Customer Reviews

Nikon Coolpix 5600 5MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(14)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

I have owned 2 other digital cameras before (Kodak and Fuji) and without a doubt the Nikon Coolpix 5600 is in a league of its own.

Although it is really small, it is surprisingly ergonomic. My hands are not tiny but compared to my other cameras this one fits very well and does not result in crampy hand muscles. The case is plastic but does not feel cheap.

When I first picked up this camera, I had not read the manual. I just turned it on and started playing around with it. My first impression: It is VERY intuitive. The menu button on the back leads to varying choices which depend on which mode one choses (Auto, Scene, Portrait, Landscape, Sports, Night Shots and Movie). All the other buttons are straightforward as well. For example, if you want to delete a picture you just took, you simply press the button with the trash can symbol...

Later I briefly went over the manual and also found it to be an easy read and very structured. Unlike many other manuals this one was not an ordeal.

The 5600's autofocus is very fast. Of course if the flash is used, recharging takes a bit of time, but without flash the camera is ready for the next shot in a snap. The many program choices yield truly awesome results. I took mainly indoor pictures so far and am amazed at the quality. Unlike other cameras, the flash light does not wash out colors. The pictures come out balanced and just simply very nice and natural looking.

I also really like the 'assist' functions: In some modes, one can set up the camera to display helpful frames, e.g. in Portrait mode one can have the outline of a person's head and shoulders diplayed. All the aspiring photographer has to do is to hold the camera in a position where the head of his/her subject is in the circle frame, shoot, and the camera does the rest. One can even display this frame on the left or, alternatively, on the right or take a portrait shot of two people with two such assist frames displayed.

I have not yet had the time to try out all the functions (haven't tried Sports mode too much yet, or the copy function to copy back & white text) but one thing I can already say: This is not only the neatest camera I have owned so far, it also takes excellent pictures with very balanced flash-light results. To me, one of the quality signs is how a digital camera handles the color red, and this one does a fine job in this area, too. To anyone considering this camera: Go for it, you won't be sorry. And the price it great, too!

I tested the Coolpix 5600 to replace my Coolpix 2100, looking forward to the new features, such as a larger view screen, enhanced battery life, and some new photo features that allow you to choose black and white, or other color scales to enhance a photograph. Nikon quality is very high, and these cameras are very durable, though the hard plastic shells do tend to scratch a little with abuse. One positive change made to this camera was moving the photo dial from the top to the back side and minaturizing the dial. This is nice, since the top dial tended to move when the camera was taken out of a pocket or placed in a bag, which put the camera in a different shooting mode. One negative change was the loss of flexibily in battery choice. In the 2100, one could use the durable CR-V3 or any type of AA. This camera only accepts AA (Li, NiMH or alkaline) batteries, and this is negative because the refresh rate on the flash for this camera is relatively slow (3-7 seconds), independent of battery type (alkaline, NiMH or Energizer Li AA battery), even when the specific battery mode (alkaline, NiMH or Li) was chosen in the camera. The 2100 was a battery hog with a slow refresh rate for NiMH or alkaline batteries, but was an absolute champ with the disposable CR-V3 Li battery. Note that the 5600 does have a much better battery life using any AA battery compared to the 2100.
Bottom line: A solid performer, durable pocket camera, uses any AA battery with reasonable battery lifetime, but flash refresh is relatively slow. Great for outside use, but for "quick" flash photography, consider spending the extra cash for a Li-rechargable battery camera, such as the Nikon 5900 or the Canon SD200 or SD300.

I am a camera buff and have used many cameras. I would say that this is by far the best camera its size. It is probably a matter of personal tastes, but I think this camera takes much better pictures than the Canon A95.

White balance is wonderful, as with most Nikons.

here are the things that rock:

1. Compact and cute, fits in my jeans pocket
2. Uses just two AA batteries and is light weight( weighs less than the A95)
3. Has a lot of programming modes to handle almost all your day to day shooting needs
4. Crisp and clear images
5. Warns you that the image is going to be blurred before you shoot and also tells you if an image did turn out blurred so you dont have to waste memory saving it
6. EXCELLENT Macro mode, look at the sample image I have posted
7. Silent focusing
8. Super fast USB file transfers
9. Excellent value for money

What could improve:

1. The command dial feels flimsy
2. The battery compartment door feels very flimsy and if you are not careful, you will break it in no time

But in all, the very best value for your money.

I'll make this short and sweet for you. This camera has a lot of features and settings, but the flash recharge time takes about 5-10 seconds. To put it another way, right after you take a picture, the camera shuts down (screen goes black) for up to 10 seconds! This makes the camera useless when you are trying to catch sports action or silliness. You are going to get one good picture (if the horrible shutter lag doesn't make you miss it) and thats it. If you are looking for a camera to take pictures of your kids or other candid shots, this is not the camera for you.

I went with the Canon SD450 instead, it's ready to take another picture in less than 1 second. I am VERY happy with it.

I bought this camera a week ago.
This is my first digital camera that i have bought, but i have used lots others in the past.
This camera is outstanding. Extremely easy to use, great-great-great picture quality. It can fulfil the expectations of many starter amateur photographers and can nearly satisfy a professional one. Vivid colours....great.
The recharging of the flash is a lit bit slow.I think that this is this only negative element.
With a 512MB SD memory card you have up to 365 photos of 5mp....what else can an amateur ask?

Its the absolute "value for money" digit cam....maybe the best in its category!

I am the mom of two young boys (2 and 5 years) and take a lot of casual photos. Soccer games, silliness around the house, etc. I have been using the Kodak EasyShare digital camera, and have no complaints other than the size (it's on the larger size, and not convenient for just carrying around in my purse). My Kodak is about 4 years old and has performed really well, but I was in the market for something with more megapixels and small enough to take everywhere. My in-laws had visited a few weeks and I admired my mother-in-law's Nikon Coolpix 5900. They very kindly purchased the 5600 for me for my birthday earlier this week. I asked them to take it back.

The camera has lots of neat features, as several other reviewers stated and it is small and user-friendly. However, it took TWELVE SECONDS to recharge the flash between pictures. Which pretty much means that if I'm taking pictures at my son's soccer game and I get a picture of him lining up to take a shot at the goal, I can forget any pictures of him actually making that goal. Twelve seconds is way too long for me.

Other than the recycle time, this is a neat little camera. If time between shots is not an issue for you, than I would recommend it. Otherwise, look at the 5900 or 7900 models. They are a little more expensive, but absolutely worth it.

My in-laws were very gracious and took the camera back and exchanged it for the 5900, which is a faster camera.

I was attracted to the Nikon Coolpix 5600 by its price, extensive preset shooting modes, and compact size. It was put to the test on a one week vacation trip. The shooting modes were great - museum, sunset, night landscape, etc. And the size was handy. But there were two shortfalls. In one week, I went through two sets of batteries, taking a total of only 200 pictures. The second problem was the long time required to recharge before taking the next shot. It was a little annoying in daylight and painfully slow if I used the flash. Despite these two issues, it is an all around good camera.

Bought it with the Viking 128 SD card offer for $235. The only other I was considering was the Canon A95. But the Nikon offer was good, and the pics are great! For a beginner like me, the Nikon is SO easy to work with, from changing the different scene modes to uploading pics(I use Picasa and not Nikon's software).
Video quality is good, not excellent, but who cares?

I got it for $[...]and now it is down to $[...]at Amazon and for that price I don't know how you could beat it. It is so small it will fit in your shirt pocket. I carry mine in a very small Walmart soft case that has a strong belt strap. The case is thicker, but not larger than a cell phone case and there is room for extra batteries (which you will surely need) and an extra SD card. It comes without a SD card so I bought a 256mb card which will do 99 pics at the very highest qualitly setting on this 5.1 megapixel camera. You can double that by just dropping down to the default normal setting. Same size print but more compression. With ordinary examination of the two settings, I can't tell the difference. Maybe if you blow a picture up to 11 x 14 you could. It has a 3:1 zoom but you can take advantage of the 5.1 mp and crop the picture which will result in a higher effective zoom ratio without losing any noticeable resolution. At the widest zoom setting it is really a wide angle, unlike some video cameras which only zoom from normal to telephoto. It looks to be about the equivalent of a 35mm wide angle lense on a 35mm camera. The camera is a little small so watch your fingers when you shoot. It is loaded with automatic features and the built in menus are very easy to use. I can verify some of the criticism about the battery usage and the shutter delay, especially the latter. If you are doing flash shots of the grandbaby or the dog, you will get a lot of back-of-the-head shots because it takes about a second for the picture to set after you press the shutter. It also is hard on batteries if you use the flash frequently. I don't mind that much, because I buy the AA's by the dozens when they are on sale. Rechargeables are a pain to use in my opinion. Buy the camera - you can't lose at this price.

I bought this camera for my wife as a simple "point and shoot" camera. We are expecting our first child, and she wants plenty of photos, but really can't figure out my camera (a Nikon N80). This camera fits the bill. It is very simple to use, and produces excellent images. For the techno weenies like myself, it is very limited, but for the person who wants a simple tool to make high quality images, this is a good choice. One complaint that I have is it's use indoors. The flash is a little under powered, and there is (to me, anyway) a long recycle time after flash pictures. This issue apparently is improved in Nikon's more expensive Coolpix camers, but for the money, I would recommend this camera.