Nikon D5200 Review

 I'm not going to talk much about the video settings and options for this camera because the main purpose of this is for photography. With that said, let's get this thing started:

The Nikon D5200 is a great camera for beginner to intermediate photographers. It has the basic features that anyone would need to get started in photography. 

This camera has nine automatic shooting modes as well as four manual shooting modes.

Automatic modes include:

-Auto (The camera controls all the options and works as a regual point and shoot)

-Auto with no flash (Acts exactly like the normal auto mode, however it does not fire the flash. Useful for places like museums and zoos that don't want people using flashes.)

-Scene (You choose a scene from the menu and the camera uses default settings for that scene)

-Portrait

-Landscape

-Children

-Action

-Macro

-Effects (You choose an effect from the menu and the camera shoots with that effect. Some effects include night vision, selective color, and miniature effect.)

The four manual modes are M, A, S, and P: Manual, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, and Programmed Auto. Manual allows you to control all the options on the camera, Aperture Priority gives you control over aperture and adjusts the rest automatically, and Shutter Priority does the same for the shutter speed.

Programmed Auto allows you to control the ISO while automatically adjusting everything else to fit your chooses ISO.

Personally, I shoot in manual almost all the time; I enjoy having control over all the settings so that I don't end up with a crazy high ISO or a super long shutter speed when I'm looking for a different effect. Although the other settings do come in handy if you're in a rush and don't have time to set up all the settings to fit the scene you're in.

There is also a function button on the side of the body; it is set to control ISO as the default, however, you can change this in the menu if you prefer it to control something else.

Now that we have the settings out of the way, I'll start with talking about what I like about this camera.

1) The articulating screen. The articulating LCD screen is extremely useful when you need to take a shot at an awkward angle. I've used it many times when I needed to have the camera low to the ground, but wanted to avoid laying down in the mud to use the viewfinder. The screen displays bright and clear images and it shows the settings you're at on the bottom where they are easy to read and yet out of the way. While in live view, you have the option to zoom in on the screen. This does not effect your final image, but it is extremely helpful if you are using manual focus and need to be sure your subject is sharp.

2) The menu. The D5200 has a very user-friendly menu. Although it has many options, they are organized in a way that is easy to understand and find what you're looking for. I have used cameras where the menus were extremely difficult to navigate and I spent a lot of time trying to find settings... time that could have been used shooting pictures. This camera's menu set-up has ensured that I don't spend half an hour looking for one setting, causing me to miss that perfect photographic moment.

3) The in camera editing tools. These editing tools aren't full out, complicated tools. There is no built in Photoshop. But this camera has plenty of in camera editing options that can be used to improve your image without ever bringing it to the computer. While these options are not always enough for every image, many times they are. The in camera RAW editing is especially helpful.

4) The simplified menu on the bottom of the LCD screen. This menu doesn't have all the settings, but it does have many of the ones I find myself using most often. It's very helpful to be able to click one button and have what I need right there.

Now for the stuff I don't like so much...

1) The flash. Okay guys, come on. If you're a photographer, you probably know that the majority of on camera flashes suck. So I guess this might be something that I don't need to put here, but here it is anyway. The on camera flash casts rather disgusting shadows onto most of the images. Because it's so close to the camera body, the light is blocked by the lens, causing part of the image to be bright while the rest of the image has a dark shadow. Not the nicest effect...

2) Live view shutter speed options. The D5200 doesn't let you set the shutter speed any slower than 1/60 of a second when you're in live view. I've found this to be a slight problem on several occasions, but it isn't too big of a deal since you can just switch off live view. Although, live view lets you see how you're image will look after you take it, unlike using the view finder. When I take long exposures, I find it sometimes difficult to get the exposure perfect the first two or three times; having the option to use the live view for longer exposures would be extremely helpful in this matter. 

3) No command option for the flash. The flash menu has not command option for using an off camera flash. This has been rather annoying on several occasions. You can connect the external flash to the hot-shoe and it will work fine; however, as soon as you try to find a way to connect the flash off camera, things become increasingly more complicated. To this day, I have not found a way to use an off camera (slave) flash with the D5200.