high-resolution 180k-pixel RGB metering sensor that’s in the D5. We’re hoping to be able to shoot with a final shipping sample in the next few weeks.
CP+ 2016: Nikon shows off new D5, D500 and DL compacts
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The D5 and D500 both replace previous cameras, but the DL range is all-new. Nikon released three DL-series compacts at CP+, the DL24-85, DL18-50 and DL24-500. All three are built around 20MP 1″-type CMOS sensors (probably the same sensor used in the 1 J5), and the model names denote the equivalent lens ranges of the cameras.
CP+ 2016: Nikon shows off new D5, D500 and DL compacts
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The reason behind this, Nikon explained to us, is that the company wants people to buy the cameras as if they were shopping for lenses. So someone who needs an 18-50mm lens might reach for the DL18-50, while someone looking for ultimate flexibility might reach for the DL24-500.
CP+ 2016: Nikon shows off new D5, D500 and DL compacts
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The DL-series is aimed specifically at DLSR users who want a smaller second (and third, and maybe forth) camera. The question of where this leaves the slightly stagnant-looking 1 system remains open. We asked Nikon but didn’t get a definitive response. Clearly, executives are keeping future product strategy on the DL…
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)