Hands on: Nikon D5200 review

Ever since Nikon put a 24-million effective pixel sensor in the D3200 we've been expecting this pixel count to reach a little further up the manufacturer's DSLR lineup. So the announcement that the D5200, which usurps the Nikon D5100 from its position immediately below the D7000 in the range, has a CMOS sensor with 24 million pixels wasn't really a surprise.

However, some may raise an eyebrow when they learn that the D5200 doesn't have exactly the same sensor as the D3200. The D5200 uses a new 24.1-million effective pixel sensor that has not been seen elsewhere and according to Nikon we can expect the new device to have a more extensive dynamic range.

Nikon has paired this sensor with its EXPEED 3 processing engine and in the D5200 this enables a native sensitivity range of ISO 100-6400, which is expandable up to the equivalent of ISO 25,600.

In addition, the D5200 can shoot at a maximum continuous rate of 5fps, up 1fps on the D5100, which could make it just that little bit better for sports photography.

The D5200's sport and action photography credentials are further enhanced by the presence of the same 39-point AF system (with 9-cross type points) as in the D7000. This improved frame coverage should make the autofocus system more precise and better at tracking moving subjects.

Another feature borrowed from the D7000 and which improves upon the D5100 is the 2,016-pixel RGB sensor for light metering and white balance assessment. This feeds information into the improved Automatic Scene Recognition system which attempts to match the exposure settings, autofocus and white balance to the scene.

According to Nikon UK's Simon Iddon, Product Manager for DX Products, the size of the minimum recognisable target for the Automatic Scene Recognition system has been reduced, making it more precise.
       Its tracking performance has also been improved so that the camera is better able to exposes faces across the frame.

Naturally the D5200 is capable of recording Full HD video footage, like the D5100, but the frame rate range has been expanded to include 60i and 50i as well as 30p, 25p and 24p.
Build quality and handling

Most people would be hard pressed to tell the difference between the Nikon D5200 and the D5100 as they look almost identical. Nevertheless, we are told that the D5200 is a little bit smaller and lighter than the older camera.

Any weight or size reduction hasn't been made at the cost of build quality, because the D5200 still feels nicely put together. As we'd expect, it's not a tough feeling as the likes of the Nikon D800 or Nikon D4 in the professional section of the company's DSLR lineup, but it feels reasonably solid and built to withstand regular use

 Although D5200 has a nice deep grip with a textured coating that gives it good purchase in the hand, as is often the case with smaller SLRs, most users will find that there is only space for three of their fingers and the little finger must tuck underneath the camera body. It is still comfortable to hold and use one-handed though.

Nikon has stuck with the same 3-inch 921,000-dot variangle LCD as the D5100 has for the D5200. While this is useful for composing images from a wide variety of angles, it's a little disappointing that the company hasn't made it touch-sensitive.

We're also a little surprised to see that Nikon hasn't made any changes to the Special Effects modes available on the D5200 via the mode dial, it's the same seven that are available on the D5100: Night Vision, Color Sketch, Miniature, Selective Colour, Miniature, Silhouette and High and Low Key. These are still JPEG only options for stills photography unfortunately.

We'll have to experiment a little more when we get a full-production sample of the D5200 in for testing, but our first impression is that the new processing engine makes the Live View feed a little smoother than before when these modes are selected.

While the control layout of the D5200 is the same as the D5100, the graphic user interface (GUI) has been updated. This looks more modern and cleaner as well as a little more advanced as befits the enthusiast target audience of the camera.

There are relatively few buttons on the D5200 as most settings adjustments are made via on-screen controls. All that is required is to press the 'I' button to bring up the information screen and then navigate to the feature that you want to adjust, press OK to select it and then make the changes. It's simple and effective..