AmateurPhotographer

Testbench IN THE FIEld
stickler for good equipment
that not only gives me
confidence in my abilities but also
helps me to avoid missing
photographs on a couple’s big day.
The D5’s frame burst did seem
unnecessary at first, but after
shooting just one wedding I
realised I need this quantity of
images for the way I shoot. As a
former press photographer, I can
be guilty of firing off a lot of frames
in one day. I’m not saying that my
D750 isn’t capable of capturing
‘the moment’ by having lesser
frames per second capability, but I
do know that picture sharpness in
burst shots does suffer from time
to time. Now this could be a lens
issue, a light issue, or even a
‘driver’ error issue (me), but after
using the D5 and shooting with it
in a number of different situations,
I have found it to be much more
consistent in capturing sharp
images almost all the time. As a
professional photographer, you
can’t put a price on that.
I also think that because of its
build quality, a D5 would probably
last longer than my D750s.
Therefore, spending the extra
money on one might actually pay
off in the long run, and I’d be more
likely to get a better price for it
were I to upgrade it in time.
I had vertical grips attached
to my old D610 bodies, mainly
because I like having the extra
button to press for more
comfortable shooting. However,
you only have to look at my
website to see that 99% of my
images are horizontal. I only
shoot vertical when I need to do a
full-length shot of a bride in her
dress, or if a portrait of the couple
would benefit from an upright
crop. As a result, when I got the
much lighter D750 bodies, I
decided against buying grips for
them. For this reason, I think the
D5 is too chunky and heavy for
me to hold for a straight 12-hour
shift. For a two-hour, prewedding
shoot on the Dorset
coast it’s the perfect camera, but
for a full-on day of wedding fun I
think my back would be killing me
the day after.
Who do I think the D5 would
be perfect for? If you’re a press
or sports photographer, you’ll love
this camera. If you’re a wedding
photographer with bigger biceps
than I have, the Nikon D5 could be
the upgrade you’ve been waiting
for. It certainly has more than
enough megapixel punch for a
wedding photographer. Just don’t
An example of the accuracy of
the D5’s autofocus when shooting
directly towards the light at f/4
‘A few photographer friends have asked me
how I’m getting on with the loud shutter on
the D5. To be honest, it doesn’t bother me’
expect to be shooting with two of
them hanging from you all day.
Trust me: one will be enough.
A few photographer friends
have asked me how I’m getting
on with the loud shutter on the
D5. To be honest, it doesn’t bother
me. I don’t find it that different
from the D750. Last year, to try
to avoid ruining the atmosphere
at wedding ceremonies, I went
through a phase of using the
quiet setting on my D750.
After a few weeks I came to the
conclusion that the quiet setting
had a more annoying sound than
the normal shutter.
Will I be getting a D5 soon?
Well, considering both of my
D750 bodies are returning from
Nikon complete with brand-new
shutters, probably not. However,
after nearly a month with the D5 I
will be acutely aware of how I get
on with the D750 again. I’m pretty
sure it won’t be long before I miss
some of the D5’s features, for
example, the constantly excellent
focus tracking and, more
impressively, the burst rate.
When it comes to equipment,
I’m a firm believer in trying before
you buy. The fact that I’ve tried this
camera, and fallen in love with its
features, image quality and
consistently sharp images, means
it’s going to be hard for me
to dismiss it from my wish list.
The D5’s 180,000-pixel
metering sensor reads
scenes exceptionally well
48 14 May 2016 I www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I subscribe 0330 333 1113