"Picky Details" for the Nikon Coolpix 5900 digital camera
(Timing, Power, and Storage Info)
Timing
When you press the shutter release on a camera, there's usually a lag time or delay before the shutter actually fires. This corresponds to the time required for the autofocus and autoexposure mechanisms time to do their work, and can amount to a fairly long delay in some situations. Since this number is rarely reported on (and even more rarely reported accurately), and can significantly affect the picture taking experience, I routinely measure both shutter delay and shot to shot cycle times for all cameras I test, using a test system I designed and built for the purpose. (Crystal-controlled, with a resolution of 0.001 second.) Here are the numbers I collected for the Nikon Coolpix 5900:
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(secs) |
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| Power On -> First shot |
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LCD turns on and lens extends forward. On the slow side of average.
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| Shutdown |
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First time is time to retract lens, second time is worst-case buffer-clearing time. First time is about average, second time is slow, but corresponds to clearing 100 small/basic images from the camera's buffer memory.
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| Play to Record, first shot |
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Time until first shot is captured. Fairly fast.
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| Record to play |
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First time is that required to display a large/fine file immediately after capture, second time is that needed to display a large/fine file that has already been processed and stored on the memory card. Average.
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| Shutter lag, full autofocus |
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First time is at full wide-angle, second is full telephoto. On the fast side of average. |
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Shutter lag, continuous autofocus |
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As usual, no benefit to continuous autofocus for stationary objects. (May help some with moving subjects, but I don't have any good way to test that.)
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| Shutter lag, prefocus |
0.091
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Time to capture, after half-pressing shutter button. Very fast. |
| Cycle Time, max/min resolution |
1.84 / 1.82 |
First number is for large/fine files, second number is time for "TV" mode (640x480) images. Times are averages. Shoots 6 large/fine frames this fast, then slows to about 2.5 seconds per shot. In TV mode, maintains this pace indefinitely. Buffer clears in 6 seconds for large/fine images, 2 seconds for lowest resolution. About average for this class of camera. |
| Cycle Time, flash exposures, flash at maximum power output | ~7 sec. | On the slow side, but not as bad as many compact digital cameras. |
| Cycle Time, continuous mode, max/min resolution | 0.61 /0.56 (1.65 / 1.78fps) |
First number is for large/fine files, second number is time for "TV" mode (640x480) images. Times are averages. Shoots 6 frames at this rate in large/fine mode, then slows to about 2.5 seconds per shot. In TV mode, maintains this pace for more than 100 shots. Buffer clears in 9 seconds for large/fine images, 33 seconds for lowest resolution. Buffer clearing times measured with Lexar 32x SD card, slower cards could take longer. About average for a camera of this class, better than many compact models. |
| Cycle Time, "5 shot buffer" mode, max/min resolution | 0.91 (1.10 fps) |
Times are averages. Shoots at this pace regardless of resolution, and stores the last five frames taken before the shutter button is released. Buffer clears in 4 seconds for large/fine shots, in 2 seconds for "TV" sized images. Buffer clearing times measured with Lexar 32x SD card, slower cards could take longer. Not very fast for this sort of mode, below average. |
| Cycle Time, continuous "Multi Shot 16" mode | 0.50 (2.0 fps) |
Camera captures 648 x 486 pixel images, stores them in 4x4 arrays inside normal 2592 x 1944 files. Shoots 16 shots 0.50 seconds apart, pauses about a second, then takes 16 more. Clears the buffer in 2 seconds. Fast, but I'm a little surprised it isn't faster, as multi-shot modes like this usually are. |
Slightly faster than average shutter response, average shot to shot cycle times. Apart from its blazingly shutter response time when you "prefocus" it by half-pressing and holding down the shutter button before the shot itself, the Nikon 5900 is just average in its timing performance. Shutter lag in full autofocus mode is a bit faster than average, particularly at the wide angle end of its zoom range, shot to shot cycle times are right about average at ~1.8 seconds/frame. Continuous-mode speed is also average, at about 1.65 frames/second. Flash recharge is on the slow side at ~7 seconds after a full-power pulse, but not as bad as that of some digital cameras, particularly compact models.
Power
The Nikon Coolpix 5900 uses a custom rechargeable LiIon battery for power, and has no external power terminal, so I couldn't conduct my normal battery-life tests. In a simple run-down test in record mode with the LCD illuminated (the camera's worst-case power mode), a freshly charged battery lasted 155 minutes. This very good for a compact digital camera like the 5900, but I do recommend that you purchase a second battery if you plan any really extended excursions with it. (Particularly since the poor viewfinder accuracy means that you'll find yourself using the power-hungry LCD viewfinder more often than not.)
Storage Capacity
The Nikon Coolpix 5900 stores its photos on SD / MMC memory cards, or in approximately 13.5 MB of internal memory. No memory card is included with the camera. (I strongly recommend buying at least a 64 MB card, preferably a 128 MB one, to give yourself extra space for extended outings.) The chart below shows how many images can be stored in the internal memory at each size/quality setting.
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Resolution/Quality 13.5 MB Memory Card |
Fine | Normal |
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| 2592
x 1944 |
Images (Avg size) |
5 2.6 MB |
10 1.3 MB |
19 681 KB |
| Approx. Compression |
6:1 | 12:1 | 22:1 | |
| 2048
x 1536 |
Images (Avg size) |
8 1.6 MB |
16 831 KB |
31 432 KB |
| Approx. Compression |
6:1 | 11:1 | 22:1 | |
| 1600
x 1200 |
Images (Avg size) |
13 1.0 MB |
25 531 KB |
47 282 KB |
| Approx. Compression |
6:1 | 11:1 | 20:1 | |
| 1024 x 768 | Images (Avg size) |
31 427 KB |
54 246 KB |
91
147 KB |
| Approx. Compression |
6:1 | 10:1 |
16:1
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Images (Avg size) |
68 196 KB |
117 115 KB |
83 KB |
| Approx. Compression |
5:1 | 8:1 |
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Download Speed
The Nikon Coolpix 5900 connects to a host computer via a USB interface. Downloading files to my Sony desktop running Windows XP (Pentium IV, 2.4 GHz), I clocked it at 745 KBytes/second, a respectable rate that's fast enough that most users won't find any need of an external card reader. (Cameras with slow USB interfaces run as low as 300 KB/s, cameras with fast v1.1 interfaces run as high as 600 KB/s. Cameras with USB v2.0 interfaces run as fast as several megabytes/second.)
5900 Test Images
5900 Specifications
5900 "Picky Details"
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