Nikon D5600 Review

The Nikon D5600’s 8.1-centimeter touchscreen can be swiveled and rotated. The characteristic single-lens reflex viewfinder, on the other hand, is somewhat puny.

 

The Nikon D5600 is aimed at hobby photographers who expect a little more equipment than in the entry-level class and want to make use of Nikon’s wide range of lenses.

But the Nikon D5600 with its 8.1 centimeters large, rotatable, and swiveling screen knows how to convince. Once pulled on the practical Live View lever, it shows a clear, colorful, and high-contrast image; without Live View, it serves as an informative status display.

With the AF-P 18-55 VR used in the test, the 39-point autofocus is extremely fast, and regardless of the focal length selected, it focuses and triggers within 0.17 seconds. Especially when you consider that half of the time is needed to fold up the mirror, close the aperture, and open the mechanical shutter.

This, of course, only applies when looking through the viewfinder, because with Live View the Nikon D5600 has to fall back on the contrast autofocus, because the fast autofocus sensor, which makes up a DSLR next to the viewfinder and interchangeable lens bayonet, is “blind” in Live View through the upturned mirror.

But thanks to Nikon’s improvements and the lens optimized for contrast autofocus, even with Live View, “only” 0.7 to 0.8 seconds pass before the image is in the box, including focusing.

The release delay of a quarter of a second has a considerable part to play here. This makes the Nikon D5600 very fast compared to earlier DSLRs in Live View. The Live View is still not suitable for action scenes but offers more flexibility thanks to the movable screen.

The display is a touch screen, whose touch sensitivity is also active while looking through the viewfinder. Thanks to the proximity sensor above the viewfinder, the screen display switches off automatically.

While looking through the viewfinder, the touchscreen can be used as a simple giant function button or as a clever autofocus touchpad so that you can move the focus point with your finger on the screen when looking through the viewfinder. If you don’t particularly like the screen on your DSLR, you can also flip it upside down with the Nikon D5600, which also protects the screen from scratches.

In addition, the Nikon D5600 has a number of other dedicated controls such as the magnifying glass buttons, a video recording button, the important AE-L/AF-L button, and three additional buttons on the bayonet side. The flash button not only unlocks the flash but also allows you to select the flash program when you press it again.

Unfortunately, there are no specific buttons on the case, for example, to adjust the white balance or ISO sensitivity. The latter in particular is regrettable since ISO sensitivity is an important recording parameter in modern cameras in addition to exposure time and aperture.

Fortunately, there is not only the screen as a “function key”, but also another function button, which – the engineers have thought along – is preset with the ISO sensitivity setting.

What is definitely missing, however, and is actually part of the basic equipment of a DSLR, is a dipping button; such a function cannot be programmed on the function button either. This means that the photographer has no chance of getting a preview of the depth of field, an essential design feature of a camera with a large image sensor and a fast lens. For other important recording parameters that are not accessible via buttons, there is a quick menu that can be called either via the “i” button or the “i” button on the information screen. Other important recording parameters can be adjusted here.

The Nikon D5600 is also equipped with plenty of interfaces. On the handle side, there is the mini HDMI socket (type C) for a slide show on the home flat-screen TV. On the left side of the housing, there is a micro-USB interface that does not charge the battery.

In addition, a stereo microphone and a cable remote release connection can be found here. An infrared receiver for remote triggering is no longer available! The lithium-ion battery is located in the handle and can be removed from below for charging in the supplied plug-in charger.

One battery charge is sufficient for a sumptuous 970 shots according to the CIPA standard, even though the integrated flash with a guide number of twelve is ignited with every second shot. However, the Live View and the wireless functions are not taken into account; both are not at all to be sneezed at power guzzlers, while the Bluetooth still holds back well thanks to the energy-saving functions.

 

The SD memory card is conveniently removed from the side so that it can also be accessed on the tripod.

In addition, the tripod thread is located in the optical axis and far enough away from the battery compartment so that it is not blocked by a quick-release plate.

With the memory card, it’s worth taking a quick UHS-I model, as we were able to determine a write speed of just over 72 MByte per second. Especially in view of the somewhat small buffer memory, a fast card is doubly worthwhile.

Equipment And Features

The Nikon D5600 has a program selector wheel with eight positions. Three of these are reserved for beginner automatic functions, such as the fully automatic, the 16 scene mode programs, and the effects programs. However, a panorama function is missing.

In contrast to the automatic programs, the photographer has more influence on the shooting parameters in the classic creative programs P, A, S, and M. The automatic programs are not as easy to use as the automatic ones. For example, the aperture or the exposure time or, optionally, both can be manually preselected.

If you want to use the ISO automatic, you have to activate it in the menu. Here the Nikon D5600 behaves quite confusingly. If the ISO automatic is activated in the creative programs, you can still set the ISO sensitivity. Then the camera uses the highest ISO sensitivity. So if you set ISO 100 and the automatic control wants to control ISO 400, the automatic control wins. If you set ISO 800 and the automatic system wants to set to ISO 400, the manual setting wins. This also works with manual exposure, even with exposure compensation, which in this case must be set via the quick menu.

Only in the scene mode programs does it work as you would expect it to. Below ISO 100 is the position for the ISO automatic, so that you can conveniently switch between automatic and manual settings with the function button programmed to ISO.

The Nikon D5600 records exposure series with a maximum of three images, whereby the gradations between 1/3 and 2 EV can be finely selected. Those who like to take HDR shots can have them taken by the camera, which takes two photos and automatically charges them. How strong the HDR effect should be can be pre-set or left to the automatic control. The Active-D-Lighting function, which brightens the shadows in selectable levels or also by automatic control and thus makes more details visible, offers no real HDR effect, but an image improvement with hard contrasts.

The continuous advance function works at a rate of just five frames per second. What used to be regarded as fast is now almost slow in the age of mirrorless system cameras, which sometimes reach twice the speed in this class.

The Nikon D5600 only has a small buffer memory, which only holds 9 raw or 21 JPEG images. Thus, it is possible to record some reasonably long series in JPEG, especially as with a fast memory card, even with a full buffer, one still achieves more than four series images per second. After 100 pictures at the latest, however, it’s over why Nikon has built in this limit.

By the way, those who choose 14 bits instead of 12 bits color depth in the raw data format have to be content with four instead of five serial images per second. In any case, the 39-point AF is able to easily follow a moving subject with the help of the AF-C.

Of course, a video function should not be missing with a modern DSLR. Despite the 24 megapixel resolution of the sensor, however, this is limited to the Full HD resolution, but at least with a smooth 60 frames per second. The integrated microphone records in stereo and the level are also shown on the display. An external stereo microphone can be connected on request. However, continuous autofocus (AF-F in Live View) works only moderately well in video recording.

It reacts with a slight delay to changing recording distances and then adjusts the sharpness with a slight pumping action. Sometimes he doesn’t focus either and keeps filming out of focus. The video function is therefore still not a strength with DSLRs, at least not for automatic videographers. The aperture setting has no effect on video recordings, by the way, but the integrated microphone picks up operating noises all too clearly.

 

The APS-C large image sensor of the Nikon D5600 delivers with its 24 megapixels resolution up to ISO 1.600 a very good image quality.

 

The metal tripod thread of the Nikon D5600 sits in the optical axis, the far-away battery compartment can also be opened easily with the quick release plate attached.

The integrated flash unit opens automatically in the scene mode programs and also offers good performance with a guide number of twelve.

In addition, the Nikon D5600 has various flash modes, such as long-term synchronization or flash at the end instead of at the beginning of the exposure. The flash sync time of 1/200 seconds is fine, flash exposure correction can also be activated. Red-eye reduction is achieved by using the white AF auxiliary light, which blinds the subject before the actual shot so that the pupils narrow and do not reflect a red flash.

Thanks to the TTL system flash shoe, Nikon’s well-developed system flash program can also be used. However, it is not possible to control external flash units wirelessly with the integrated flash; a system flash unit must be plugged onto the camera for this purpose.

Nikon’s Snapbridge function is one of the biggest innovations of the Nikon D5600. So far our experiences have been rather mixed, which is mainly due to the rudimentary, not particularly reliable app. Unfortunately, nothing has changed. The Bluetooth connection with or without NFC worked reliably with the Nikon D5600.

Photos with two megapixels resolution were transferred to the smartphone in the background if the function was activated. The time synchronization and the GPS function also worked reliably. It looked different from the WLAN connection.

We couldn’t get a Sony Xperia Z with Android 10.0 in its May 2020 update to connect to the Nikon via WLAN in order to transfer high-resolution photos or remotely control the camera. A cheap Chinese smartphone with Android 6.0, on the other hand, could be coupled without any problems.

The remote control function with Live-View and only one activatable self-timer, however, lags further behind the functionality of similar apps from other manufacturers, which allow extensive configuration of the recording parameters.

Also, a pure remote release function, for which the Bluetooth connection would be sufficient, unfortunately, does not exist. This is reserved for Nikon’s key mission action cams, for which Nikon offers a small Bluetooth remote control. Too bad, that would have been an adequate replacement for the missing infrared interface.

Picture Quality Of The Nikon D5600

Good image quality continues to be one of the main features that people associate with a DSLR and it is often for this reason that they choose such a camera, even if many buyers make little use of the flexibility of interchangeable lenses. With a 24 megapixel sensor in APS-C format, the Nikon D5600 has good prerequisites for meeting the expectations that have been set.

For our test, the Nikon D5600 took part with the relatively new set lens AF-P 18-55 VR, which not only has a compact design, but also very fast autofocus, even in Live View (see the section “Ergonomics and Workmanship”).

With a focal length of 27 to 83 millimeters (conversion factor 1.5) equivalent to a small image, it covers an everyday area. The picture quality is also good. Thus the lens already has a high resolution with an open aperture, the resolution hardly increases when stopped down.

Up to 60 line pairs per millimeter (lp/mm) in the 35mm equivalent are achieved at short and medium focal lengths in the center of the image, while at 57 lp/mm it is hardly less at long focal lengths. At the edge of the image, however, up to 33 percent fewer line pairs are resolved. However, the edge resolution increases more strongly during dimming than in the center of the image, so that at approx. F8 to F11 it is possible to photograph with quite uniform resolution and high edge sharpness (50 to 53 lp/mm). Further than F11, one should not continue dimming down if possible, because the diffraction then starts massively and reduces the resolution considerably.

 

The edge darkening also becomes better (i.e. less) when you dim. In wide-angle, this achieves 1.3 f-stops with an open aperture, which corresponds to 60 percent light loss in the corners. But not only dimming down, zooming in and out also reduces edge darkening. The distortion is also strongly dependent on the focal length and naturally occurs most strongly in the wide-angle angle, where it clearly catches the eye with its 3.5 percent ton shape. At medium and long focal lengths, however, the approximately 0.5 percent distortion is barely noticeable.

A further point of criticism has to be made of the lens with regard to chromatic aberrations. On average, these are hardly of any importance, but in the wide-angle at the edge of the picture, they are extremely powerful and cannot be overlooked. Like all inexpensive set lenses, the Nikon AF-P 18-55 VR shows some weak points, especially at the lower end of the focal length, but overall it’s a quite decent set lens.

The camera itself shows a very good image quality up to ISO 1,600. The signal-to-noise ratio does not fly high but is within the acceptable range of over 35 dB up to ISO 1,600. The fine noise grain only becomes coarser with greatly increased ISO sensitivity.

Brightness noise becomes slightly visible from ISO 3,200 and more visible from ISO 12,800, while color noise plays no role with the exception of slight visibility at the highest sensitivity setting of ISO 25,600. The noise reduction works well without visibly reducing fine textures up to ISO 800. Only at ISO 1.600 do the finest structures become somewhat softer, but even at ISO 3.200, sufficient details are still visible. However, this makes the images unmistakably softer.

The dynamic range moves up to ISO 800 on a solid level of just over ten f-stops, at ISO 1.600 it is just under ten. Only at ISO 6.400 the dynamic range becomes significantly worse, especially at ISO 25.600. The tonal value curve is balanced in order to provide crisper contrasts, especially in medium brightness.

Sharpness is also well-tuned so that the sharpness artifacts do not interfere with the image with a maximum of ten percent, while the images give a sharp impression. The Nikon D5600 doesn’t do quite as well with the output range. Here in particular strong differences in the color channels are to be noticed, i.e. considerably more brightness gradations are shown in green than in red, blue lies even under it.

While the brightness channel performs very well at ISO 100 (over 224 of 256 possible gradations) and is just good up to ISO 1,600 with just under 160 gradations, the blue channel starts at ISO 100 with less than 160 gradations in the only acceptable range and even falls just short of the 128 gradations mark at ISO 1,600, which is just half of the 256 possible gradations. However, it only becomes critical above ISO 6,400, where the value even drops below 100. In practice, this means that color gradients, especially if they run within a color channel, can sometimes appear somewhat stepped. In the case of blue, for example, in the sky.

 

The white balance, on the other hand, works well, even the color rendering shows only slight deviations on average, but with some typical maxima such as a stronger saturation of violet and magenta hues or a slightly red-heavy orange or blue-heavy cyan. All in all, this can be summarized under the term “Nikon colors” and in the end, it doesn’t provide a true to original color reproduction, but it does provide a subjectively beautiful color impression. This impression can be applied to the entire image quality.

In JPEG, the Nikon D5600 has a well-balanced image processing with a beautiful image reproduction. Colors, contrasts, and resolution are moderately enhanced for a pleasant image impression, but without any great drawbacks. For those who like it more exact or more individual, JPEG offers numerous possibilities to adjust the corresponding image parameters in the camera.

The Nikon can also record in raw data format, which gives the photographer full freedom on the PC anyway, starting with the choice of the raw data converter up to all individual image parameters.

 

Bottom line: Is The Nikon D5600 Worth It?

All in all, the Nikon D5600 leaves a positive impression. The case is neatly finished and the features´ list leaves little to be desired.

Ergonomics are also good, not only when touching, but also when operating. Especially the APS-C-DSLR doesn’t disappoint with the image quality and delivers what one expects from it, namely very good image results up to ISO 1.600, but also at ISO 3.200 the images are still good.

The Nikon D5600 has to put up with light criticism for its somewhat puny viewfinder, whereas it scores with the rotatable and swiveling touchscreen.

The Snapbridge works very well in parts, for example with the Bluetooth connection and thus the GPS connection. The remote control functions, on the other hand, are very rudimentary. Even more annoying are the connection problems, which strongly depend on the smartphone model used.

Both are also reflected in the user ratings of the Snapbridge app. Nonetheless, the Nikon D5600 is a good camera that performs its main function very well without serious weaknesses.

Firmware For Snapbridge Error Correction

Nikon provides new firmware updates for download for the DSLRs D3400, Nikon D5600, D7200, D500, D750, D810, and D810A as well as for the system flash SB-5000 and the WLAN module WT-7.

The versions C 1.11 for the D3400, C 1.01 for the Nikon D5600, and C 1.12 for the D500 only fix a connection problem of the camera to the Snapbridge app under iOS 10.2. The D7200, D750, D810, and D810A now support the WLAN adapter WT-7, in addition, numerous bugs are fixed.

The WLAN adapter WT-7 itself also requires a firmware update to version 1.1 to support the four new DSLRs. In addition, a problem has been fixed which prevented PASV mode connections to certain FTP servers and the HTTP server mode is now available in more languages.

The firmware update C 1.02 for the Nikon D7200 ensures, besides the support of the WT-7, that for photos taken in Live-View with lenses with electromagnetically controlled aperture (lens types E and PC-E), the exposure is now optimal, which was sometimes not the case before.

In addition, a problem with Auto-Distortion Correction is fixed. Although this was enabled, distortion could be visible at the edges of photos taken with the image quality setting to NEF (RAW) + JPEG Fine and the image size setting to M. Also, sometimes no images were recorded at all. It should also be noted that the settings are lost during this firmware update.

However, it is possible to save them to a memory card beforehand using the corresponding menu function and reload them after the firmware update.

The D750 also struggled with the problems of image recording and distortion correction, which the firmware update C 1.11 fixes. In addition, the RGB histogram display is corrected during playback because it sometimes displayed incorrect values. In addition, the setting selected for Individual function f5 (dials) > Function assignment in the Individual functions menu of group f (controls) was not saved if the Save settings command was executed in the System menu under “Settings” on a memory card.

The image recording and distortion correction were also a problem with the D810, which is solved with the firmware update C 1.12 in addition to the compatibility to the WT-7. Also, multiple exposures were not recorded correctly, and the RGB histogram display showed incorrect histograms for some images during playback.

Furthermore, photo shots could be incorrectly exposed immediately after changing the lens.

Also, the Protected Files icon was not displayed correctly. Another problem was the Auto Distortion Correction turned on: it could happen that the camera stopped responding if the user wanted to take pictures with the following settings: NEF (RAW) + JPEG Fine for image quality, S for NEF (RAW) settings > image size and RAW primary, JPEG secondary for secondary memory card slot function.

The last problem resolved was the exposure times for the “electronic 1st curtain shutter”, which were sometimes shorter than 1/2000 sec.