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Nikon D5600 Camera Review: Controls and Layout
Nikon D5600: Compact Yet Powerful DSLR with Impressive Battery Life
Exploring the Controls of Nikon D5600: Convenience Meets Functionality
Nikon D5600: A Look into Control Customization and Accessibility
When enabling Auto ISO, the LCD screen displays the current ISO speed, but inconveniently, this information doesn't appear in the viewfinder. There's no option to show exposure information when reviewing photos. Thus, it's difficult to monitor ISO speed when shooting with Auto ISO and the viewfinder.
Other shooting modes have dedicated buttons, but it took me a moment to find it, tucked around the front of the Nikon D5600. This includes the timer option, but switching between the ten-second timer (for group selfies) and the two-second timer (to avoid shake when shooting on a tripod) requires another trip into the main menu. The timer also resets after each use, which is inconvenient for repetitive tripod shots like macro or studio photography. It must be acknowledged that the camera's Exposure Delay mode serves the same purpose and can be selected in the Shooting submenu -> Display, but that means the two-second delay function seems redundant in its current form.
Ultimately, issues with the controls are more annoyances than major inconveniences, and day-to-day operation is generally comfortable and straightforward.
Nikon D5600 Camera Review: Connectivity
SnapBridge support is the main feature – nearly the only one – in the Nikon D5600 compared to the D5500 it replaces. This utilizes a combination of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi to communicate with smartphones or tablets. Bluetooth maintains a continuous connection, handling JPEG transfers, and Wi-Fi is only invoked when remote operation is needed.
NFC is also included to expedite initial setup, and it works seamlessly with Android phones in my testing, even synchronizing time from the phone to the camera. From there on, 2-megapixel photo copies are transferred within seconds of being captured without needing active selection on both devices even when the camera is turned off.
This will certainly impact battery life, but it's a great feature to be able to review captured photos on a larger tablet screen, perhaps on your way home. Depending on the cloud sync settings of your device, photos will also automatically appear in your online photo album. However, I encountered issues with this. After a few days, the automatic link was lost and it proved extremely difficult to set it up again. The camera kept telling me it was successfully paired, but the app reported it failed. I also struggled to connect to the iPad, lacking NFC, so manual Bluetooth pairing was required before proceeding. User reviews of the apps indicate this kind of experience is not uncommon.
Nikon D5600 Camera Review: Performance and Autofocus
Elsewhere, overall performance is in line with the Nikon D5500. The Nikon D5600 will capture a photo every 0.4 seconds under normal use, and this slows down to 2.9 seconds when composing photos using the LCD screen. This is a common issue with DSLR cameras but the Canon EOS 750D is much faster. Continuous shooting is 4.8 frames for 17 JPEGs or eight RAW frames before the card speed slows down.
The Nikon D5600's 39-point autofocus sensor and 3D Tracking feature mean the camera can track moving subjects around the frame with reasonable reliability. The Nikon D5600 lacks the necessary sustained performance for serious action photography but it's still handy for capturing moving subjects like children. The generous number of autofocus points also means you can accurately focus on the subject's eyes without having to focus, recompose the scene, and then shoot.
Nikon D5600 Camera Review: Video Quality
Video is recorded at 1080p resolution with frame rates up to 60fps. There's an option for automatic or manual exposure, but no priority on shutter speed or aperture. However, the maximum recording time has increased from 10 to 20 minutes for 50fps and 60fps clips.
The image quality is highly impressive with vibrant colors and low noise, but the details are not as sharp as those from the best 1080p DSLR cameras, and certainly, it falls far behind the output of 4K cameras.
There's no continuous autofocus for video. Updating focus requires half-pressing the capture button or tapping the touchscreen. This works quite well, avoiding unnecessary focus hunting when your subject is relatively static and the kit lens responds quickly but silently.
