Nikon Coolpix 800 2MP Digital Camera w/ 2x Optical Zoom

by Nikon

Product Details

Product Manual [2.43mb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 2.4 x 4.7 x 2.7 inches ; 2.4 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0000365CI
• Item model number: 800
• Batteries: 4 AA batteries required. (included)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (63 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #14,593 in Camera & Photo (See Top 100 in Camera & Photo)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: November 15, 1999

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Nikon first brought 2-megapixel quality to the consumer price range with the Coolpix 950; the Nikon Coolpix 800 digital camera continues Nikon's professional legacy at an even more affordable price point. With a 2.11-million-pixel, 0.5-inch CCD and a maximum resolution of 1,600 x 1,200, the Coolpix 800 gives you topnotch picture quality and a wide array of advanced features. It lets you save images in an uncompressed TIFF format plus three JPEG compression modes, with two resolution choices. It sports a 2x Zoom-Nikkor lens and a 1.25 to 2.5x digital zoom; you can shoot subjects as close as 2.8 inches away with the Macro setting.

The Nikon Coolpix 800's autofocus is truly impressive--it uses 480 steps for incredibly accuracy. The camera also offers 256-element matrix, spot, and center-weighted exposure modes. The built-in Speedlight flash includes auto flash, flash cancel, fill flash, slow sync, and red-eye reduction modes. Battery life is also a winner--even with the LCD turned on, the Nikon Coolpix 800 offers a battery life of approximately 100 minutes using four AA alkaline batteries. It ships with an industry standard 8 MB Nikon CompactFlash memory card, which stores up to 200 images, depending on image size; you can buy optional CompactFlash cards with up to 64 MB of memory.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

170 of 172 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great amateur digital camera!, April 15, 2000

By 

Jonason Keeton "Jonason!!" (Norcross, GA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nikon Coolpix 800 2MP Digital Camera w/ 2x Optical Zoom (Electronics)

I must admit that I like having new electronic toys when they come out. I purchased a digital camera in 1997 and was not entirely impressed by what 500$ got me then. However, 3 years later, I stumbled upon the Nikon Coolpix 800 at a great price and took another shot at digital imaging.

PICTURES: The pictures it takes are fantastic! The 1600x1200 resolution really makes a difference when making prints. They look like they were taken with a 35mm. This is not even mentioning the backing of a quality Nikkor lens that picks up lots of detail other digicams of the same resolution do not. Another feature that impressed me was the fact I could add additional lenses to it (and Nikon has 3 designed specifically for the Coolpix 800/950/990).

FEATURES: It has a lot of features of its bigger brother like an uncompressed TIFF format, ability to take B&W pictures, and adjustable metering. However, for a non-professional photographer, I liked the fact the auto mode was easy to use and allowed me to take great pictures right away. I now can switch to manual mode to take more control of the picture, but the camera is ready to take great pictures right out of the box. Unlike other reviewers, mine came with a paper manual in addition to a CD-ROM that explained many of the basic features and taught me about some of the more exotic ones.

This is a great camera for anyone wanting a digital camera that takes great pictures but doesn't want to spend ton of money on features that may not even be used. Otherwise, the CP990 and the D1 are really nice cameras for those interested in more control. I do recommend getting an extra Flash card since 8 MB does run out fairly quickly when taking pictures in FINE or NORMAL mode. Getting a USB SanDisk CompactFlash reader was also a big help since the built-in connection is serial and can take a LONG time to download pictures if you have a lot of them.

91 of 91 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best bang for the buck, January 4, 2000

By 

[e-mail] (Parma, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nikon Coolpix 800 2MP Digital Camera w/ 2x Optical Zoom (Electronics)

I've had my Coolpix 800 for about a month now, and I can still say that I'm one proud Papa. Yeah, they eat batteries like candy, but so do most cameras with any kahonna's. Buy rechargable! The biggest drawback to this camera is the serial port issue. There's a way around that, though. Buy a SanDisk (they manufacture Nikon memory cards) drive and USB...uploadin' quicker than spit. Well, now that we've bought a CompactFlash drive, some Nickle Metal-Hydride rechargable batteries, an AC adapter, and another 48mb of memory(or you'll be reminded of that time when you ran out of film), we've just added about $250 to an already pricey camera. Not to fear folks. If your reading this review, that means you have internet access. Shop around for the best price. On-line prices will, without a doubt, beat the human factor. Try, Buy .com for the camera and Spotshop.com for the other goodies. I saved a couple hundred easily. Oh and lastly, I wouldn't have a digital camera without at least 2 megapixels, built in flash, optical and LCD viewfinder, and CompactFlash(most common). There's lots of other goodies with this one, and that's why I think this is the most camera for it's price range.

120 of 122 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Minor annoyances, December 18, 1999

By 

J Barnes (Clearwater, Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nikon Coolpix 800 2MP Digital Camera w/ 2x Optical Zoom (Electronics)

Picture quality is superb, there is no question. There are a few minor issues that I wish I had known when I was shopping for digital cameras. I would like to have a little more zoom capability than the 2x lens provides, as well as better macro capability (or any macro at all). I understand that the Coolpix 950 has both. A flashcard disk drive is a neccessity as battery life is very short (4 AABatteries last maybe an hour). For example, taking and uploading 14 photos will zap 4 brand new Duracell Ultras. I did purchase 4 Nickel Metal rechargeable AA's and that helps ease the pain of replacing batteries. It would be nice if they included the AC adapter, no question this is a must for this camera. Uploading pictures from the camera to PC is easy but slow with the provided software. An additional photo editor other that the one provided will be neccessary to do any creative editing.

On the bright side, the camera has an outstanding compact flash and is loaded with nice features that I have not taken the time to figure out.

Overall, I am quite satisfied with this camera as the quality of photos can help me overlook some of it's shortcomings. I am however considering an upgrade to the Coolpix 950.