Usain Bolt, you don’t want the
camera to slow to a halt just as
he’s hitting his top speed.Bufer depth beyond belief
Most cameras these days can
shoot as many JPEG photos as
you need in a burst – often a
hundred or more. But many pros
would rather shoot RAW files,and these fill the buffer up more
quickly. An ‘amateur’ camera
like the D7200 (see chart, below
left) might only be able to shoot
12-18 RAW images in a row, while
pro models might double that.
The buf fer capacit y of the
D5 and D500 is as great a
revolution, arguably, as any
other in the design of thesecameras. Both models can
shoot 200 JPEG images without
stopping, which is good, if
unremarkable... but they can
also capture 200 NEF files in a
burst. The ability to capture
that many RAW files without
stopping is unheard of. What’s
more, Nikon’s figures are for
14-bit lossless compressed files,which is one of the highest RAW
quality settings these cameras
offer. While the continuous
shooting speeds of the Nikon
D5 and D500 are impressive
in themselves, their ability to
capture 200 top-quality NEF
files in a burst is both a major
technological advance and a
major selling point.The extra height of the
D5 body comes from
the hefty EN-EL18a
battery pack slung
underneath – a
standard design
layout for high-speed
pro D-SLRs.Like other
professional-specced
D-SLRs, the D5 does
not have a flash built
in. To use flash you
n e e d to at t a c h a n
external unit like
the new SB-5000.The D5 would normally
be sold body-only, but
for a full-frame
FX-format Nikon like
this the nearest to a
‘standard’ zoom lens
would be this Nikon
24-70mm f/2.8.The D5 does not have
the new SnapBridge
technology built into
the D500, but it does
accept a pro Wi-Fi
adaptor and can even
connect to wired
Ethernet networks.Nikon’s professional
D -SLRs d o n ot h ave a
mode dial. Instead,
they feature this
characteristic
three-button control
cluster with a drive
mode dial underneath.KEY SPECS
Sensor:
FX-format
CMOS, 20.8Mp
Crop factor: 1x
Memory: 2x XQD
(with 2x CF option)
Viewfinder:
Optical pentaprism,
0.72x magnification,
100% coverage
Video resolution:
4K (UHD) 3840x
pixels at 30/25/24fps,
Full HD 1920x1080 pixels
at 60/50/30/25/24fps
ISO range: 100-102,400,
expands to 50-3,280,
Autofocus points: 153,
including 99 cross-type; 15
points sensitive down to f/
Burst rate: 12fps, 14fps
with mirror lock-up
Max buffer capacity: NEF
14-bit lossless compressed
200 shots, JPEG 200 shots
LCD screen: 3.2-inch
touchscreen, 2,359k dots
Shutter speeds: 1/
sec to 30 secs, Bulb, Timer,
flash sync 1/250 sec
Weight (body only): 1405g
Dimensions:
160x158.5x92mm
Power supply:
EN-EL18a (3780 shots)Memory
card formats
BOTH OFFER
DUAL SLOTS BUT
THERE ARE
DIFFERENCES IN
THE CARD
FORMATS USEDD5: Like the D4S before it, the D
has twin card slots. But the D4S
offered one XQD card slot and one
for CompactFlash as a concession
to pros with stocks of expensive,
high-capacity CompactFlash cards.
With the D5, though, Nikon has
bitten the bullet and gone for twin
XQD slots... well, almost. It will also
be possible to buy a version of the
D5 with twin CF slots.D500: What Nikon did with the D4S,
it’s now done with the D500, this
time adding one slot for regular SD/
SDHC/SDXC memory cards and one
for the XQD format. This way, users
can upgrade from another model,
but still use their old SD cards, and
migrate to the XQD format later. The
use of the XQD format is another
indication that Nikon is treating the
D500 as a fully professional camera.AT A GL ANCED
http://www.digitalcameraworld.com March 2016 11
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