Like the D5100 before it, the Nikon D5200 offers great photo and video quality.
Lori Grunin
I've been reviewing hardware and software, devising testing methodology and handed out buying advice for what seems like forever; I'm currently absorbed by computers and gaming hardware, but previously spent many years concentrating on cameras. I've also volunteered with a cat rescue for over 15 years doing adoptions, designing marketing materials, managing volunteers and, of course, photographing cats.
The D5200 has excellent JPEG processing and a solid noise profile for its price class. It does a slightly better job at resolving detail as ISO sensitivity rises than does the Canon EOS Rebel T4i, thanks to its higher resolution, which seems to give it about a stop more latitude.
2 of 10 Lori Grunin/CNET
ISO 100 JPEG
Low ISO sensitivity shots have a nice, natural-looking sharpness and good tonality.
(1/100, f5, ISO 100, spot metering, AWB, 18-55mm lens at 35mm)
3 of 10 Lori Grunin/CNET
ISO 200 JPEG
Just an example of an ISO 200 shot (scaled down).
(1/50, f6.3, ISO 200, spot metering, AWB, 18-55mm lens at 24mm)
4 of 10 Lori Grunin/CNET
ISO 400 JPEG
ISO 400 shots still display good edges with no color noise.
(1/30, f5.6, ISO 400, spot metering, AWB, 18-55mm lens at 18mm)
5 of 10 Lori Grunin/CNET
ISO 800 JPEG
I'm really impressed by the edge handling of the noise-reduction and JPEG algorithms, even as high as ISO 800.
(1/30, f3.5, ISO 800, spot metering, AWB, 18-55mm lens at 18mm)
6 of 10 Lori Grunin/CNET
ISO 1600, no noise reduction
The color noise remains quite fine-grained even as high as ISO 1600.
(1/60, f3.8, ISO 800, spot metering, AWB, 18-55mm lens at 20mm)
7 of 10 Lori Grunin/CNET
ISO 1600 raw vs. JPEG
Below ISO 1600, shooting raw gives you some exposure-adjustment latitude, but no clear advantages for noise-reduction or sharpness. ISO 1600 marked the first level at which I could gain a little sharpness by processing the raw, but not without some tradeoffs on grain.
(1/30, f5, ISO 1600, matrix metering, AWB, 18-55mm lens at 34mm)
8 of 10 Lori Grunin/CNET
D5200 vs. D5100
Overall, despite a change of sensor and resolution, the image quality of the D5200 looks roughly the same as the D5100.
(1/30, f3.5, ISO 1600, matrix metering, AWB, 18-55mm lens at 18mm)
9 of 10 Lori Grunin/CNET
ISO 6400 raw vs. JPEG
This is about the biggest I'd go with ISO 6400, either raw or JPEG.
(1/60, f3.5, ISO 6400, spot metering, AWB, 18-55mm lens at 18mm)
10 of 10 Lori Grunin/CNET
Color
The D5200 renders excellent color, even those hard-to-reproduce pears. The Standard (default) Picture Style colors don't push the contrast or saturation very hard; I could barely see a difference between it and the Neutral profile, with the exception of boosted sharpness.
