DSLRs are awesome. Besides making whoever wields one feel like a professional photographer, they’re able to capture images and sceneries only a few mirrorless devices can match. We recently got our hands on Nikon’s latest D5500 mid-ranger and were able to stop taking selfies long enough to get in a proper testing.
Design: 4/5
The D5500 looks just like any other DSLR with its black, textured finish on a single chassis. In hand though, it feels lighter and thinner, and there’s noticeably a deeper grip for more agile and comfortable handling.
Up top, you’ll find the pop-up flash, accessory shoe, and the streamlined mode dial. As opposed to its predecessors which had too many default options for aperture and shutter speed, the D5500 now only has eight: Manual, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Program, Scene, Auto with Flash, Auto without Flash, and Effects. The shutter speed/aperture control dial has been given a larger, more prominent form too. Gone is that unsightly protrusion on the camera’s back. Hopefully, these redesigns will encourage people to go the manual photography route.
Button layout doesn’t stray too far from other DSLRs and mirrorless cameras so migrators will feel right at home with this device.
Hardware: 4/5
The Nikon D5500’s heart is a large 24.3MP APS-C CMOS, 23.5mm x 15.6mm sensor paired with an Expeed 4 processor that should give you very sharp and detailed images no matter how your scene is lighted. The build is solid and reassuring, perfect for both indoor and outdoor situations.
For the first time on a Nikon SLR, there’s a 3.2-inch vari-angle touchscreen LCD thrown into the mix. It allows for smartphone-like setting of focus points and touch-to-shoot capabilities, perfect for situations when peering into the viewfinder is impossible.
User Experience: 4/5
The D5500 is a joy to use, and even with my lack of super l33t skills, images came out great. Colors were accurate, objects that needed to be dull were dull, and bold items came out punchy. Even all these color ranges in one scene didn’t manage to fool the image processor.
The larger dials also meant that manual mode is easier and less taxing on the fingers. ISO, shutter speed, and aperture options are wide enough for even the toughest situations so whether your subjects are kids playing, stationary sculptures, or a nice candle-lit dinner, outputs will not disappoint—given you know what you’re doing with the elements.
The comfortable and ergonomic grip along with the tough-as-nails build allowed me to go about taking pictures of the city and its attractions without fearing that the camera will slip from my fingers. And while other cameras had me worried whenever I accidentally (I swear!) bumped into something, I was doubly confident that the D5500 won’t flinch in contact with other objects. Heck, even light rain couldn’t affect its performance.
Besides the lovely output and sturdy body, the one thing that impressed me was just how long the camera’s battery life was. I’m not kidding when I say that I’ve managed to fill up an 8GB SD card and the battery indicator was still completely green. Unless you go about burst-shooting everything you see, the D5500 will still have plenty of juice for a spontaneous photo shoot come night time.
However, take note that software support for Nikon’s native RAW format (NEF) is still pretty slim. To view images, you’d have to download the NEF image codec from Nikon’s site. If, like me, you forgot to change shooting option to JPEG, then you’d have to install Nikon’s CaptureNX2 for your photos to be useable in editing suites. Until the likes of Adobe and Gimp come up with support for NEFs, you’re better off with JPEGs.
Value: 4/5
Though its PHP 30,000 price tag is way too steep for the beginning photographer, it’s a premium people dedicated to honing their craft will be glad to pay. Its great build, top-notch sensors, and superb outputs totally justify the expense, and more importantly, will motivate you to keep heading out searching for that million-dollar shot.
What’s Hot:
- Easy and comfortable to hold
- Excellent photo and video outputs
- All-day battery life
What’s Not:
- Special NEF format requires special software
Bottomline:
- Pricey. Powerful. It might out-shoot you.
Final Score: 16/20
