The D5200 employs newly developed Nikon DX-format CMOS sensor with 24.1 effective megapixels. Combined with the sharp depiction of NIKKOR lenses, the high resolution renders details of the subject minutely and delivers images with great definition and depth. The sensor also supports wide ISO sensitivity range, high-speed readout during live view and Full HD movie recording.

The D5200 comes equipped with image-processing engine EXPEED 3, equivalent to that of higher-end models such as the D4. It processes multiple tasks in parallel at high speed while maintaining high precision to bring out the full potential of the 24.1 megapixels for both still images and movies. The image processing of the EXPEED 3 is excellent at color reproduction, gradation processing and image quality at high sensitivity. It reproduces human skin tone, eyelashes and hair more faithfully. Furthermore, from image processing and card recording to image playback and image transfer, EXPEED 3 manages massive amounts of data at high speed. Even with high ISO noise reduction and Active D-Lighting, continuous shooting speed is not sacrificed, realizing comfortable shooting. This also contributes to energy saving.

The D5200's wide ISO sensitivity range is from ISO 100 to 6400, expandable to Hi 1 (ISO 12800 equivalent) and Hi 2 (ISO 25600 equivalent). The camera reduces noise effectively even at high ISO sensitivity setting while maintaining definition as much as possible to deliver sharp images. Setting high ISO sensitivity enables you to shoot at faster shutter speeds and capture pictures without worrying about image degradation caused by camera shake even in low-light situations or when shooting a moving subject. This superior high-sensitivity performance is also effective for D-Movie and you can record beautiful movies without large-scale lighting equipment even when light is scarce.

Active D-Lighting is effective for shooting, for example, a dark room including outside scenery seen through a window, high-contrast scenes such as at the seaside under strong sunlight, and backlit situations. It preserves details in both highlights and shadowy areas in such situations, maintaining moderate contrast to reproduce brightness as you see it. Select the preferred setting from "auto", "extra high", "high", "normal", "low" or "off". The D5200 employs a image-processing system that causes less shift of color even when the strength level is increased. Image-processing time is shortened by highly accurate and high-speed real-time processing. And color reproduction is further enhanced with image-processing engine EXPEED 3. Unlike HDR (High Dynamic Range), Active D-Lighting does not require the process of combining images, therefore it is effective for shooting moving subjects such as people.

Two images taken with one shutter release at varying exposure are combined to produce a single image that has a wider dynamic range (range of contrast to reproduce tonal gradation) with less loss of detail in highlights and shadows. The result is images with less noise and rich tonal gradation throughout the entire frame including shadows and highlights even in high-contrast shooting scenes. HDR mode is selectable from "auto", "extra high", "high", "normal", "low" and "off". The exposure differential of the two images up to 3 EV and the smoothness of the edge where the two exposures meet are automatically set according to the strength level.