Nikon D5500 General Discussion

JCTibu

@NSXTypeR I was thinking the same... the first thing that I saw was the optical low-pass filter... removed in the D5300 and D810... then added in the D750... and then removed in the D5500...

donaldejose

Photobug: KR is just announcing new products and giving details like the NR main blog only he posts in a different format which is the beginning of a review. When you scroll down to the Performance section he clearly states:

"I'll let you know in February when the one I bought from Adorama arrives.

For now, seeing how the D5500 is simply a D5300 with a touch screen, 90% of its performance should be identical to the D5300, so see my D5300 performance section."

Consider this a preview like you find on Digital Photography and the full review will occur after Ken gets one in his hands and shoots with it. Then he posts a note on his main page that his review is now completed.

Photobug

Looks good .. was hoping for the D7100 AF .. maybe the D7200 will have the flippy screen and wifi.

I really expect the WiFi to be built into the D7200. Flippy screen, well maybe and maybe not. My guess it will be included.

jimh12345

Call me a crank but I'm not the least interested in a flip screen, or wifi to a smartphone, or in how fast I can share selfies on Instagram. I'm wondering how many new 'features', unrelated to photography per se, can be crammed into a camera? I guess we'll find out.

Besides a d7000, I have a Sony a6000. It has a flip screen which I've used exactly once. It has some sort of wifi connectivity, which I couldn't get to work after wasting an hour fiddling with router settings and futilely Googling for solutions.

I like what paperman posted above: real improvements in sensor technology arrive every few years. In between, we get 'features' that only add complexity to menu systems that already take too long to hunt through.

Like I said, call me a crank.

Ironheart

Crank :-) I mostly agree with you, however the D5xxx series was the first Nikon DSLR to have a flip out screen, and some of us find it highly useful for certain situations. If you don't like the flippy screen either a) don't flip it out or b) don't buy a D5xxx series.

BVS

Price Error

I just checked the NIkon USA web site and B&H. Some one is wrong on pricing. Remember mail order places are normally a few dollars less than the SRP.

Nikon SRP (suggested retail price)
D55500 Body: $900
D5500 + 18-55mm lens kit $1000
D5500 + 18-140mm lens kit $1400

B&H & Adorama selling price
Nikon SRP (suggested retail price)
D55500 Body: $896
D5500 + 18-55mm lens kit $996
D5500 + 18-140mm lens kit $1196

Just checked Adorama and their prices are same as B&H.

Could some one be wrong on the D5500 with 18-140mm lens. I expect B&H & Adorama to make an adjustment.

I think the Adorama and B&H prices actually seem more plausible. What's the point of getting a kit if you're paying full retail for the lens? It'd be cheaper to just get the body only and then a refurb lens for $299.

Slightly OT, but one thing that really irks me though is if you try to buy a refurb body from Nikon (e.g. the D5300 for $649) and then they want to charge you +$750 ($1,399) to get it in a kit with the 18-140 lens. What!? o.O

jimh12345

I don't actually dislike the flip screen. I do dislike the piling-on of jazzy 'features' (like post-processing effects in camera, and the endlessly proliferating burst and AF options) that do nothing for me but make the menus deeper and deeper, and impossible to remember - meaning I fumble around when I actually need to adjust something. Here's my positive suggestion: let us select a general camera 'mode' that determines which portion of this galaxy of menu options we're presented with. Mine could be 'minimalist' - I only want to do still photos, in raw mode. Others could be 'action', 'kids', 'social', 'full-on geek', who knows. Use the power of software to get the unwanted clutter out of my field of view. Everyone can be happy.

Photobug

I love flippy screens. I wish my D810 had one. It's super nice for doing video and I actually shoot a lot of simple video... But seriously, the D5500 is one of those Nikon things that just makes me shake my head and roll my eyes. It seems that Nikon alternates between extremely cool and wtf. To me, this camera is a wtf. Following the very nice D750, it was almost inevitable.

+1 on the flippy screen @PitchBlack.
When I bought the D750 the flippy screen was irrelevant and not a requirement. Having had the camera for 6 weeks, the flippy screen does have it's benefits. I have used it a couple of times and when shooting low angle stuff over the holidays, it was so nice to tilt the screen up so I did not have to get down on my knees.

Over the next 3 weeks I will be posting macro work of a flower and I am using the tilt-able screen much more than I expected. From my perspective, it's a useable tool. Before I got the camera I didn't care, but after using it...don't take it away from me.

ben_dmb

https://photographylife.com/nikon-d5500-announcement

No comment.

manhattanboy

I don't actually dislike the flip screen. I do dislike the piling-on of jazzy 'features' (like post-processing effects in camera, and the endlessly proliferating burst and AF options) that do nothing for me but make the menus deeper and deeper, and impossible to remember - meaning I fumble around when I actually need to adjust something. Here's my positive suggestion: let us select a general camera 'mode' that determines which portion of this galaxy of menu options we're presented with.

I would take a flippy screen and I actually like wifi... but I agree on the need for a simple, quick adjust menu. Its the one thing that I wish Nikon would steal from Canon, who has a quick glance menu where everything basic about the shot (shutter speed, aperture, ISO, focus points, AF mode, WB, RAW vs JPEG, and so forth) is quickly adjustable from that single screen. I thought Nikon was doing something similar for their consumers cameras, but I haven't shot with them so am not 100% sure.

ggbutcher

To me, more menu selections mean more control over the specific functions, and less abstraction of them into goofy things like "Vivid". I also drive a manual transmission car, and make my coffee with Mr. Coffee....

WestEndFoto

I find the removal is the internal GPS a disappointment. The GP-1 unit is always on my D800. I find it invaluable for figuring out where a shot was taken at a later time.

On the plus side, there is a significant improvement in battery life. I appreciate this trend on Nikon cameras.

donaldejose

I think what is important about the D5500 for many of us is not the D5500 itself. It is the new technology or new interface which demonstrates what Nikon is able to put into a D7200 or D400 or an future FX body which we are more likely to purchase and use than a D5500 body. Thus, I see a D5500 as sort of a preview of what may come in bodies I am more interested in.

WestEndFoto

#1 Donaldjose

Photobug

I think what is important about the D5500 for many of us is not the D5500 itself. It is the new technology or new interface which demonstrates what Nikon is able to put into a D7200 or D400 or an future FX body which we are more likely to purchase and use than a D5500 body. Thus, I see a D5500 as sort of a preview of what may come in bodies I am more interested in.

+1 for sure. It's definitely a preview of things to come.

KnockKnock

Subtracting GPS. Boo.
Changing body. Yay.
Touchscreen. Yay.

Should be a D5300x

Golf007sd

NSXTypeR

Subtracting GPS. Boo.
Changing body. Yay.
Touchscreen. Yay.

Should be a D5300x

It's not really even a D5300x, it's more of a D5300s, but I get what you mean.

I'm not sure how much I'd like a touchscreen. There's muscle memory that's faster than poking around on a screen anyway.

It's like the car manufacturers putting touch screen infotainment screens on cars. I can memorize a dashboard by feel, but if there are no buttons it doesn't help.

Hammie

Subtracting GPS. Boo.
Changing body. Yay.
Touchscreen. Yay.

Should be a D5300x

It's not really even a D5300x, it's more of a D5300s, but I get what you mean.

I'm not sure how much I'd like a touchscreen. There's muscle memory that's faster than poking around on a screen anyway.

It's like the car manufacturers putting touch screen infotainment screens on cars. I can memorize a dashboard by feel, but if there are no buttons it doesn't help.

And remote controls. I never understood a touchscreen remote. I can change channels, control volume, even pull up guide or list on my DVR with a button remote. Touch screen requires me to look at the remote and do the function I want.

And the focus point change while looking through the viewfinder sounds silly to me.

Golf007sd

Photobug

Thanks Ali for the D5500 video on the D5500 at CES. Good to hear the rear LCD flippy screen isn't soft.

donaldejose

Just a thought about the 5 rather than 4 in the Dx5xx name. Notice a 5 is also the second digit in the D750 name. Perhaps that 5 will refer to bodies with the new shallower body, both of which the D5500 and the D750 have. Perhaps when that body will be used on the D610 it will be called the D650. If this is true we may see a D450 with a new style body instead of a D500. And we may see a D3500 and a D7500. Perhaps the D5 will be a shallower body.

Photobug

Just a thought about the 5 rather than 4 in the Dx5xx name. Notice a 5 is also the second digit in the D750 name. Perhaps that 5 will refer to bodies with the new shallower body, both of which the D5500 and the D750 have. Perhaps when that body will be used on the D610 it will be called the D650. If this is true we may see a D450 with a new style body instead of a D500. And we may see a D3500 and a D7500. Perhaps the D5 will be a shallower body.

Wow was that logical. You may have uncovered their numbering system. @donaldejose, you have too much time to think about such things. LoL ">

KnockKnock

My recent thought on touchscreen... okay, not useful for optical viewfinder function, but how about setup? How much time do we spend when we first get a new camera? For me it's usually hours. When taking it out for a known shooting environment. I'll dork around for 5 minutes before bagging and heading out the door. The D810 has all the buttons for shooting, but the 5x00 series has so few buttons it relies on its menus more than any other Nikon DSLR. (The D3x00 series has a series of buttons on the left side.) So I can't help but think it's still a huge improvement.

ggbutcher

I don't see much added value of a touchscreen interface over the rocker button for menu navigation. If you know where things are in the menu tree, to me the buttons work as well as any of the possible touchscreen manipulations I know.

My priority is for expeditious real-time settings during shooting, and the buttons, dials, and U-modes of my new camera support me just fine. I don't mind fumbling with the menus before heading out the door, but when shooting, I want to get the settings I need without delay.