Reference Manual Nikon D5100 Digital camera
Nikon D5100
User manual Nikon D5100 – download in PDF format: Nikon-d5100-EN
Image reproduction with high resolution and rich tonal gradation, equivalent to those of a higher-class model The D5100 employs an image sensor equivalent to that of the higher-class model, D7000. Furthermore, image processing engine “EXPEED 2″ achieves high image quality, high-speed image processing and multiple functions.
Nikon Digital SLR Camera D5100 Specifications
Type
Type
Single-lens reflex digital camera
Lens mount
Nikon F mount (with AF contacts)
Effective angle of view
Approx. 1.5 x lens focal length (Nikon DX format)
Effective pixels
Effective pixels
16.2 million
Image sensor
Image sensor
23.6 x 15.6 mm CMOS sensor
Total pixels
16.9 million
Dust-reduction system
Image Sensor Cleaning, Airflow Control System, Image Dust Off reference data (optional Capture NX 2 software required)
Storage
Image size (pixels)
4,928 x 3,264 [L]
3,696 x 2,448 [M]
2,464 x 1,632 [S]
File format
NEF (RAW): 14 bit, compressed
JPEG: JPEG-Baseline compliant with fine (approx. 1:4), normal (approx. 1:8) or basic (approx. 1:16) compression
NEF (RAW) + JPEG: Single photograph recorded in both NEF (RAW) and JPEG formats
Picture Control System
Standard, Neutral, Vivid, Monochrome, Portrait, Landscape; selected Picture Control can be modified; storage for custom Picture Controls
Media
SD (Secure Digital), SDHC and SDXC memory cards
File system
DCF (Design Rule for Camera File System) 2.0, DPOF (Digital Print Order Format), Exif 2.3 (Exchangeable Image File Format for Digital Still Cameras), PictBridge
Viewfinder
Viewfinder
Eye-level pentamirror single-lens reflex viewfinder
Frame coverage
Approx. 95% horizontal and 95% vertical
Magnification
Approx. 0.78 x (50 mm f/1.4 lens at infinity, -1.0 m-1)
Eyepoint
17.9 mm (-1.0 m-1)
Diopter adjustment
-1.7 to +0.7 m-1
Focusing screen
Type B BriteView Clear Matte Mark VII screen
Reflex mirror
Quick return
Lens aperture
Instant return, electronically controlled
Lens
Compatible lenses
Autofocus is available with AF-S and AF-I lenses
Autofocus is not available with other type G and D lenses, AF lenses (IX-NIKKOR and lenses for the F3AF are not supported) and AI-P lenses
Non-CPU lenses can be used in mode M but the camera exposure meter will not function
Note: The electronic rangefinder can be used with lenses that have a maximum aperture of f/5.6 or faster
Shutter
Type
Electronically-controlled vertical-travel focal-plane shutter
Speed
1/4000 to 30 s in steps of 1/3 or 1/2 EV, Bulb; Time (requires optional Remote Control ML-L3)
Flash sync speed
X = 1/200 s; synchronizes with shutter at 1/200 s or slower
Release
Release mode
(single frame), 
(continuous), (self-timer), (delayed remote),
(quick-response remote), (quiet shutter release)
Frame advance rate
Up to 4 fps (manual focus, mode M or S, shutter speed 1/250 s or faster, and other settings at default values)
Self-timer
2 s, 5 s, 10 s, 20 s; 1 to 9 exposures
Exposure
Metering
TTL exposure metering using 420-pixel RGB sensor
Metering method
Matrix: 3D color matrix metering II (type G and D lenses); color matrix metering II (other CPU lenses)
Center-weighted: Weight of 75% given to 8-mm circle in center of frame
Spot: Meters 3.5-mm circle (about 2.5% of frame) centered on selected focus point
Range
(ISO 100, f/1.4 lens, 20°C/68°F)
Matrix or center-weighted metering: 0 to 20 EV
Spot metering: 2 to 20 EV
Exposure meter coupling
CPU
Mode
Auto modes ( auto; auto [flash off]), programmed auto with flexible program (P), shutter-priority auto (S), aperture-priority auto (A), manual (M), scene modes ( portrait; landscape; child; sports; close up; night portrait; night landscape; party/indoor; beach/snow; sunset; dusk/dawn; pet portrait; candlelight; blossom; autumn colors; food), special effects modes ( night vision; color sketch; miniature effect; selective color; silhouette; high key; low key)
Exposure compensation
-5 to +5 EV in increments of 1/3 or 1/2 EV
Exposure bracketing
3 frames in steps of 1/3 or 1/2 EV
Exposure lock
Luminosity locked at detected value with AE-L/AF-L button
ISO sensitivity
(Recommended Exposure Index)
ISO 100 to 6400 in steps of 1/3 EV; can also be set to approx. 0.3, 0.7, 1 or 2 EV (ISO 25600 equivalent) above ISO 6400; auto ISO sensitivity control available
Active D-Lighting
Auto, extra high, high, normal, low, off
ADL bracketing
2 frames
Focus
Autofocus
Nikon Multi-CAM 1000 autofocus sensor module with TTL phase detection, 11 focus points (including one cross-type sensor) and AF-assist illuminator (range approx. 0.5 to 3 m/1 ft. 8 in. to 9 ft. 10 in.)
Detection range
-1 to +19 EV (ISO 100, 20°C/68°F)
Lens servo
Autofocus (AF): Single-servo AF (AF-S); continuous-servo AF (AF-C); auto AF-S/AF-C selection (AF-A); predictive focus tracking activated automatically according to subject status
Manual focus (MF): Electronic rangefinder can be used
Focus point
Can be selected from 11 focus points
AF-area mode
Single-point AF, dynamic-area AF, auto-area AF, 3D-tracking (11 points)
Focus lock
Focus can be locked by pressing shutter-release button halfway (single-servo AF) or by pressing AE-L/AF-L button
Flash
Built-in flash
,,,,,,,: Auto flash with auto pop-up
P, S, A, M,: Manual pop-up with button release
Guide number
Approx. 12/39, 13/43 with manual flash (m/ft., ISO 100, 20°C/68°F)
Flash control
TTL: i-TTL balanced fill-flash and standard i-TTL flash for digital SLR using 420-pixel RGB sensor are available with built-in flash, SB-900, SB-800, SB-700, SB-600 or SB-400 (i-TTL balanced fill-flash is available when matrix or center-weighted metering is selected)
Auto aperture: Available with SB-900/SB-800 and CPU lens
Non-TTL auto: Supported flash units include SB-900, SB-800, SB-80DX, SB-28DX, SB-28, SB-27 and SB-22S
Distance-priority manual: Available with SB-900, SB-800 and SB-700
Flash mode
Auto, auto with red-eye reduction, auto slow sync, auto slow sync with red-eye reduction, fill-flash, red-eye reduction, slow sync, slow sync with red-eye reduction, rear-curtain with slow sync, rear-curtain sync, off
Flash compensation
-3 to +1 EV in increments of 1/3 or 1/2 EV
Flash-ready indicator
Lights when built-in flash or optional flash unit such as SB-900, SB-800, SB-700,
SB-600 or SB-400 is fully charged; blinks for 3 s after flash is fired at full output
Accessory shoe
ISO 518 hot-shoe with sync and data contacts and safety lock
Nikon Creative Lighting
System (CLS)
Advanced Wireless Lighting supported with SB-900, SB-800 or SB-700 as a master flash, or SU-800 as commander; Flash Color Information Communication supported with built-in flash and all CLS-compatible flash units
Sync terminal
Sync Terminal Adapter AS-15 (available separately)
White balance
White balance
Auto, incandescent, fluorescent (7 types), direct sunlight, flash, cloudy, shade, preset manual, all except preset manual with fine tuning
White balance bracketing
3 frames in steps of 1
Live View
Lens servo
Autofocus (AF): Single-servo AF (AF-S); full-time-servo AF (AF-F)
Manual focus (MF)
AF-area mode
Face-priority AF, wide-area AF, normal-area AF, subject-tracking AF
Autofocus
Contrast-detect AF anywhere in frame (camera selects focus point automatically when face-priority AF or subject-tracking AF is selected)
Automatic scene selection
Available in and modes
Movie
Metering
TTL exposure metering using main image sensor
Metering method
Matrix
Frame size (pixels)
and frame rate
1,920 x 1,080, 30p/25p/24p, ★ high/normal
1,280 x 720, 30p/25p/24p, ★ high/normal
640 x 424, 30p/25p, ★ high/normal
A frame rate of 30p (actual frame rate 29.97 fps) is available when NTSC is selected for video mode; 25p is available when PAL is selected for video mode; Actual frame rate when 24p is selected is 23.976 fps
File format
MOV
Video compression
H.264/MPEG-4 Advanced Video Coding
Audio recording format
Linear PCM
Audio recording device
Built-in monaural or external stereo microphone; sensitivity adjustable
Monitor
Monitor
7.5-cm/3-in., approx. 921k-dot (VGA), vari-angle low-temperature polysilicon TFT LCD with 170°viewing angle, approx. 100% frame coverage, and brightness adjustment
Playback
Playback
Full-frame and thumbnail (4, 9 or 72 images or calendar) playback with playback zoom, movie playback, slide show, histogram display, highlights, auto image rotation and image comment (up to 36 characters)
Interface
USB
Hi-Speed USB
Video output
NTSC, PAL
HDMI output
Type C mini-pin HDMI connector
Accessory terminal
Remote Cord MC-DC2 (available separately)
GPS Unit GP-1 (available separately)
Audio input
Stereo mini-pin jack (3.5-mm diameter)
Supported languages
Supported languages
Arabic, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish
Power source
Battery
One Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL14
AC adapter
AC Adapter EH-5a/5b; requires Power Connector EP-5A (available separately)
Tripod socket
Tripod socket
1/4 in. (ISO 1222)
Dimensions / weight
Dimensions
(W x H x D)
Approx. 128 x 97 x 79 mm/5.0 x 3.8 x 3.1 in.
Weight
Approx. 560 g/1 lb. 3.7 oz. with battery and memory card but without body cap; Approx. 510 g/1 lb. 2 oz. (camera body only)
Operating environment
Temperature
0 to 40°C/32 to 104°F
Humidity
Less than 85% (no condensation)
Accessories
Supplied accessories
(may differ by country or area)
Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL14, Battery Charger MH-24, Eyepiece Cap DK-5, Rubber Eyecup DK-20, USB Cable UC-E6, Audio Video Cable EG-CP14, Camera Strap AN-DC3, Body Cap BF-1B, Accessory Shoe Cover BS-1, ViewNX 2 CD-ROM
Microsoft and Windows, Windows 7 are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.
Macintosh and QuickTime are registered trademarks or trademarks of Apple Inc. in the United States and/or other countries.
The SD, SDHC and SDXC logos are trademarks of the SD Card Association.
PictBridge is a trademark.
HDMI, the HDMI logo and High-Definition Multimedia Interface are trademarks or registered trademarks of HDMI Licensing, LLC.
Google Maps™ is a trademark of Google Inc.
Products and brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
Images in viewfinders, on LCDs and monitors shown in this site are simulated.
Memory card capacity
The following table shows the approximate number of pictures that can be stored on an 8 GB Toshiba R95 W80MB/s UHS-I SDHC card at different image quality and size settings.
Image quality
Image size
File size*1
No. of images*1
Buffer capacity*2
NEF (RAW) + JPEG fine*3
Large
Medium
Small
23.9 MB
20.8 MB
18.4 MB
244
279
311
10
10
11
NEF (RAW) + JPEG normal*3
Large
Medium
Small
20.4 MB
18.6 MB
17.4 MB
285
307
325
10
10
12
NEF (RAW) + JPEG basic*3
Large
Medium
Small
18.3 MB
17.5 MB
16.9 MB
311
324
333
10
10
12
NEF (RAW)
-
16.4 MB
343
16
JPEG fine
Large
Medium
Small
7.1 MB
4.4 MB
2.0 MB
844
1400
3300
100
100
100
JPEG normal
Large
Medium
Small
3.9 MB
2.2 MB
1.0 MB
1600
2900
6200
100
100
100
JPEG basic
Large
Medium
Small
1.8 MB
1.1 MB
0.5 MB
3300
5700
11400
100
100
100
*1 : All figures are approximate. File size varies with scene recorded.
*2 : Maximum number of exposures that can be stored in memory buffer at ISO 100. Drops if long exposure noise reduction or auto distortion control is on.
*3 : Image size applies to JPEG images only. Size of NEF (RAW) images cannot be changed. File size is the total for NEF (RAW) and JPEG images.
Approved memory cards
The following SD memory cards have been tested and approved for use in the D5100.
Cards with class 6 or faster write speeds are recommended for movie recording.
Recording may end unexpectedly when cards with slower write speeds are used.
SD memory cards
SDHC memory cards*2
SDXC memory cards*3
SanDisk
1GB, 2GB*1
4GB, 8GB, 16GB, 32GB
64GB
Toshiba
1GB, 2GB*1
4GB, 8GB, 16GB, 32GB
64GB
Panasonic
1GB, 2GB*1
4GB, 6GB, 8GB, 12GB, 16GB, 24GB, 32GB
48GB, 64GB
Lexar Media
1GB, 2GB*1
4GB, 8GB
-
Platinum II
1GB, 2GB*1
4GB, 8GB, 16GB, 32GB
-
Professional
1GB, 2GB*1
4GB, 8GB, 16GB, 32GB
-