The Nikon D5 is the company's flagship action-oriented DSLR, sporting a 20.8MP full-frame sensor, 153-point autofocus system and a full-size, double-grip chassis that is both tough as nails and exceedingly comfortable to use. Though the core build of this camera remains very similar to the D4S, the sensor and autofocus system are entirely new and - as we'd expect - designed with speed and reliability in mind.
Nikon D5 Key Specifications
- All new Nikon-designed 20.8MP full-frame image sensor
- Expeed 5 processor
- All new 153-point phase detection autofocus system with 99 cross-sensors
- Automated autofocus fine tune
- Native ISO range now stretches from 100-102,400
- 12fps continuous shooting with full autofocus and autoexposure
- 4K video recording
- Offered in dual CF and dual XQD memory card configurations
- Touchscreen functionality during both stills and video shooting
- CIPA rating of 3,780 shots per charge using the same EN-EL18a battery as D4S
Due to its large size and tip-top placement in Nikon's lineup, the D5 originally struck me as a somewhat intimidating camera to put through a thorough review. But really, with a little bit of work to get it set up the way I like and the development of some muscle memory as to where all the proper buttons are, the D5 has proven to be one of the most reliable, and as such, one of the least stressful cameras I've ever had the pleasure of using. Of course, that doesn't mean that it isn't meant to be put through stressful situations. Quite the opposite.
Here's a quick comparison of the key specs of the D4S, D5 and 1D-X II.
| Nikon D4S | Nikon D5 | Canon 1D-X II | |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSRP | $6499 | $6499 | $5999 |
| Sensor | 16.2MP CMOS | 20.8MP CMOS | 20.2MP CMOS |
| ISO range (native) | 100-25,600 | 100-102,400 | 100-51,200 |
| AF points | 51 | 153 | 61 |
| RGB metering sensor resolution | 91k pixel | 180k pixel | 360k pixel |
| LCD | 3.2" 920k-dot | 3.2" 2.36M-dot touch-enabled | 3.2" 1.62M-dot touch-enabled |
| Burst rate | 11 fps | 12 fps | 14 fps |
| Video | 1080/60p | 4K/30p | 4K/60p |
| Battery life (CIPA) | 3020 shots | 3780 shots | 1210 shots |
| Dimensions | 160 x 157 x 91mm | 160 x 159 x 92mm | 158 x 168 x 83mm |
| Weight | 1350 g | 1405 g (XQD) | 1530 g |
Clearly, there are some exciting innovations hidden beneath the D5's skin, but in the end, it's likely not the most exciting camera to the average consumer. So in an age of decreasing camera sales, why does Nikon bother to continue producing such machines? Well, in the most extreme of situations, phones and lesser digital cameras will simply be unable to capture the same sorts of moments that flagship cameras like the D5 are, from the get-go, built to capture.
2016 is an Olympic year, and it's not a coincidence that this year has seen new flagship DSLRs from from both Canon and Nikon.
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| Of course, the D5 isn't just for shooting the Olympics. Processed to taste from Raw. Photo by Carey Rose. Nikon 135mm F2D | F4 | 1/200 sec | ISO 400 |
Here is the beef
There's no denying that the Nikon D5 is one beefy camera. Without a lens, it weighs 1405g, or just over three pounds. But there's a good reason for that. The D5 is over-engineered on purpose - it's built to take a knock, a drop or a flying rock kicked up from a dirt-bike. It might even take a bullet, but we're not really allowed to test that. And with a properly sealed lens attached, the D5 should also stand up to a downpour and freezing conditions with ease. This camera comes with a tough magnesium-alloy shell, one that feels like you could pound nails with (we didn't try).
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| The D5's robustness means I can focus more on the action and less on whether or not I'm going to hurt the camera. Processed and cropped to taste in Adobe Camera Raw. Photo by Carey Rose. Nikon AF-S 300mm F4 PF | F4 | 1/2000 sec | ISO 200 |
Another contributor to the D5's beefiness is its battery. It's CIPA-rated to 3,780 shots, which not only promises an absurd amount of shooting between charges, but is also a sign of increased efficiencies within the camera. Despite more megapixels, a faster burst rate and a more computationally intensive autofocus system, the rating has increased compared to its predecessor, which uses the same battery pack. (Fun fact: to save you the trouble of opening your calculator app, the CIPA rating of 3,780 shots actually only translates to five minutes and fifteen seconds of shooting at its burst rate of 12fps.)
The Evolution
I'm a long-time Nikon shooter, but not one that's personally invested in pro-level bodies from the Dx series. At first, if you've used even a semi-pro body from Nikon's recent past, you'll feel familiar with the D5. But when you get more familiar with the camera (and as we cover in detail on our 'Body & Design' page), Nikon's made some changes to the button layout of the D5 that will have some users scratching their heads, and others praising the ergonomic improvements from the added level of button customization.
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| Streetlight-and-strobe-lit. Processed to taste from Raw. Photo by Carey Rose. Tamron 85mm F1.8 SP VC | F1.8 | 1/125 sec | ISO 12800 |
In summary, the D5 is a camera that will be lusted over by a lot of enthusiasts, but largely abused by its intended customer base - working professionals. These photographers will simply pick it up, do their best to re-assign all their buttons the way they had re-assigned them on their D4S's, and get to work. For long-time sports shooters and wedding photographers, a more comprehensive rethink and redesign of cameras like this would probably not go over well.
Instead, the evolving Dx line continually provides meaningful updates that will make it easier for established pros to capture images that they already know how to take. In this vein, the D5 is indeed a worthy upgrade and successor to the D4S for a number of reasons. So without further ado, let's take a closer look to find out why.
Specifications
| Price | |
|---|---|
| MSRP | $6499/£5729 |
| Body type | |
| Body type | Large SLR |
| Body material | Magnesium alloy |
| Sensor | |
| Max resolution | 5588 x 3712 |
| Image ratio w:h | 1:1, 5:4, 4:3, 3:2 |
| Effective pixels | 21 megapixels |
| Sensor photo detectors | 21 megapixels |
| Sensor size | Full frame (35.9 x 23.9 mm) |
| Sensor type | CMOS |
| Processor | EXPEED 5 |
| Color space | sRGB, Adobe RGB |
| Color filter array | Primary color filter |
| Image | |
| ISO | Auto, 100-102400 (expandable to 50-3280000) |
| Boosted ISO (minimum) | 50 |
| Boosted ISO (maximum) | 3280000 |
| White balance presets | 12 |
| Custom white balance | Yes (6 slots) |
| Image stabilization | No |
| Uncompressed format | RAW |
| JPEG quality levels | Fine, normal, basic |
| File format |
|
| Optics & Focus | |
| Autofocus |
|
| Autofocus assist lamp | No |
| Number of focus points | 153 |
| Lens mount | Nikon F |
| Focal length multiplier | 1× |
| Screen / viewfinder | |
| Articulated LCD | Fixed |
| Screen size | 3.2″ |
| Screen dots | 2,359,000 |
| Touch screen | Yes |
| Screen type | TFT LCD |
| Live view | Yes |
| Viewfinder type | Optical (tunnel) |
| Viewfinder coverage | 100% |
| Viewfinder magnification | 0.72× |
| Photography features | |
| Minimum shutter speed | 30 sec |
| Maximum shutter speed | 1/8000 sec |
| Exposure modes |
|
| Scene modes |
|
| Built-in flash | No |
| External flash | Yes (via hot shoe and flash sync port) |
| Flash X sync speed | 1/250 sec |
| Drive modes |
|
| Continuous drive | 14.0 fps |
| Self-timer | Yes (2, 5, 10, 20 secs) |
| Metering modes |
|
| Exposure compensation | ±5 (at 1/3 EV, 2/3 EV, 1 EV steps) |
| AE Bracketing | ±5 (2, 3, 5, 7 frames at 1/3 EV, 2/3 EV, 1 EV steps) |
| WB Bracketing | Yes |
| Videography features | |
| Resolutions | 3840 x 2160 (30p/25p/24p), 1920 x 1080 (60p/50p/30p/25p/24p), 1280 x 720 (60p/50p) |
| Format | MPEG-4, H.264 |
| Videography notes | 1.5X crop mode with DX lenses |
| Microphone | Stereo |
| Speaker | Mono |
| Storage | |
| Storage types | Dual CompactFlash or dual XQD |
| Connectivity | |
| USB | USB 3.0 (5 GBit/sec) |
| HDMI | Yes (mini-HDMI) |
| Microphone port | Yes |
| Headphone port | Yes |
| Wireless | Optional |
| Wireless notes | Requires WT-5A or WT-6A |
| Remote control | Yes (wired, wireless, smartphone) |
| Physical | |
| Environmentally sealed | Yes |
| Battery | Battery Pack |
| Battery description | EN-EL18a lithium-ion battery & charger |
| Battery Life (CIPA) | 3780 |
| Weight (inc. batteries) | 1415 g (3.12 lb / 49.91 oz) |
| Dimensions | 160 x 159 x 92 mm (6.3 x 6.26 x 3.62″) |
| Other features | |
| Orientation sensor | Yes |
| Timelapse recording | Yes |
| GPS | Optional |
| GPS notes | GP-1A |
Body and design
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As stated in the introduction, the D5 is built like a tank and will, for the most part, be immediately familiar to established Nikon shooters. Despite the weight, it's incredibly comfortable to hold - you'd likely get a shoulder or neck cramp before you get a hand cramp when using the D5. It's absolutely covered in buttons, to make sure that almost all the functionality you could need is available without diving into the menus. But that's to be expected. Let's take a look at what's really new and novel about the D5 compared to its predecessor and competitors.
What's really new and novel
In a break from tradition with regards to flagship cameras, the D5 includes a touchscreen. We'll delve more into what it's like to use on our Controls page, but for Nikon's first touchscreen effort outside of its consumer-oriented models, this one works very well indeed. And if you're touchscreen-averse, you can easily turn it off within the menus (but strangely, even when it's on, you can't use it to navigate those menus).
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On the front of the camera, you gain a new function button compared to the D4S, which I've found to be handy for quick switching between the D5's autofocus modes. Unfortunately, when you switch the camera to portrait orientation, you lose two of those function buttons, but you do gain a new one next to the vertical shutter button.
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| The new Fn1 button combines with Pv and Fn2 to give you one button for each of your three non-shutter fingers on the front of the D5. |
The learning curve
However, there has been some button-shuffling that's likely to result in some feather-ruffling on the part of D3 and D4-series owners. The 'Mode' button has been moved to the left shoulder of the camera, having been replaced by an 'ISO' button that used to be on the rear of the camera. The ISO button on the rear plate has been replaced by a 'Continuous Shooting' button, allowing you to fine-tune your 'continuous high' and 'continuous low' shooting speeds without diving into the menus.
While, in theory, this change provides faster access to ISO, especially for shooters that stick to manual and for whom the mode button is rarely used anyway, it represents a major jolt for established users' muscle memory. The former setup has been used for many generations of Nikon cameras, including the 'semi-pro' D7/800-series, and the new button layout had me and other Nikon shooters at DPReview continuing to change the ISO sensitivity whenever we wanted to change exposure mode, even after weeks with the camera (Canon shooters on the team loved it though).
The ISO button placement comes with another couple of problems as well - for those that like to use Auto ISO, you can still hit the button and twiddle the front dial to turn it on and off. It's something that many users have been doing for years, having reassigned the movie record button to ISO on other Nikon cameras. But for those that haven't done so, it's an adjustment doing it with one hand instead of two. Additionally, with the camera in portrait orientation, it's incredibly difficult to find and manipulate the ISO button (and you can't reassign the function button by the vertical shutter to ISO), whereas when it was on the rear plate, you could easily reach it with your left thumb. On the plus side, you can get some of the previous models' familiarity back by assigning the 'movie record' button plus a dial to control shooting modes, but again, it will be a bit of an adjustment to some established users.
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| Compared to the top plate of the D4S, the D5 gains an ISO button, and shifts the Mode button to the left shoulder of the camera. |
Strangely, the above changes conspire to create a pretty steep initial learning curve, even for experienced pro Nikon shooters. Put it this way - a D3-series or D4-series photographer picks up a new D5 and heads out to a shoot, assuming all is well, and ends up constantly changing the continuous drive speed instead of the ISO, or the ISO value instead of the shooting mode. Sure, that photographer will learn in time, but it's disorienting at best, and at worst, could (and trust us - sometimes does) result in missed shots.
The rest
As with previous Dx models, Nikon does not include Wi-Fi with your $6,500 purchase. Instead, you must use Nikon's WT-5A wireless transmitter, currently weighing in at $877 from Nikon's own site. When attached, the WT-5A blocks the headphone port, and clutters up the left side of the camera in general.
A welcome change is the D5's switch to USB 3.0 compared to USB 2.0 on the D4S. This is handy if, like me, you shoot the XQD version of the D5 and forget your card reader...somewhere. Sure, the D5's USB port isn't quite as fast as a good card reader, but it's not bad. The only real inconvenience here is that if you're a Mac user you must use either Apple's or Nikon's Image Capture software to transfer your files, as the D5 won't just mount on your OS X desktop like a card reader will.
Beyond those changes, it's pretty much business as usual. Let's take a closer look at some of the controls on the D5 and some new customization options that it brings to the table.
Controls & Setup
Sure, the D5 feels a lot like a D4S, but when you dig a little deeper, the D5 (along with the D500) brings the possibility of some interesting customization options to its controls, as well as a touchscreen interface that works very well.
First and foremost, it's now easy to set up customizable buttons, thanks to the new graphical user interface for customization:
 | New to the D5 and D500: a GUI for button customization. This list is 3 pages long on the D5: it's an immensely customizable camera. |
A touchscreen? On a flagship?
The D5's touchscreen is very well implemented, responsive and introduces some useful new functionality, even for photographers that might otherwise be inclined to disable it.
As you would expect, you can swipe between images and pinch-to-zoom with a similar 'smoothness' to modern smartphones. And though you can hit the center button on the directional pad on high-end Nikons to quickly zoom in to 100%, it will only zoom into 100% at the point of focus.
But let's say you wanted to check focus on an image where you focused-and-recomposed, so the center button-press would zoom you somewhere irrelevant. In this case, you can double-tap anywhere on the screen to zoom in to that point. It's a small distinction, but it can be handy. Lastly, Nikon has implemented a 'scrubbing' feature. By holding your finger on the bottom of the screen and dragging left and right, you can scrub through a large number of images very quickly and efficiently. Also, thanks to face detection, you can zoom into a face in playback, then twiddle the rear dial to move between images at that zoom level while the D5 automatically moves the zoomed view to correspond with any movement of that subject's face. It's pretty handy, especially with this sort of burst speed.
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The touchscreen offers some predictable (but still handy) functionality in live view. You can touch to move the focus point in both stills and movie modes, but Nikon's contrast-detect movie AF isn't great and you can expect some hunting. Still, it's a welcome addition for setting your focus point prior to starting recording, at least.
We've also found visibility on the screen to be so good that, while it isn't as convenient for low-or-high angles as a tilting design, it is good enough to allow framing and touch-to-focus at angles that wouldn't have been possible on previous models.
Where the touchscreen falls down is its inability to help you navigate menus or manipulate on-screen options in live view. This isn't a deal breaker, but it's a bit odd not to have the option. As an example, it'd be really handy to use the touch interface to add items to and re-order Nikon's 'My Menu' functionality.
Customization and autofocus
Although it has never been a weak point on Nikon's flagships, the D5 increases the breadth of customization options for its assignable function buttons. New in this generation is the ability to press a function button and have it change the AF Area mode, and also engage that new area mode if you so choose. This means you can have a half-press of the shutter correspond to one mode, assign another mode to one of the front function buttons (or all of them, if you wanted - I personally use the one under my ring finger for this purpose), then assign AF-ON to yet another mode, and also assign a full-press of the AF joystick to another mode.
 | You can assign any AF area, with or without AF activation, to any function button. If your main AF mode fails for the scenario you're shooting, you can quickly try a different mode with the press of a button. Oddly, 3D Tracking is not assignable, so you'll have to make it your main AF mode if you want to use it. |
Even as a back-button AF user, I have the D5 set up to instantly switch between three different AF modes with simple button presses. Sure, changing modes with the AF switch and twiddling a dial was already pretty fast, but if I find that a mode isn't working for a particular subject, I can change modes with my eye to the finder and without even switching my grip. That's the kind of speed and adaptability I'd imagine would be useful for, say, athletics photographers at the Olympics.
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| Despite low-ish lighting conditions and an abundance of possible subjects in this frame, Nikon's Auto Area AF just worked, hitting the guitarist with no less than five AF points. Processed to taste from Raw. Photo by Carey Rose. Nikon 24-70mm F2.8E VR @ 24mm | F2.8 | 1/250 sec | ISO 9000 |
If that weren't enough, you can even assign any of these buttons to instantly jump to a preset focus point. You can't assign different points to different buttons though; only one overall preset point is remembered, though the camera can store two separate such preset points per shooting orientation, if you have a7 ('Store by orientation') enabled under Autofocus settings.
The one thing this Nikon won't let you do? Change from AF-C to AF-S with a single button press. But that's an edge case that won't matter to many people, and as someone who shoots in 3D Tracking mode most of the time anyway because it just works so darn well, it isn't a huge deal to me either.
Other controls
As stated earlier, the D5 is riddled with buttons to keep you from having to stop taking pictures and dive into the menus. Those buttons are solid with a good amount of travel, the control dials aren't too rubbery, but as is typical for Nikon Dx cameras, the 8-way controller on the back of the camera is still mushy.
Regarding the AF joysticks (sub-selectors), I'm not alone in the DPR offices in being a bit frustrated by their operation. Probably in an effort to minimize the risk of accidental bumping, the joystick doesn't work so well when you tap it to move the AF point. It just doesn't respond sometimes. Instead, if you roll your thumb around on it, it works very well - continuously moving the AF point in the direction you're pressing. But this makes it difficult to precisely place the AF point. The Canon 1D-X cameras insteadexpect you to tap to move the AF point in single steps (they don't continuously move the point at all), and work quite well this way. Furthermore, sometimes I'll want to do a full-center press of the joystick to initiate a different autofocus mode, but it will move the focus point instead. Other times, the opposite happens. With some practice, it's been happening less frequently, but it's worth noting.
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| The AF joysticks might be a little fiddly, but there's nothing fiddly about how reliably the AF system can lock focus in dark conditions. Processed and cropped to taste from Raw with slight additional noise reduction. Photo by Carey Rose. Tamron SP 85mm F1.8 VC | F1.8 | 1/200 sec | ISO 40,000 |
An additional gripe - the 'lock' switch on the back only locks the 8-way controller andthe AF joysticks, with no provision to lock either individually. It's a small thing, but frustrating nonetheless.
Appropriately for a camera that shoots at up to ISO 3.2 million, almost all of the back panel buttons of the D5 as well as the mode dial are backlit for easy manipulation when the sun goes down. It's something you take for granted until you switch to a lesser body without it, especially if (or more likely when) you forget about that mode-and-ISO-button shuffle.
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Light-up controls for all of your 'available darkness' shooting needs.Performance
The D5 exists to serve the needs of professional photographers that need the ultimate in performance. Because of its bulk, the D5 has room for a large battery and robust shutter mechanism, both of which are big contributors to just how quickly this camera operates.
General performance
Even after you get it set up to your liking and develop a muscle memory for the controls, it will basically feel like the D5 is waiting for you, the squishy biomass behind the viewfinder, to catch up.
Part of that is the imperceptible shutter lag. Part of it is taking three photos of something when you only wanted one, and had accidentally left the camera on 'Continuous High' (seriously, all the time). Part of it is the almost unbelievably quick write-times of XQD cards. And a big part of it is the incredibly short viewfinder blackout, so that even motoring away at 12fps, you can easily follow your subject in the finder.
Continuous shooting
The D5 will shoot continuously at 12fps with minimal viewfinder blackout, or 14fps with the mirror locked up, and it will do so for quite some time with decent XQD cards. I'm not really a fan of mismatched memory card slots, so I was pleased to see you could get the D5 either with dual-CF or dual-XQD cards. After shooting a dual-XQD D5 for some time, I think I've officially become an XQD convert (though I really wish they had come up with a catchier name for them). Here's how the buffer looks with a Sony G series card in the camera.
It's worth quickly crunching these numbers and noting that even at the highest of the tested settings, 95 shots is almost eight seconds of continuous shooting. The 200-shot limit imposed by the D5 (though the camera will happily keep shooting, just at a decreased frame rate) takes the better part of 17 seconds. That's a lot of continuous shooting, made all the more impressive by the fact that the D5 will motor away at that speed with full autofocus and autoexposure.
Furthermore, with a 400 MB/s XQD card, we would only wait about a second or two after firing 200 Raws for the camera to finish writing all of them to the card. And could check focus at 100% on any shot immediately after shooting any burst, thanks to the camera writing JPEG previews to the card before the Raws. You'll never find yourself waiting with this camera/card combo.
Is it worth shooting at 14 fps without being able to see what you're shooting? That depends on your needs and how the camera is set up. For a non-scientific shoot of a sub-two-second golf swing, the extra two images I got with the higher speed mode didn't really make much of a difference compared to the inconvenience of not being able to see my subject while shooting. In comparison the Canon 1D-X II in its comparable mode can shoot at 16 fps mode while showing you a succession of last-shot images on its LCD, allowing you to follow your subject and re-frame. We wish the D5 did the same.
The D5 is also capable of continuous, 100% silent shooting in Live View at up to 60 frames per second. The catch? You'd better be okay with 5MP JPEGs (and rolling shutter), because that's all the camera will output in this mode.
Battery life
So, with 12fps and essentially unlimited buffer depth depending on your settings, the CIPA rating of 3,780 shots for the D5 should be welcome news. Of course, the very nature of such ratings is that your mileage can and will vary, but if you're careful not to chimp the screen too much, it's easily possible to stretch the battery to over 4,000 shots. Indeed, at this writing, our D5's battery sits at 58% with 3,272 shots on this charge so far. This kind of stamina is, frankly, incredible.
Image Quality
Edited from content originally published here on March 28, 2016.
Our latest test scene is designed to simulate both daylight and low-light shooting. Pressing the 'lighting' buttons at the top of the widget allows you to switch between the two. The daylight scene is shot with manually set white balance aimed at achieving neutral grays, but the camera is left in its Auto setting for the low-light tests (except Raw, which is manually corrected during conversion). We also offer three different viewing sizes: 'Full', 'Print', and 'Comp', with the latter two offering 'normalized' comparisons to more fairly compare cameras of differing resolutions by using matched viewing sizes. The 'Comp' option chooses the largest-available resolution common to the cameras being compared.
Go to full screen mode
ISO performance
So what does ISO 3 million look like? See for yourself if any of the ISOs above the D4S' previous maximum ISO offer anything useful. Nikon's claims of better ISO performance due to color filter array optimizations appear to have merit: noise levels in Raw mode are slightly lower in comparison to the D4S, or any other full-frame camera including the 1D-X II, when normalized. Although the performance advantage is more obvious at higher ISOs,like 204,800, the actual benefit does appear to be minimal at best. In fact, compared to the 42MP Sony a7R II, midtone performance at the very high ISOs is fairly similar at a common viewing size, with benefits most apparent in high ISO dynamic range, or, shadow performance at in extremely low light scenes. That benefit on the high ISO end diminishes at lower ISOs: the D5 has a 2 EV deficit in base ISO dynamic range compared to the a7R II.
Although the D5 is the best full-frame performer in terms of high ISO performance, you may be wondering: 'why the lack of a drastic improvement'? At this point, we're simply running up against the best that modern silicon can do: with single electron read noiselevels at the highest ISOs in some modern architectures, there's only so much performance to be gained without drastically increasing conversion efficiency or light gathering capability past the limits already imposed by the Bayer array and current (very good) microlens design.
JPEG performance
As evidenced by the gigabit ethernet port on the D5, it is designed not only to take photos quickly, but also to send them off quickly as well. Couple that with a growing tendency for news outlets to reject Raw files in favor of JPEGs from their contract shooters and the importance of a solid JPEG engine becomes even more apparent.
So how does the JPEG engine fare? In terms of detail retention, Nikon (and Canon, for that matter) have some work to do with respect to optimally balancing sharpening and noise reduction. Detail in the Raw is left on the table at both low and high ISO sensitivities, especially in comparison to Sony's more sophisticated engine. The lack of fine detail even at low ISO is likely due to large radius sharpening, which leaves behind halos at edges that aren't there in the Raw, or the Sony JPEG for that matter. That said, halos aren't as severe as with the Canon 1D-X II, which appears aggressively over-sharpened. While large radius sharpening sacrifices pixel-level detail, it does lead to higher perceived acuity at smaller viewing sizes - note how the 1D-X II appears sharpest when everything is downsized to 8MP, but at the cost of sacrificing finer detail. This sharpening is difficult to reverse if you don't want the halos or over-sharpened look, and overall we never experienced the eye-popping pixel-level detail we're used to seeing in recent Sony JPEGs at 100%.*
Colors are a strong point though, and generally appear punchier than the D5's predecessor. In fact, the D5 has some of the nicest yellows we've ever seen: Sony's yellows look positively green in comparison, and just more yellow than the 1D-X II. Nikon still renders some of the nicest greens we've seen, particularly due to their warmth. Canon still has the upper hand when it comes to reds though. Importantly, color saturation is retained at high ISOs - more so than with the D4S, and certainly more so than the Sony. By default, the D5 neutralizes warm tones under tungsten light, leading to somewhat unnatural results in low light, but you change this behavior by setting White Balance to 'Auto2: Keep warm lighting colors'.
The D5 is fairly aggressive with respect to noise reduction, but results are quite pleasing despite loss of detail. At ISO 25,600 we see smoother JPEGs compared to the D4S or the less aggressive engine of the 1D-X II, and when stretched to 51,200 or its highest native ISO of 102,400, the D5's JPEG engine really starts to come into its own. It retains color fidelity and accuracy extremely well, exhibiting a marked resistance to color bleeding and overly disruptive shadow noise. This all comes at a detail retention cost though, and the Sony a7R II more sophisticated context-sensitive noise reduction is able to preserve more detail, particularly in low contrast areas. The 1D-X II's more lackadaisical noise reductionleaves behind more noise, but without much added detail, so the D5's results are quite favorable in context.
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