Slow to average speed for a consumer camera.

The Nikon Coolpix P5000's performance ranges from slow to just above average for a camera in its class. Start-up time is slightly above average, but shut-down is average. Shutter lag times at wide angle and telephoto zoom settings are just over 0.9 second, which is on the slow side of average these days. On the other hand though, "prefocus" time (half-pressing and holding down the shutter button before the final exposure) is very fast, with a shutter delay of only 0.058 second.

Shot-to-shot cycle times are longer than average at about 3.1 seconds for large/fine JPEGs, but the camera captures frames continuously at this rate. Continuous-mode speed is very slow, at only about 0.77 frames per second (1.3 seconds per shot), and the camera can only capture 5 frames at this rate before slowing down even further to about 0.3 fps. Full power flash recycling time is also a bit below average at 6.5 seconds, but that's not all that bad, considering how powerful the flash is. Connected to a computer, download speeds are about average, so you may want to use a separate card reader to transfer the large 10 megapixel files from this camera. Bottom line, the Nikon P5000's timing performance is a bit of a disappointment for a higher-end "prosumer" model. It's responsive enough for most family and travel photo opportunities, but too slow for sporting events or active kids. (Although the very fast shutter response when prefocused is great, if your subjects lend themselves to prefocusing.)

Battery
Average battery life for a Lithium-Ion design.

The Nikon Coolpix P5000 uses a custom rechargeable Li-Ion battery for power, and ships with a charger. Battery life is about average, so we recommend you pick up a spare battery and keep it freshly charged and on-hand for extended outings.

The table above shows the number of shots the camera is capable of (on either a fresh set of disposable batteries or a fully-charged rechargeable battery as appropriate), based on CIPA battery-life and/or manufacturer standard test conditions.

(Interested readers can find an English translation of the CIPA DC-002 standards document here. (180K PDF document))

Storage
The Nikon Coolpix P5000 stores its photos on SD / SDHC / MMC memory cards or in approximately 23MB of internal memory, and no card is included with the camera.

We strongly recommend buying a large capacity SD/MMC memory card at least a 1GB card, preferably a 2GB one, to give yourself extra space for extended outings. (Check the shopping link above, cards are really cheap these days, so no reason to skimp.)