PHOTO QUALITY. This 24-megapixel SLR captured images with very good quality. Pictures were very sharp, which means you can see even tiny details and very subtle patterns in the image. In low-light situations without a flash, pictures were sharp. We judged this model very good for outdoor performance, such as shooting landscapes in the daytime; excellent for indoor performance, such as photographing a well-lit basketball game in a gym; very good for performance under natural light without a flash, such as shooting under an overcast sky; and very good for low-light performance without a flash, such as capturing a birthday party. Photos taken in our low-light performance tests displayed little image noise; Subjects retained most of their correct detail and color.
FLASH. The D5300 with the 18-55mm kit lens captured flash shots that were very good. In our distance test, we found the camera's flash could illuminate subjects very well, both near and far. The flash also has very good, even coverage.
LENS. This camera has a standard 3x optical zoom lens. The lens also has wide-angle (27mm) capability that's useful for landscapes and group portraits, although you may notice a bit of distortion when you're shooting faces up close, for instance.
IMAGE STABILIZER. This is an important feature; taking hand-held shots at the telephoto end of the zoom range can generally blur or soften images due to the slight movement of your hands. In low-light settings, it rarely produced blurry photos.
SPEED. In terms of performance, the Nikon D5300 powers up instantly.
VIDEO. The Nikon D5300 takes very good video, at a quality like many SLR models. It captures full HD video at 1920 x 1080 60p.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS. It has HDR (high-dynamic range) settings. It has a built-in GPS tagging feature. Like all SLR models, it also includes a through-the-lens viewfinder, helpful when composing in bright light; this viewfinder has excellent quality. Although it has a display with 1,037,000 pixels, which should make it sharper than most in its class, we didn't find that the display stood out from the pack. The display also swivels; this can be helpful when shooting self-portraits or hard-to-reach shots. Like all cameras of this kind, it can capture RAW files, which gives you the most flexibility when manipulating image files with software, and has a hot shoe for attaching an external flash (generally sold separately). This SLR model is much smaller and lighter than most in its class. Even though this is a small and light SLR model, it was somewhat difficult to control and to take pictures with.
