Nikon D5500: See the full review and our final conclusion for Nikon’s latest middle-tier DSLR

posted Wednesday, July 29, 2015 at 6:31 PM EDT

Nikon has enjoyed great success with their 5000-series, mid-level DSLR's dating back to the D5000, which debuted in 2009, to the D5300 which was honored with a well-deserved Camera of Distinction honor here on our site in our 2013 COTY awards. Here in 2015, we've very much enjoyed our time with the fifth and latest member of the line, the Nikon D5500, and we're now ready to unveil our full D5500 review and final conclusion.

As is the case with every camera we've ever tested, no camera is perfect, but some manage to find a real sweet spot in their price range and category. The D5500 is just such a camera, hitting high marks in many of the key areas that enthusiast photographers find necessary for image quality gratification, all while becoming the smallest and lightest DSLR that Nikon has yet produced (yes, even a wee bit smaller than the D3300). This seems a direct attempt to compete with not only other mid-level DSLRs but also against some models in the mirrorless world as well.

And as much as we love finding the gems within a camera, we're also obliged to root out anything we find objectionable, so head to our full Nikon D5500 review for all the details. For those of you craving a ton of detail, check out our Optics, Exposure and Performance pages, and for those of you wanting to hear about our real-world experience, both outdoors and while shooting an indoor sporting event, be sure to check out our Shooter's Reports Part I and Part II.

And lastly, for anyone wanting to skim straight to the conclusion, it is eagerly awaiting you!