Nikon D5500
With the launch of the D5500, at last we have a touchscreen on a Nikon SLR. Amy Davies discovers what else is new
Nikon’s first SLR to include a touch-sensitive screen replaces the D5300 in the company’s line
The D5500 features the same 24.2-million-pixel APS-C sized (DX format) sensor as its predecessor, the D5300. It’s a sensor that has no anti-aliasing filter, which makes it better suited to capturing fine detail, at the possible risk of some moiré patterning in particularly fine textures. There’s also the same Expeed 4 processor as the D5300, and a 3.2 inch 1,037,000-dot vari-angle LCD - but, it is now touch-sensitive. Remarkably, the D5500 is Nikon’s first SLR to include a touchscreen; Canon started adding the technology to some of its EOS models as far back as 2012.
Like the D5300, the D5500 uses a rechargeable EN-EL14a battery, but Nikon says that battery life has been increased from 600 shots in typical use to an even more impressive 820.
As standard, the D5500 ships with the same 18–55mm collapsible kit lens that comes with the D5300. You can also buy it body-only if you already have some lenses in your kit.
In the market, the D5500 will be going head-to-head with Canon’s upcoming EOS 760D and 750D SLRs, which both also feature 24.2-million-pixel sensors.
Build and Handling
Just like the D5300, the D5500 body has a monocoque construction, meaning its shell is made from a single piece of material. However, it is slimmer than its predecessor, especially between the lens mount and the grip. This thinning has meant that the internal layout of the camera has had to be redesigned, but it results in a deeper grip, which makes the camera feel more secure in the hand.
If you’re using the D5500 with the 18–55mm kit lens, you’ll need to hold down a button on the side of the lens to extend the optic before you take your shot. You can leave the lens extended for the next shot to speed things up.
The D5500’s top plate sees a slight redesign compared with the D5300. A simplified mode dial contains just eight different exposure modes, including Automatic, semi-automatic and Manual settings. Around the mode dial is a switch for activating Live View shooting, which is very easy to quickly flick on and off when you need it.
The D5500 offers our first opportunity to discover how a touchscreen affects the way you use a Nikon SLR. The basic functionality is straightforward. You can make settings changes using the screen, simply by tapping the ‘i’ icon in the bottom-right corner. From here, you can tap the setting you wish to change (such as White Balance), then tap the particular setting you want to use.
If you don’t like using touchscreens, there is an equivalent physical button marked with the same ‘i’, and you can navigate to the setting you want to use with the directional keys instead.
You can also use the touchscreen to adjust settings while you’re using the optical viewfinder, for example changing the autofocus point. This is a good idea in principle, but in practice I had mixed results with it unless I articulated the screen away from my face - something which feels a little awkward.
When you use Live View, you can also use the touchscreen to set the AF point. Just tap the point of the screen where you want to focus. You can also enable touch-shutter, which means that the camera will fire off the shutter release as soon as focus has been acquired.
One downside to the reliance on the touchscreen is that it can seem a little slow to change certain settings, as you have to go through the ‘i’ menu. There is one function button near the lens mount, which you can set to an often-used setting, such as sensitivity, but otherwise you’re reliant on the screen.
The D5500’s built-in Wi-Fi connectivity means it’s easy to link the camera to Nikon’s Wireless Mobile Utility app on your iOS or Android smartphone – but sadly, it’s still only possible within the app to set the AF point and fire off the shutter release remotely. You can’t change any other settings. It’s still useful for some situations, such as taking group shots.
Performa nce
With an identical sensor and processor to its predecessor the D5300, we weren’t anticipating any real surprises from the D5500. As before, images are very pleasing, with bright but accurate colours in the majority of situations.
The lack of an anti-aliasing filter makes for some great detail in shots, even when you’re using the kit lens.
If you wish to change the colour settings, you can use Picture Controls, such as Vivid, to boost colour. There are also other options, such as Landscape and Portrait. These are
“Images are very pleasing, with bright but accurate colours in the majority of situations”
useful to have to hand, and it’s good that you can use these while shooting in the camera’s raw format should you need a clean version for post-capture processing down the line.
Reviewing images taken in the D5500’s JPEG mode at normal printing and web sizes, the overall impression of detail balances well with the appearance of noise in shots taken at higher sensitivities. It’s only from around ISO 3,200 that you can see image noise present at these sizes, and even those taken at ISO 6,400 remain usable at small sizes.
As we have found before, Nikon’s 39-point phase detection AF system is fast and accurate. Even when using the supplied kit lens, the D5500 is generally able to lock onto a subject with ease, especially in good light.
Unfortunately, shooting in Live View remains a frustratingly slow process. While it’s useful for shooting still-life or macro subjects and seeing an enlarged view of the scene to get the focus just right, for other subjects it’s just not practical to use.
On the whole, the D5500’s metering system does a pretty good job of helping to produce accurate exposures, but dialling in a touch of exposure compensation can be useful in some situations (such as high-contrast scenes) to achieve a more pleasing exposure. Similarly, the automatic white balance system does a good job, although it can sometimes err ever so slightly towards unnatural yellowish tones under artificial light. In those cases, you may find it beneficial to manually set a more appropriate White Balance setting, such as Tungsten, or a custom value. There’s a host of digital filters available under Creative Mode. It’s worth giving these a look to see if any take your fancy. It’s a shame that you can’t select a filter while shooting in raw format, so you’d have a clean version should you decide down the line that Photo Illustration was perhaps a mistake.
Verdict
Like the D5300 before it, the D5500 occupies a useful space in the
“Even when using the supplied kit lens, the D5500 is able to lock onto a subject with ease”
market. It’s certainly an entry-level SLR, but it has some room for you to to grow as you gain confidence. The D5500 represents a slight upgrade rather than a full overhaul. But the changes that have been made are welcome, and make using the camera a nicer experience than before.
Keeping the already wellperforming sensor and processor combination from the 5300, but adding a touch-sensitive screen, means that you have the best of the old, but with an acknowledgement of the new.
The overall feature set of the D5500 is commendable. The highresolution sensor produces detailed images, while built-in Wi-Fi, a 39-point autofocus system and a touchscreen round off the specs very nicely. It’s very much a camera which is a sum of its parts, rather than having one stand-out, attention-drawing feature.
While Nikon hasn’t created a game-changer with the D5500, it’s still a pleasing entry-level camera that brings a lot of very useful features to anyone getting started in digital SLR photography. It’s also an attractive upgrade from a much older model.
If you’re on a budget, however, the older D5300 remains available: it has the same image quality thanks to the same sensor and processor, but without the touchscreen. The question is whether the touchscreen is enough to persuade you that the newer model is worth it.