A few years ago, if you wanted an easy-to-use or mid-range adjustable lens camera, the obvious choice was an SLR. Now, mirrorless cameras like the Sony Alpha 6000 are better choices, especially if you want to take a lot of video. But there is something to be said for the old-style SLR, and Nikon’s D5600 (body only, $699.95) is a good example. It has an optical viewfinder and a good price, especially if you already have some Nikkor lenses. It has a good autofocus system, makes wireless sharing easy, and takes great pictures.
Nikon D5600 Specs
| SKU | VBA500DN |
| TYPE | Single-lens reflex digital camera |
| LENS MOUNT | Nikon F Mount |
| SENSOR SIZE | 23.5 x 15.6 mm |
| IMAGE AREA | DX-format L: 6,000 x 4,000 M: 4,496 x 3,000 S: 2,992 x 2,000 |
| CARD SLOT | Single Slot |
| LENS APERTURE | Instant-return type |
| REFLEX MIRROR | Quick-return type |
| FLASH SYNC SPEED | Up to 1/200 sec. |
| EXPOSURE METER COUPLING | CPU |
PROS
- There’s no OLPF on the 24 MP picture sensor.
- Excellent picture quality.
- 39-point AF system.
- 5 fps of shooting all the time.
- Work goes quickly.
- 1080p60 movie capture.
- Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are both ways to talk.
- External mic support
CONS
- Hard to operate.
- Pentamirror sight.
- Older glasses with a screwdriver won’t autofocus.
- Limited Wi-Fi remote control.
Design
The base of the D5600 ($1,224.95 at Amazon) is a little bit smaller than that of the D5500. Overall, the camera is about the same size—3.8 by 4.9 by 2.8 inches (HWD). However, the body is thinner between the lens mount and the hand grip, which makes it a little easier to hold. Without a lens, the camera weighs about a pound, which is about the same as the slightly bigger T6s, which is 4 by 5.2 by 3.1 inches and weighs 1.2 pounds. The only colour for the D5600 is black.
Build and how it moves
The D5600 is almost as small and light as a handheld SLR camera, but its grip is deep and well-shaped, so you still feel like you have a good hold on it. But some of the buttons are strangely small. This doesn’t change how they work, but it makes it harder to read the icons. The new AF-P 18–55mm lens changes how the camera works in Live View. It’s still not as fast as a mirrorless camera, but the Live View autofocus is surprisingly fast and quick, and it works really well with the touch control on the screen. You can just tap on an object in the scene, and the camera will automatically focus on that item and take a picture.
Sensors
As was already said, the Nikon D5600 has 39 auto-focus cameras, of which nine are cross-type. The other thirty are line-type, so they can only see details in one direction, either up or down, but not both. In practise, this wasn’t much of a problem since the camera usually locked focus on the subject quickly and easily, no matter which AF point was chosen.
The current AF point shows up in red in the viewfinder, so it’s easy to see. If you don’t choose Auto Area AF, you use the four-way pad to choose the current AF point. This is another simple and straightforward way to do it. In low light, an AF assist lamp on the front of the camera helps the AF sensors work.
Battery
The Nikon D5600 is driven by an EN-EL14a lithium-ion battery that is unique to the camera. This battery can last for 600 shots, and SD, SDHC, and SDXC cards are used to store video and image files. As we said in our review of the D5500, we really wish Nikon had added a second card slot for Compact Flash cards. That way, users of higher-end Nikon DSLRs who buy a D5600 as a second body can use the memory cards they already have. It also doesn’t have the D7200’s two SD card slots.
How images look
During the review time, the Nikon D5600 took pictures that were of very high quality. The D5600 makes JPEG pictures with no noise between ISO 100 and 1600. ISO 3200 also looks pretty good. ISO 6400 only has a little bit of noise, while ISO 12800 and 25600 are quite a bit noisier and cause fine details to blur and saturation to drop. However, the photos can still be used for small prints and resizing for the web.
The images were a little soft right out of the D5600 with the usual sharpening setting. You can either change the setting for JPEG files in the camera or in an application like Adobe Photoshop. With a maximum shutter speed of 30 seconds and the bulb setting, you were able to get a lot of light in the night photo. With the built-in flash, red-eye was not very common, and when it did happen, it was mild and easy to fix by setting the flash to red-eye reduction mode.