96 DRAPERY PANELS

The picture is of my Nikon D5100 with the Sigma AF 18-50mm lens mounted.
(Image taken with my iPhone 4 camera)

As a former owner of the Nikon D40 and D5000, I anticipated good results from a recent upgrade to the D5100. I purchased the D5100 body only, because I already have several lenses suited for use with Nikon DX format cameras: (Tamron 10-24mm f3.5-4.5, Nikkor 35mm f/1.8, Sigma 18-50mm f2.8-4.5, Sigma 50-200mm f/4-5.6 DC OS HSM, and Tamron 70-300mm f4.0-5.6 Macro Zoom - all with internal motors). As I mentioned, my first DSLR was a D40. This was an excellent device for the transition into DSLR imaging navigation - I upgraded to a D5000 after becoming comfortable with DSLR hardware and software.

I found my recent upgrade to the D5100 from my D5000 well worth it. If you want to avoid spending about $800, the $600 D3100's similar feel and a slightly lower performance is the cheaper (but quality device) route to go. I happen to also own a D3100 as a back-up camera. This extra DSLR camera is a nice to have, especially when seeing a shot and being able to capture the image at a different focal perspective, without dismounting and mounting another lens. The few days I have used my D5100 has produced some quality images, The high-res articulating screen on the side is a relief from that bottom articulation screen on the D5000 – which always got in the way on a tripod.

The D5100 is a solid upgrade to the D5000, and should be on the short list of consideration for any photographer looking to purchase a DSLR with outstanding image quality, performance, low-light capability in a lightweight and a compact DSLR body design. The D5100 is considered an above novice enthusiast DSLR, meaning it shares the image sensor the high-end D7000 has, without some of the D7000 bells and whistles. The D5100 offers the same image quality as the D7000 in a less-expensive, and smaller package. While adding a few tricks, I can't see justification spending over $400 more for a D7000 - but that is just my opinion.

Compared to my lesser priced, but still excellent D3100 (14.2 megapixel sensor), the D5100 (16.2 megapixel) sensor offers improved image quality, speed, and resolution, along with a higher-resolution articulating display. For me, this is a sweet spot on Nikon's DSLR offerings. I am going to capture more low-light images soon to verify the level of detail captured by my D5100 – want to do some images at higher ISOs than I normally shoot to see the inherent noise reduction capability of the camera. I capture images in NEF (RAW) format mode (as an option there are three different JPEG compression levels also offered). And there are functions that fine-tune exposures taken, effectively improving dynamic range of images by equalizing the difference between high and low-light areas – on the fly.

Improvement in image quality compared to my D5000 wasn’t dramatic. Given the significant improvement I saw when upgrading from the Nikon D40 to the D5000, I may have had great expectations for the D5100 sensor, although i have seen subtle improvement.

By the way - I have heard much debate by Nikon D90 owners saying that purchasing a D5100 over a D90 is not a better upgrade. I have to disagree! I could write another article to compare the D90 capability to the D5100 capability, however that will have to be for another time. Suffice to say this - the D90 has been on the market since August 2008 with a 12.3 megapixel sensor, while the D51000 has been on the market since April 2011 with a 16.2 megapixel sensor. I recommend the D5100 over the outgoing D90 any day, principally because of the 16.2 MP DX-format CMOS sensor in both the D7000 and D5100. With my D5100, in effect I have a camera that is pretty much equitable to the D7000; with a better screen, and a lighter and smaller body - for around $400 less.

I look forward to comparing the quality of low-light sensitivity in my former D5000 sensor (which is shared with the D90) to my D5100 sensor. With the D5100 I have higher resolution for improved cropping, as well as 14-bit RAW image capability that offers greater dynamic range for more flexibility after the shot is taken. I have begun to readily use (and depend) upon the latest version of Nikon ViewNX 2 software that came with my D5100 for RAW image processing. I also use Corel Paintshop Pro X3 and Photomatix Pro 4 for enhancing RAW images to HDR.

Compared to my D5000, Nikon has made these improvements in the D5100:

- The body is roughly 10% smaller and 10% lighter
- 16.2 megapixel sensor (shared with D7000)
- Captures 14-bit RAW images with greater low-light sensitivity
- ISO 100-6400 expansion to 25,600 ISO (D5000 minimum was 200 and expansion to 12,300)
- High resolution (920k pixel) display for greater detail in image previews
- Side-mounted articulating display (no longer interferes with tripod like my D5000 did)
- Improved LiveView mode
- Full HD 1080p movie capture (my D5000 was AVI format 720p up to 5min)
- Significant

For those of you who asked how I did my waterdrop shots......now you know =0)


One more secret I can share is if you are using a dish like I was, that has scratches or texture that are showing up in your final shot, you can add some dark food coloring to the water until they are not visible anymore. I figured this out by using food coloring to capture a different color drop suspended in the air and after a few test shots, the scratches in the bottom of my pan were no longer visible and the drops were still coming up clear once the food coloring mixed in with the water completely.