In summary
Compact, light and easy to use, Nikon’s Coolpix 5900 has the same grip as the Coolpix 5200 and 4200 models but sports a larger, 2-inch LCD screen. The sensor appears to be the same as the 5200’s but Nikon has redesigned the Graphic User Interface (GUI) so users can select functions on the main menu by either name or icon. This helps to reduce the excessive toggling required to set some functions on the Coolpix 5200. The mode dials and controls on both models are identical although, in the 5900, most buttons are pushed to the right by the big LCD screen. . . [more]
Full review
Rating (out of 10)
Build: 8.0
Ease of use: 8.5
Image quality: 8.0
Value for money: 8.5
Compact, light, and easy to use, Nikon’s Coolpix 5900 has the same grip as the Coolpix 5200 and 4200 models but sports a larger, 2-inch LCD screen. The sensor appears to be the same as the 5200’s but Nikon has redesigned the Graphic User Interface (GUI) so users can select functions on the main menu by either name or icon. This helps to reduce the excessive toggling required to set some functions on the Coolpix 5200. The mode dials and controls on both models are identical although, in the 5900, most buttons are pushed to the right by the big LCD screen.
Operationally the two cameras are similar but the 5900 has more ‘hand-holding’ functions that help novices to produce acceptable shots, such as the automatic In-Camera Red-Eye Fix function (which really works) and 16 pre-set scene modes, four of which offer on-screen framing assistance. The Coolpix 5900 is the first with Face-priority AF, a new function in the Portrait mode that detects faces in the frame and focuses the lens on them.
Three levels of JPEG compression are offered (1:4, 1:8 and 1:16), along with five image sizes from 2592×1944 down to 640×480 pixels. In-camera cropping and copying of large files to VGA size are supported in playback mode. The camera has only two apertures settings, varying from f2.8 and f4.9 at the wide position to f4.9 and f8.2 with telephoto. Exposures are adjusted automatically by varying the shutter speed. The slowest shutter speed is four seconds.
On test, the Coolpix 5900 produced sharp pictures with slightly elevated contrast and saturation and reasonably good colour accuracy. Reddish hues were less accurately recorded than blues and greens in normal lighting but the white balance corrected most colour casts in auto and pre-set (measured) and with the pre-determined lighting settings.
The camera ‘awoke’ and shut down within two seconds. Capture lag averaged 0.6 seconds, reducing to 0.2 seconds with pre-focusing. The burst mode recorded six high-resolution shots at 0.65 second intervals and the camera took roughly 20 seconds to process a burst of shots. [23]
IMATEST RESULTS
Resolution is generally high and the potential for aliasing (‘jaggies’) is minimal. This camera should produce high-quality prints at sizes between A4 and A3.
Chromatic aberration is low enough to be barely visible in normal photographs.
Colour accuracy is reasonably good although elevated saturation in orange, red and magenta may yield slightly lurid skin tones. Most colour errors should be correctable with image editing software.
The above chart confirms the L*a*b* colour error results and suggests that noise will be problematic at high ISO settings.
Specifications
Image sensor: 7.18 x 5.32mm CCD with 5.2 million photosites (5.1 megapixels effective)
Lens: 7.8-23.4mm f2.8-4.9 Zoom-Nikkor (38-114mm in 35mm format)
Zoom ratio: 3x optical, up to 4x digital
Dimensions (wxhxd): 88 x 60 x 36.5mm
Weight: 150g (without battery and card)
Image formats: Stills – JPEG (Exif 2.2); Movies – VGA, QVGA and QQVGA at 15 or 30fps
Shutter speed range: 4-1/2,000 sec
Focus system/range: Contrast-detect TTL AF; range 30 cm to infinity; macro to 4cm
Exposure metering/control: 256 segment Matrix, Centre-Weighted, Spot metering; 16 scene mode (4 with Scene Assist)
White balance: Auto, Preset and 7 manual modes
Flash modes/range (ISO auto): Auto, Red-eye Reduction Auto (In-Camera Red-Eye Fix), Anytime Flash, Flash Cancel and Slow sync; range 0.3-4.5m
ISO range: Auto, 64, 100, 200, 400
Sequence shooting: approx. 1.7fps for 5 frames
Storage Media: 13.5MB internal memory plus SD card slot; internal memory holds 5 high-resolution images or up to 173 VGA shots
Viewfinder: Optical
LCD monitor: 2.0-inch type, 115,000-dot Amorphous silicon TFT LCD
Power supply: EN-EL5 Rechargeable Li-ion Battery
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