CAMERA: Nikon D5200 (2012)

Nikon D5200, fresh from unboxing

2016.02.05 - First published

2019.07.31 - Re-written from scratch

Nikon D5200

Manufacturer: Nikon
Model: D5200

Released: November 2012
Kit Lens: Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 VR2

Effective Megapixels: 24.1 MP

Sensor: DX Format, APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm), CMOS

Processor: Nikon EXPEED 3

Shutter Speed: 1/4000" to 30", Bulb Mode

ISO: 100 - 6400, up to 25600, with Auto ISO Mode

Movie Mode:

Output: NTSC, PAL

File Format: MOV (H.264/MP4)

1920 x 1080, 60i/50i

1920 x 1080, 30p/25p/24p

1280 x 720, 60p/50p

640 x 424, 30p/25p

3.5mm input for external microphone

Maximum recording time: 30 minutes

Made in Thailand

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The Review

The Nikon D5200 is a digital SLR introduced in 2012. It uses Nikon F mount and its lenses are called 'Nikkor'. This is a summary of how this camera relates to me. It was purchased brand new in August 2015 that includes a kit Nikkor 18-55mm VR2 for the online price of 20k Pesos (it retails for 33k in malls). The Nikon D5200 was my upgrade from a bridge camera.

Nikon's DX (crop sensor) DSLRs come in lines of D3xxx (entry-level), D5xxx (swivel screen) and D7xxx (semi-pro). This Nikon D5200 DSLR has a swivel screen not found in the D3xxx and D7xxx series. Swivel screen wasn't common at the time so this was great for selfies and vlogging. The body is tough and withstood rough handling, frequent outdoor use, charging through rain a few times, or when some kids ran over my tripod and it fell to the ground twice. In comparison, my FUJIFILM X-T10 feels like it could break anytime, and indeed the aluminum base plate cracked out of the blue.

Nikon D5200 has a 24 megapixel APS-C CCD sensor. APS-C has a crop factor of 1.5x, it makes cameras smaller and lighter, great for telephoto and sports, and lenses are cheaper too.

The Nikon F mount is retro compatible. All Nikon SLR lenses made since 1959 up to the present can be mounted on any current DSLR models. There may be some handicaps, for example, old AF lenses need motorized bodies and will not autofocus on this D5200 (newer AF lenses had the motor built into the lens).

The only DX lenses I've owned were the AF-Nikkor 18-55mm VR2, AF-Nikkor 55-200mm VR, Sigma 18-50/2.8 (2007), and a Sigma 18-200mm OS. Those were good lenses but I'd like to have the Nikkor 18-55mm back because the focal range is convenient and the lens is small and light..

The next feature I frequently tune is the color balance, toggled between indoor fluorescent and outdoor cloudy (both customized). The colors are very saturated particularly the greens and yellows, even in Standard Profile. [On the contrary, I love the rendering of my FUJI X-T10, it looks more natural and pleasing.]

24 megapixels is for those who crop. With an 8x10 print, you can get away with 7.2 megapixels. For uploading to social media, you need only 6 megapixels. I print in 4R size and always get crispy shots when my default shooting is 'Smallest/Basic JPEG' (only shot RAW only twice and never regretted it). The highest movie resolution is Full HD 60fps interlaced. Later, I began shooting 720p simply because I only upload to YouTube, editing takes less resources, and camera battery lasts longer.

The EN-EL14 battery only has 1,050mAh of juice and drains quick. Later, I bought the grey colored EN-EL14b with noticeably longer life and better performance. Two of these batteries is good for shooting pictures and videos at an event.

For the first two months, this camera was set to automatic exposure modes. Shooting with vintage lenses forced me to learn in Manual Exposure Mode, other modes will not work if you use manual lenses. The D7xxx series can do light metering with any manual lenses, the D5200 has not. The small optical viewfinder is a little painful to look into.

The native ISO of 100 to 6400 can be extended up to 25,600. Low light shots look decent at 6400 even with the high ISO noise reduction setting turned to 'off'. It only looks bad at 'Hi2' ISO. In comparison, D3xxx cameras are grainy by ISO 1600 even in good light. There is only one customizable Fn/Function button in this D5200 and it is assigned for the ISO sensitivity.

Long exposure and stop-motion video is another thing I do occasionally with the D5200. There is a slot to connect an external intervalometer. Using the camera's built-in intervalometer will make it heat up quickly.

Conclusion: Despite being an old model by the time I bought in 2015, the specs were decent, particularly the Full HD video. The camera is tough and reliable workhorse and I felt nothing to regret despite being set to Manual Exposure Mode all the time. Just the one thing it could never do that I yearn for, is to adapt old lenses from other mounts since Nikon F mount has the longest flange to sensor distance of all DSLRs. After owning the Nikon D5200 for three years, I sold it in early 2018 and switched to a FUJIFILM X-T10.