Nikon Coolpix 3100 3MP Digital Camera w/ 3x Optical Zoom Review

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(More customer reviews)I actually bought my Niko in Japan and it came with the NiMH batteries, which I'll get too later. I had intended on buying one of the newer Sony camera's, but after shopping around a little I found that Nikon had all the same features as the Sony equivelant and took better pictures. Sony pics look a little grainy, especially at large sizes. This is my first digital camera although I've had a digital video camera for almst 4 years.
Picture quality: first and foremost, the picture quality is very good and is easily of the best camras in the 3.2 meg range. I've worked to blow the pictures up, use them as screensavers, etc and they look immaculate on my 19" screen.
Scenes: I haven't had much call to use the scene function, but I have worked on the indoor/ outdoor settings, portrait and even took some pictures with the "snow" setting in a room that looked way too white. The scenes also utilize flash contol. Overall these are easy to use, although as Amazon notes, you probably won't have use for many of them.
Performance: Autofocus could be a little quicker and a little more responsive in my book. I've had problems with the camera not focusing during portraits and coming out all blurry. With the time it takes to autofocus, the time it takes to record and the time it takes to setup for the next pic, the shutter speed is moot. Usually though, the camera works very well, indoors and outdoors. Outdoor pics look amazing on a nice sunny day. The Flash is a pain and requires some tooling. Get too close and everything comes out white, portrait takes a little too long. Everything else is fine.
Batteries: My biggest complaint. Anyone out there expecting to get any kind of use out of regular batteries can dream on. Even the NiMH batteries die way too fast and require constant recharging. When the batteries get low, which is usually after 10 or so pics, the camera will auto shut down while the flash recharges. Very irritating when combined with the autofocus and the time it takes to record pics to the memory. Takes forever to get another shot off. I'm tempted to bring the review down to three stars over this one feature, but I haven't experimented with other batteries yet so I'm going to give it the benefit of the doubt.
Conveience: The size, features and computer to camera setup is top notch. I have windows XP and I didn't need to install any software to copy the pics to my hard drive. It was plug and play. I like that the camera uses compact flash cards while other companies are going to more expensive formats. I have an Epson printer that can copy pics of the CF cards and they lok amazing.
Value: about average for a camera in this class, and I think the pros outweight the cons. Lets face it, this is just above entry level and not the best camera on the market, but easily one of the best in it's price range. Having owned this one for a little over a month, I may decide not to skimp when I upgrade. Most of my complaints could be easily resolved if I were willing to shell out the extra dough. Great camera for vacations, parties and portability.

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A compact, lightweight digital still camera with 3.2 effective megapixels and a powerful 3x zoom lens, the Coolpix 3100 is a friendly and versatile model, even for those who are using a digital camera for the first time. The Coolpix 3100 is ideal for people who want an easy-to-use digital still camera that offers great image quality, and who are looking to get more fun out of digital photography. The camera's compact body fits easily in a pocket for carry-anywhere portability.Featuring a 3x optical Zoom-Nikkor lens and 4x digital zoom, the Coolpix 3100 provides excellent optical performance. Coupled with Nikon's advanced image-processing algorithm, this ensures vibrant color, contrast and clarity in every picture. The camera's 3.2 effective megapixels offer remarkable resolution in printouts as large as B4 size.Shooting is simplified by general-use Auto Mode and 14 Scene Modes, four of which offer a Scene Assistance function for perfectly composed pictures, which allow users to capture the essence of every situation and fully experience the fun of digital photography. The Coolpix 3100 also features Continuous Shooting Mode and four Movie Modes, including one capable of recording a clip as large as 640 x480 pixels. Users can take up to 40 seconds of smaller-size video in color, B/W or sepia. In Macro Mode, the camera can shoot as close as 4cm (1.6 inch) from a subject and still get sharply focused shots.The Small Picture function creates reduced-size pictures that are perfect for e-mailing or Web posting, while the Date imprinting function allows users to date a picture at the time of shooting. Image effects such as B/W, sepia and halo filters extend users' creative options.The Quick Review button allows images to be viewed right away on the LCD monitor while maintaining live-action viewing. The Transfer function simplifies uploading image data to a computer.

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Nikon COOLPIX P500 12.1 CMOS Digital Camera with 36x NIKKOR Wide-Angle Optical Zoom Lens and Full HD 1080p Video (Black) Review

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(More customer reviews) I went out and shot another 200+ photos this morning.
To keep this review readable I will edit out my rant towards those that posted video reviews within days of the release notice of this camera.
A few more notes on thing I've "discovered" while shooting today.
I shot a couple short vids, used flash, turned off the camera multiple times and allowed it to hibernate many times, zoomed in and out and still the camera showed 1/4 of battery life left. Obviously if you're going to use this in a photo rich environment, carry a spare battery. Always better safe than sorry.
Some reviewers said they couldn't find any usable photos using HDR. I found it more than usable and will attach a couple photos to allow comparison.
I was using a grade 6 SD card today. That is the minimum Nikon recommends. It took approximately 13 seconds for the camera to process an HDR photo and a couple more seconds to write it to the card. Camera continues to show practically no lag time when taking standard shots. Only panoramas and HDR slow things down, with HDR certainly taking the longest. Nikon does have a progress bar that appears across the bottom so you don't think the camera is locked up.
While using full (or near full) zoom and in Auto mode, the camera did a fair amount of searching to focus on an item while in MACRO. Since my previous Lumix TZ5 was less than optimal in low light focusing, I am used to using either PROGRAM or Aperture priority on the Nikon to achieve focus on the intended target.
In what i consider "medium light" the camera refused to allow an aperture setting to maintain an narrow field of focus.
I'm certainly not down-grading my rating of the camera. I like it very much.
Just remember it is not a DSLR. In comparison it has a tiny sensor. There are always trade-offs. I am more convinced that this camera will suit my intended uses very well. The VR at extreme zoom still impresses me, as does the low light sensitivity and noise. Yes, there's noise, even at 560 ISO. It's not distracting however. Wait for the camera geeks to test and publish their data (i.e. dpreview.com) to get the hard statistics. My over all impression still stands and I'm glad I took a gamble and pre-ordered this camera and was on the initial round of deliveries from Amazon.
I have had possession of my P500 for my second evening to this point.
I've gotten to "play" a bit with it and here are my impressions.
Is it "the perfect camera for everyone?" No.
I personally don't believe such and animal exists nor will likely ever. Important factors to one shooter may be a non-factor or possibly a negative to another.
What is important is for each individual consumer (or gift giver)is consider the features that are most important to you.
Quickly summarizing me and my trigger points:
1)Travel friendly; great for nature shots, scenics, wildlife, architecture and has video capabilities. Do a reasonable job of photographing people when I must.
Size wise, very similar form factor (though a bit smaller)than my previous coolpix 8700. (Though nearly 3 times as thick and heavier than it's immediate predecessor, Panasonic's Lumix TZ5) Unless you have large cargo pockets, this is NOT a pocket-able camera. I have large hands and I find it comfortable to work with with controls placed logically and well. I passed the camera to a female co-worker with small hands and she also felt comfortable handling it, though she didn't take any shots with it. Build quality seems very solid, much more "put together" than comparative Canons that at times strike me as "less solid". My only concern at this point is the thumb rest pad on the right side, above the multi-function button may not hold up to long term usage, but it does appear to be inset, not just a "glue on" so may be fine.
Do a search of "Nikon P500 reviews" and look at the plethora of "reviews" that followed the announcement of release back on Feb 9th.
Find one that shows them actually USING the camera and THEIR photos and not displaying shots provided by Nikon. Don't call them "reviews" Call them "release notices" But, I digress.
I got this so I can become comfortable with it for my upcoming trip to Alaska. I will be asking a lot from it. From what I've seen so far, I believe it's up to the task. Some anticipated usage? Panoramas (this one does nice ones very cleanly and simply in both vertical and horizontal directions. It does horizontal in two flavors, 180 and 360 degrees PLEASE NOTE: you can only do the panorama in full wide angle and can not be in any zoom at all ) Catching wildlife in both stills from great distance and capture in slo-motion. Macro shots of flora and fauna. Along with "conventional" shots of points of interest.

Shots that I've taken to this point (right at 80, testing various preset and user/manual modes and extremes of the camera's range have shown me a few things.
Between the Nikkor lens assembly and the internal processing engine barreling and and pin-cushioning at the two extremes is minimal to non-existent to my eye. Some photos do exhibit loss of detail at the corner edges of the frame, nothing serious unless you're blowing your image up.
Under the USER function, you can set up frequently used settings rather than having to sift through menu options to change settings if you have certain effects you use regularly.
Some (a very few)of my shots appear to be slightly over exposed. Adjusting down .3 to .6 seems to please my eye more. It isn't in all shots and all situations, so let your eye be the judge.
The vibration reduction modes (there are two that minimize operator induced blur) seem to be very effective when taking still shots. Think what you're asking this one pound of engineering to do when you're extended out to an effective 800+mm zoom. Did every shot come out crystal clear? No. I had to cull out maybe every 5th or 6th photo. This was free handing it, using the sharp and clear, tilting 3" display and not the EVF, so it was away from my body and more prone to shake.
I have no plans on printing larger than 8x10's I've printed a couple out at that size and am more than pleased with the results. These were photos taken during normal daylight. Lower light photos blown up to that size will show noise.
I haven't run my camera with ISO's over 800 to this point. I'll get out there and push it's limits more this weekend. So far the noise generated by the camera have been well within acceptable limits for me. I wish the aperture was a touch bigger, but at this price point there is always trade-offs. The wide angle is wide, yet not exhibiting fish-eying.
Color rendering seems to pretty good, though I have seen others photos where there were pretty obvious issues when compared to similar full size sensor DSLR photos. I haven't experienced them and what I did see, can be easily corrected with some doctoring in a photo manipulation program.
In the few videos I have shot, the camera's vibration reduction can't cancel all my shake at full or near full zoom. Again, this is all free hand, when I was more cautious or used the EVF, drawing the camera to my head and making for a more stable platform for shooting, things improved dramatically.
Low light focus and flash images is good in the 10-15 photos taken under such conditions. Low light video hasn't been attempted by me to this point.
There is no ability to attach a filter on the lens nor is there a hot shoe. Regarding the filter, I wish I had the option to attach one if i wished, however it wasn't a deal breaker for me. I'm either shooting, or it's hanging down off my neck, on the ready or if I'm done shooting for a few, I snap the tethered lens cover on. Nikon is quiet clear that the cover must be removed before powering up the camera. The camera is very fast in being ready for the first shot. I don't have a stop watch but it's well under 1/2 second from OFF to ready to focus and shoot. There is virtually no lag time between shots unless the camera is stitching together and processing a panorama shot or a few other situations that are clearly outlined by Nikon and I haven't experimented with as of yet. Nikon wants you to use class 6 SD cards or faster, to keep camera write times down and ability to shoot quick.
If I find something compelling this weekend when I'm out putting it through it's paces, I will update this review with more relevant information. Likewise, should you kind readers have questions I can answer, feel free to inquire and I will do my best to respond.
My overall impression is very positive to this point. I wasn't expecting DSLR results in regards to picture quality and flexibility in various shooting conditions. This camera comes closer on both these aspects than I expected; and I'm carrying a LOT less gear and weight.
Nikon really should provide an external battery charger with the kit. In camera charging takes the camera out of use during the process. Otherwise the only other area I see they really missed the mark was by not adding threads to the lens barrel allowing filters/attachments.

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Zoom your world with the most powerful zoom lens ever designed in a Nikon COOLPIX camera%2E The 36x wide angle optical Zoom%2DNIKKOR ED glass lens breaks zoom boundaries with incredible power to shoot closer and wider%2E Amazing features like the CMOS sensor ensures superior images in challenging%0D%0Alight%2C and%2C your images will be super%2Dsharp with advanced VR vibration reduction technology%2E For those extreme action moments when the perfect shot can be gone in an instant%2C you%92ll love the high%2Dspeed continuous shooting mode to capture it all%2E And%2C when there%92s nothing but non%2Dstop action%2C keep it rolling with the versatility of Full HD %281080p%29 movie recording at the touch of a button%2E The high resolution vari%2Dangle monitor allows you to shoot at almost any vantage point%2E Enjoy the full scope of the COOLPIX P500 with new Easy Panorama mode for great panoramas automatically composed in%0D%0Acamera%2E The Nikon COOLPIX P500%85 zooming above and beyond%2E

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Nikon COOLPIX L120 14.1 MP Digital Camera with 21x NIKKOR Wide-Angle Optical Zoom Lens and 3-Inch LCD (Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)For anyone looking at getting a decent, mid-level point-and-shoot with the look and feel of an SLR, the Nikon Coolpix L120 is by far the best choice, even with its few shortcomings!
As a semi-professional photographer who primarily shoots film (but is slowly converting to digital) I always have kept at least a digital P&S camera with me to get those "quick" shots that I can't get because of the time involved in setting up the shot in an SLR. My previous camera, the Minolta DiMAGE S414 had been getting long in the tooth and was starting to glitch. A friend gave me his Nikon Coolpix E5200 and I was immediately hooked on Nikon's legendary imaging quality. However, the 5-megapixel sensor in the Coolpix E5200 was short of what I truly needed, so the same friend who gave me the E5200 also let me try out his Coolpix L110. I was blown away with how well the photos turned out! In my quest to buy my own Coolpix L110, I had heard back in February that Nikon was releasing the Coolpix L120, with a 2-megapixel increase over the L110 and several new features. Having read the first reviews of the camera, it seemed like a sure winner, so I took the plunge on March 14th of this year and secured one for myself.
Instantly, I was hooked on it. Right out of the box, this camera is a winner! The settings, user-interface, the sleek design and the nifty zoom selector on the lens barrel makes this camera worth every penny. In the short time I have owned it, I have already taken approximately 1,200 photos with it; everything from nature, bridges, even the sun! (with a solar filter, of course). And with its fantastic 21x optical zoom, I can photograph a car at more than a quarter-mile away and be able to clearly read its license plate!
The only drawback I can see is that Nikon has left out the ability to manually control your aperture and shutter speed settings (instead, leaving that for the Nikon Coolpix P500 which I was unimpressed with). However, those small shortcomings are overwhelmed by the simplicity this camera offers. Itching to get into Panorama photography, without the need for an expensive SLR with built-in panorama stitching? Consider it done! With this camera's Panorama-Assist feature (which overlays a small portion of the image onto the screen for the next shot to be composed), and the supplied Arcsoft Panorama Maker Pro 5 software, Panorama-style photography has never been more affordable. Looking to enhance photos with HDR-like color clarity? Consider that done, also! This camera supplies with it built-in D-Lighting that preserves the color intensity of an image yet bringing out the details otherwise hidden within dark shadows. Also supplied, incase you don't want to edit your images in-camera, is Nikon's own View NX-2, which not only includes D-lighting enhancement filters, it also offers a host of other image-editing capabilities!
In short, this camera has the competition beat! I would recommend it (I have the black version) over anything else.

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Get closer than ever to your active family with the powerful yet affordable Nikon COOLPIX L120%2E Your images will zoom to the next level with its astonishing high power 21x optical Zoom%2DNIKKOR glass lens that gets you wider and closer shots with ease%2E From the back of a theater or across the ball field%2C its%0D%0Anew side zoom control enables easy wide to telephoto shots%96so you can capture the whole scene or an expressive close%2Dup%2E With busy lifestyles%2C photo opportunities can pop up at any time%2C which is why you%92ll love fun and simple functions like Easy Auto Mode that optimizes settings for great%2C one%2Dtake only%0D%0Afamily photos%2E Record the moving moments with One%2DTouch HD %28720p%29 movie recording with stereo sound%2E The bright three%2Dinch touch panel LCD monitor lets you capture%2C edit and proudly show off your amazing images with crystal clear confidence%2E The new Nikon COOLPIX L120%85Zoom into Life%2E

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Nikon D3000 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera PRO ACCESSORY KIT Includes:2 EN-EL9a Batteries (HIGH CAPACITY/EXTRA LONG LIFE), AC/DC RAPID travel charger, 3 piece HIGH QUALITY filter kit (18-55mm) + DIGI Microfiber Cleaning Cloth + Pro Lens Cleaning Pen. Review

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(More customer reviews)your ad says camera 89% off with all the details for the camera and lense then when you go there it's just an accessory kit for a camera. Why would I trust that seller??????

Click Here to see more reviews about: Nikon D3000 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera PRO ACCESSORY KIT Includes:2 EN-EL9a Batteries (HIGH CAPACITY/EXTRA LONG LIFE), AC/DC RAPID travel charger, 3 piece HIGH QUALITY filter kit (18-55mm) + DIGI Microfiber Cleaning Cloth + Pro Lens Cleaning Pen.

Nikon D3000 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera PRO ACCESSORY KIT Includes:2 EN-EL9a Batteries (HIGH CAPACITY/EXTRA LONG LIFE), AC/DC RAPID travel charger, 3 piece HIGH QUALITY filter kit (18-55mm) + DIGI Microfiber Cleaning Cloth + Pro Lens Cleaning Pen.

Click here for more information about Nikon D3000 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera PRO ACCESSORY KIT Includes:2 EN-EL9a Batteries (HIGH CAPACITY/EXTRA LONG LIFE), AC/DC RAPID travel charger, 3 piece HIGH QUALITY filter kit (18-55mm) + DIGI Microfiber Cleaning Cloth + Pro Lens Cleaning Pen.

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