Nikon D5100 – A Surprisingly Awesome Camera

You should know before you read this post that I’m a technology snob. Since I always strive for the best result or outcome I can achieve, I’m usually buying the highest end product I can afford. In the case of cameras, that would and should include full frame ones like the Nikon D3X…but that camera is nearly $8,000 and is a “bazooka to kill an ant” when it comes to how often I’m able to carve out the time to shoot photos.

Still, I want to achieve the best results I can so on Monday my new $899 Nikon D5100 arrived along with a new Nikkor 35mm 1.8G lens (which, by the way, is in such short supply that it’s commanding a $100 premium over its $199.95 List Price). Though the Nikon ‘kit’ includes the 18-55mm zoom lens, I already own the amazing Nikkor 18-200mm lens, probably the best “vacation” lens ever made since it gives a photographer a fabulous range, so I’m selling the ‘kit’ lens.

I immediately opened up all the boxes and took some shots. One of the first was of a character I fixated on as a child, the Disney cartoon bug Jiminy Cricket, which I bought at Disney World when my college age daughter was a toddler and we went there on a vacation. A vacation that was as much for me, a guy who’d never gone to a Disney theme park but grew up always wanting to, than it was for my girl.

Jiminy sits on our mantle (which proves what a saint my wife is!) and I walked over and took this shot in available light. While not a definitive photo or an analytic review of the D5100 like this one from DPReview, it nonetheless made my jaw drop with how perfectly it came out.

I then spent that evening walking around the house experimenting as I learned the capabilities (and the limits) of this little device. There is NO question in my mind that this will revolutionize the results I’ll achieve from my photography. As I view the several hundred shots I’ve taken thus far, I can say with confidence that my typical “keeper” percentage has gone up from 20% to nearly 50%…which is saying alot for a hack like me.

I’ve yet to spend much time shooting video with the camera since there is a 4GB limit (~20 minutes) and much of the video I shoot are conference, seminar or interview sessions that are usually an hour in length. Still, So the next time you have a friend, family member or photography buddy trying to convince you NOT to buy new tech or to step up and spend the big dough, show them results like these on Flickr or a video like this one all done on the D5100: