Fairly slow to slightly above average speed for a consumer camera.

Start-up and shut-down times are sluggish, though startup time can be improved by disabling the Welcome screen using the Setup menu.

Mode switching times are above average.

Shutter lag at full wide angle is slightly better than average for its class, at 0.68 second. At full telephoto, shutter response is also better than average at 0.75 second. "Prefocusing" the camera by half-pressing and holding down the shutter button before the final exposure results in a much faster lag time of only 0.066 second. As usual, continuous autofocus mode does not offer a decrease in lag time.

Shot-to-shot cycle times are on the slower side of average, at about 2.60 seconds for large/fine JPEGs, and the camera appears to capture shots continuously in single-shot mode without having to stop and clear the buffer. Continuous burst mode is also on the slower side, at 0.69 frames-per-second for 3 large/fine JPEG frames. Keep in mind the very large 4,000 x 3,000 resolution though; that's a lot of data to deal with and write to the memory card for every shot. The Multi-shot 16 mode that captures five megapixel normal quality images was able to capture 16 frames at about one frame-per-second. The flash takes 6 seconds to recharge after a full-power shot, which is also about average.

Connected to a computer or printer with USB 2.0, download speeds are slower than most cameras in 2007 / 2008.

Bottom line, the Coolpix P5100 is responsive enough for posed portraits and scenery, but likely not fast enough for moving subjects.

Battery
About average battery life for a lithium-ion design.

The Nikon Coolpix P5100 uses a custom rechargeable lithium-ion battery for power, and ships with a charger. Since battery life is about average, 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 P5100 accepts SDHC/SD/MMC memory cards, and includes about 48MB of usable internal memory.

We strongly recommend buying a large capacity SDHC or SD memory card at least a 1GB card, preferably a 4GB one, to give yourself extra space for extended outings and video. (Check the shopping link above, cards are really cheap these days, so no reason to skimp.)