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Nikon D5 preview

Last week I was able to try out Nikon's latest flagship camera - the Nikon D5.

The camera was announced at CES 2016 in January and started shipping at the end if March. It succeeds the Nikon D4s and is aimed at professional press and sports photographers looking for speed and low light performance.

  • New 20.8MP FX-format CMOS image sensor and EXPEED 5 image processing
  • ISO range from ISO 100 to 102,400 (expandable to Hi-5, ISO 3,280,000)
  • New AF system with a 153 focus points, 99 cross-type sensors and a dedicated processor
  • 4K Ultra High Definition (UHD) video recording and pro-grade video features
  • 12 fps continuous shooting with full AF and AE performance; up to 200 shots in a single burst

For what it's worth, here are a couple of my brief observations as a Nikon D4s user.

  • There are two versions of the camera - a dual XQD version or a dual Compact Flash version. No more mixing cards as you had to do with the D4 series. The latest Lexar XQD cards offer read and write speeds of 400mb/s which is great for quickly emptying the buffer (you really have to try hard to fill it) but more useful when ingesting images - there is a huge improvement over CF cards Nikon can convert the cardbays at a service centre for about $350. oticeable improvement in low light focusing.
  • Improved the low light sensitivity from -2ev on the Nikon D4s to -4ev on the D5.
  • Shorter mirror blackout time.
  • Slightly quieter
  • Compatible with the WT-5 wireless transmitter. 
  • About 1 stop improvement in high iso noise compared to the d4s.
  • Touch screen. You can now interact with the rear LCD in the same way you would with an iPhone. It's possible to swipe and pinch pictures. There is also the ability to use an on screen keyboard which will be useful for captioning pictures on the go. 

 Here are a few pictures from the D5 including aerial pictures of Port Talbot steel works, a large fire at a Cardiff school and Bruno Manga celebrating after scoring a goal for Cardiff City.