Customer Reviews

Nikon Coolpix 8800 8MP Digital Camera with 10x Vibration Reduction Optical Zoom Lens

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I have owned the Nikon 8800 for two months now and I do love this camera--sharp photos, accurate color, and good ergonomics. Very well-built. This is a very feature-rich camera and I am still trying various features. Mostly I have been taking photos (about 1800 already) in both Program mode and Aperture Priority mode and getting to know the camera.

I don't really have much problem with the auto focusing. I owned the 5700 before this and several other Nikon digitals. While the Nikon uses a contrast-based focusing system, this particular camera has a very effective focus assist light that allows good low light focusing, even in a completely dark room. Focusing in general is very quick, though the camera hunts just a little at full tele. Shutter lag is minimal but this camera is a little slow in writing to card. The use of Quick Response, though, allows you to take immediate shots if you do not need to refocus (though you can recompose) and there are a variety of continuous modes so this is a minimal problem for me in the type of photography I do, even when taking photos of my husband riding his bicycle (Panning with him in focus and background blurred). I take most of my indoor photos near wide angle and I choose to turn off the 9-point area focus system. If this is on, the camera has a smaller area to try to focus in. I tend to use an exposure of a minus 1/3 outdoors and a plus 1/3 indoors.

Outdoors the 10X stabilized lens is fun and the VR stabilization technology works very well.

Photo quality is very high and there is very low noise at ISO 50. I do not usually need to use an antinoise program on my photos unless I use the higher ISOs.

TTL focusing is possible with the SB600 or SB800 external flashes. You can use all the features except the focus assist of these flashes, but you already have a good focus assist light on the camera.

Negatives? I find the placement of the function button awkward, but all the other buttons and dials are very well placed. Also, Nikon is slow in getting accessories available for us. While the Nikon filters are an odd size, most of us have chosen to use a filter adaptor from nextphoto.com which allows the use of generic filters. I find the zooming mechanism a little jerky. And there is a little barrel distortion at wide angle, not a problem in my photos. CA including PF have really not been a problem for me.

I rate this camera very highly!

I consider myself a typical prosumer photographer (if such a thing exists) -- I have had several digital cameras over the past 3 or 4 years from 1MP, 2MP 3.2MP, 5.1MP and now this 8MP wonder. It produces quality shots with a "virtual" SLR viewfinder; unless your stubbornly dogmatic about needing a "real" dSLR, this camera is equal to, if not better than, most dSLRs that cost 2-3 times as much. The only place where a dSLR might prove more advantageous would be for the photographer who is looking to take alot of VERY FAST moving action, such as war correspondents and sports journalists. Considering the vast majority of professional photographers do everything else - from wedding/portrait photography, macro photography, wildlife, etc. - this camera equals and exceeds its pricier kin manyfold. I would also remind everyone that the megapixel value is higher on this than on most dSLRs, and the noise is almost non-existent except in severely bad (I mean SEVERELY bad) lighting conditions. Tip: use lumatix and autobracketing, coupled with Photo Ninja on your pics and you will rarely ever have a bad photo (technically, not compositionally) as it pertains to exposure and grain/luminance noise. Final verdict: this one beats out all the other 8MP models and fulfils 90%+ of the professional photographer's needs as well or better than the pricier (and lower MP) 4-6MP dSLR's do (except for very-fast-moving photo work, which is only an issue if your a photojournalist in all likelyhood.)

I own a D70 and bought the 8800 for my wife. Initially she was very resistant to use the camera because it can be somewhat intimidating what with all that extra text in the viewfinder and the buttons and modes.

With time, she warmed up to the camera and now loves it. The VR stabilized zoom is a critical plus feature with the VR making a noticable difference.

The camera takes great pictures in Auto in a variety of situations and it does a pretty amazing job of figuring out what the exposure should be for some pretty hairy conditions. (Ironically this seems to be even better than my D70, but this is only an impression, not a calibrated fact). We have not tried to use some of the more advanced features of this camera, but "Movie Mode" works well. I don't know why 640X480 60FPS mode has a 60 second limit though. (It must have something to do with write buffering, because when you finish a 60 second clip, the camera goes busy for QUITE some time.) The bottom line is that you can get a lot of great pictures with this camera just leaving it on "auto".

There are two caveats about this camera that cause me to only give this four stars. The first is that the camera is slow, particularly to focus. In fact, this slowness is the real reason it took so long for my wife to get used to it. By the time you have framed the shot of the kids and the camera goes through the full range of focus, the moment is gone. By comparison with my D70 in rapid fire mode, I have turned the camera on, zoomed to size and taken a half dozen shots. (One of those 6 pictures "worked" vs. zero with the 8800.) Once you learn to manage the "half depression" for the take button, you can somewhat compensate, but it is not intuitive operation.

The second caveat is not so much of an issue as it is something to be aware of. For some evil reason only known to the cruel marketing folks at Nikon, they made an incompatible (with the D70 that is...) battery pack for this camera. There is no "real" reason Nikon cannot use a common battery pack across several camera models, they just do not. This is important because this unit goes through a charge at BREATHTAKING speed. It is entirely possible to be outdoors in a nature environment and need to change the battery over the course of a single day. If you buy this camera, be *sure* to also buy an additional battery (maybe even two) and if you go on vacation, be sure to remember to bring the charger and charge the battery(ies) fresh each night. (A simple international plug adapter works fine as this is a broad range international charger.) Contrast this with my D70 which only required a recharge once a week (*and* I took three times more pictures...). Whereas I wasted my money buying an extra battery for the D70 (a simple charge each day works fine), for the 8800 this extra battery is essential and if you do not buy one or forget to bring it along, I *guarantee* that you will run out of power.

Other than these two caveats, it is a great unit.

****

Well, a third caveat which would cause me to drop the number of stars to two but I cannot as amazon won't let me. We too have been victims of the Coolpix 8800 "lens error". We sent it in for warranty repair, and they fixed it but sent it back with the page of the manual highlighted about how you are supposed to keep the lens barrel clean.

Gee whiz, thanks for the tip, Nikon.

P.S. Nikon: the lens barrel *was* clean...

We went on vacation after the warranty service and yet again got the maddening lens error. I discovered, by an act of sheer frustration and desperation, that to work around this you need to mechanically disturb the lens. One reviewer mentioned that they grabbed the lens. This strikes me as being a bad idea and you are likely to break something. What worked for me was to turn the power on, and while the lens was extending, immediately activate the telephoto followed by wide angle, and cycle it back and forth. This seemed to "clean" the already clean lens barrel.

Based on the number of comments about this and based on the fact that when we encountered the problem any reasonable person would have concluded that the lens barrel *was* clean, I have to conclude that Nikon's expectation is that this camera was designed to be operated in a "class 1 clean room".

However in the real world where you carefully protect it from the elements, it might miss-behave.

Buyer, beware.

I have owned every coolpix from the 900 to this one. Every time they come out with a new model, I sell the old, and buy the new. There are always some new feature I'd like to have, items on my wish list that have been answered. (Some of my best shots were taken with the 900 1MP model.) I certainly miss the smaller twist models (last:4500).

The good: I'm comparing mostly with the more recent coolpix models, not similar cameras from other manufacturers. I could go into why I've stuck with Nikon, but that's another story. Nikon has wisely taken their most often used controls away from an inconvient buried menu and put in on a dial right net to the shutter release. The have threaded the front lens mount for easier use of lens add-ons. (the 5700 and 8700 require slide on adaptors). the Vibration Reduction was a big upgrading feature for me. Past owned coolpixes: you're taking a shot of people outdoors in shade. The coolpix wants to use the flash. You disable the flash and find that your resultant shots are blurry. Agggrhhh!!! The VR helps in this respect. I've pushed the use of this feature, and its certainly not a miracle worker, but an improvement. The 10X zoom lens is a real winner- keeps away the temptation to use an add-on tele conversion lens. The short movie feature is better in quality than past cameras and very handy. There is a new battery model- needed for the more power hungry 8800. If your coming from a smaller MP camera, the 8MP's value is in allowing you to crop in software and still get a sharp print. Also for making very large enlargments. For regular snapshots and email/web photos it is gross overkill. There is a remote control which is nice for taking slow shutter speed shots and the times when the photographer wants to get in the picture without having to run like the devil before the self timer releases. For those not familiar with the coolpix line, the build is excellent, the camera is comfortable, the close ups breathtaking, the photos are very sharp, the features are numerous. The monitor swivel is very handy- i'd say indespensible. This is a choice if you want the top without getting into interchangable lenses and the expense and inconvenience of same.

The bad: The 8800 is a tad larger than the 8700, but just enough to make it feel bulky. The 8700 felt perfect. The shutter delay is still annoying. The low light functionality is still inferior. The manual mode is still relatively useless. (It would be great to be able to focus and zoom the lens by turning the lens barrel like you could in prehistoric times. The monitor is a tad small for a camera of this size. And the auto exposure has a tendancy for too much, forcing you to manually under compensate (easy to do, but annoying to have to do) in many lighting conditions.

Necessary add-ons: Nikon makes a great $25(?) leather case. An additional battery (the after market ones for other Coolpix cameras were good enough, but not available yet for the 8800). A filter lens cover (so you are cleaning that and not the lens). And a Birt Sirkin CheatSheet. And you might consider buying (eventually) one of those real small (e.g. Casio) cameras as a pocket model when your photo needs are light.

General complaint about digital cameras: Low light sensitivity. What's this 'noise' BS. This is (almost) 2005. We should be shooting at ISO 1200 with no noise.

I purchased this camera after several weeks of researching the varioius 8MP cameras on the market today. I've had it for about two weeks now and this is what I can tell you:

Pros:
1. Great zoom! 10x zoom is great for getting close to your subject.
2. Macro works really well.
3. VR (Vibration Reduction) works extremely well. I have done several hand-held shots down to 1/4 second shutter speed that have no noticeable camera shake. Very cool!
4. Good autofocus speed. Even in low light w/ AF assist lamp, providing you're at the widest angle (35mm). See con 1 below. Good autofocus speed even at 350mm providing there is ample light (daylight).
5. Feature rich camera that produces exceptional images.

Cons:
1. Poor autofocus in low light, even w/ AF assist, while using zoom. When taking pictures when using any zoom in our family room the camera will OFTEN miss focus or not focus at all, even when the AF assist lamp is activated.
2. SLOW 2.8-5.2 lens. This lens really hampers focus ability in low light. I found that the zoom really only works outdoors w/ ample light. I did not think the slow lens would be a real issue, but I am surprised at how often it gets in the way.
3. Manual focus. If you need this feature, keep looking. The manner in which Nikon implemented autofocus on this camera is useless (really, it is). This is a real problem only if AF cannot get a lock (see #1).
4. Nikon specific filters and lens attachments. Nikon chose to make the filter ring on this camera a non-standard 53mm thread. If you plan to use filters, you will be purchasing the Nikon filters made specifically for this camera. If you have an assortment of filters you would like to use w/ the 8800, there is an adapter ring (not Nikon) available, but some results have vignetting.
4. Noise at high ISOs. Similarly to other 8MP cameras this one too suffers from a lot of noise at ISO higher than 100.
5. Does not include lens hood. Most other cameras in this lineup include the lenshood. Not a major issue, just another 35.00 expense if you actually need it.

A word about CA/PF.. Like all other 2/3" CCD 8MP cameras this one is not immune to PF. At this time I have not noticed a _serious_ amount of CA/PF in high contrast areas. I can tell you that it does indeed exist. I have seen it as green, red, blue and purple fringing. So far it has not been a huge drawback and I don't consider it a major issue.

Overall I am impressed with this camera and its many features (including advanced features). I can't say enough about the zoom and VR capabilities, these two features set this camera apart from many of the others. I can live with the deficiencies as the quality of the images and build of the camera more than make up for where the camera fails.

-R

Hi there SinMin Here again! I'm going to assume you've just come over from the 8700 page, if you haven't you may want to check it out and compare my reviews on the 8700 & 8800. Okay. Now as I've said before when it comes to digital cameras the absolute love of my life has been the Sony F-828, I say has been because I now have a mistress called the 8800! So for the sake of argument I'm going to compare the 8800 to the 8700 and the 828. Lens: while quality goes to the Sony zoom and function go to the 8800 hands down, the 8700 has nice range but the 8800 is plain fantastic. VF mode: the process by wich the camera compensates for hand movement at slower shutter speeds resulting in great ambient light photography (I tend to hate flashes!) POW!! 828 and the 8700 blown right out of the water here!Not to mention the 8800 has retained all of the great Nikon scene modes (Including that Panorama thing), My beloved "Bulb" Function, Time lapse function(also available on the 8700), and the ability to correct your exposure after you take your shot right in the camera! Again ouch goes Sony! Controls: Sanity at last!! Nikon took the hint and gave the 8800 a familiar control interface which makes this camera 110% more user friendly than the 8700. ISO noise: Its no secret that high ISO numbers and digital cameras equal noise but I noticed a slight improvement with this on the 8800 over 8700, much more so than on the 828.And as I said before maybe it's me but the Nikon images seem to clean up better than my Sony shots tend to.Nikon also corrected my pet peeve about the 8700 by putting AF sensor OUTSIDE of the flash housing(thank You). Other pros: I(at least) noticed quite a bit of image improvement over the 8700 And I thought the 8700 shots were great, the 8800 was a bit better (Probably due to the VR feature) Another means the 8800 surpasses its little brother and the sony is the variation in image formats it can capture. Besides RAW and Tiff, the 8800 can capture 4 degrees of JPG files, (Basic, Normal, Fine and Extra which captures images at 1-2 compression) Get out yer gig card boys! Over all picture quality just barely goes to the 828 (that CCD is hard to beat)Dual memory capability, and overall design are all pro's in the 828's favor. But on virtually every other front the 8800 either matches or beats the Sony.And while the 8800 is a difinitive replacement for the 8700 they remain cameras with two different personalities (thats why I own and love both!)Other improvements over 8700: aside from the much needed improvements in design as well as zoom capability, it seems as though the 8800 shutter to apature function is a little tighter than the 8700, in other words my settings seemed to work better on the 8800. Now for the drawbacks, first off know one thing... this is a freaking HUGE!! camera!!! Only the 828 is longer and heavier (for me this is not a bad thing, but for some of you it will be) Speed as with the 8700, the 8800 just does not have speed (this is another area where the 828 wins out) either in start up or general picture function, this is strange considering the speed demon Nikon makes that goes by the name D-70! Noisy lens: I was told that the unusually loud noise the lens makes when you pull back focus or shut down the camera is normal by Nikon's customer service department, but I think it was excessive and should be something for correction on the next model (just a thought). These things aside, when you factor in all the goodies packed into this monster I can say this- "I now have 2 right hand cameras." As I mentioned using the 8700 I shot a series of sunset photos using the "sunset" scene mode, I did the same with 8800 (same shoot in fact) and if you can believe it the shots were even better (I love that zoom with VR!) And as far as low light photography (long exposure) I have used few better.With my low light work even at a realatively high ISO, the shots were crisp and sharp.The biggest plus is that unlike the 8700 and in some ways the 828 the 8800 is easy to navigate and use most photographers will be able to get a great shot right out of the box, and that definitely will not happen with the 8700 or 828! Battery life: again this one goes to Sony, the first time I used my 8800 I killed the battery (doing long exposures) so I need to buy yet another AC adapter - the one for 8700 won't work! (what is it with Nikon and included accessories anyway?) Heres a pet peeve for you the 8700 & 8800 use completely different USB cables, AC Adapters (sold seperately), Batteries and chargers. as well as the most confusing array of exstension lenses and adapter tubes imaginable! Whats up with that? And yes I bought the lens hood for the 8800, and unlike the 8700 this one looks nice and normal (A flower hood to be exact) Conclusion: If your ready to step up (and I mean Up) to a pro quality camera, If you want to own and shoot with a piece of digital history this is your camera. For the novice looking to move on up, the 8800 is currently your only and best option, while I love the 828 as well as the 8700 they are fussy complicated cameras, the 8800 is not. even tho it is as powerful as the other 2 (more so in some cases)! This is the only camera I have found to date that I would reccomend as highly as the F-828. How should you decide? that depends on the type of photographer you are.(read my reviews and decide) The 8800 is by no means a toy, believe me it is very much a advanced photographic tool, just a little more user friendly. Bravo to Nikon! Sorry to Sony! I guess I just have to learn to shoot with two cameras...two very BIG cameras..WHEW! Well I hope this has helped, until next time Happy Shooting!

I own both the 8800 and 8400. The cameras are identical except for the zoom and the image stabalization on the 8800. If you shoot mostly landscapes, get the 8400, the wide angle on it is the best around.
THIS IS NOT A POINT AND SHOOT CAMERA.
Don't expect to zoom to 10x and take a good picture in anything less than bright light. You will need some support, ideally a tripod. This isn't a problem with the camera, it is basic physics. No other camera is this category will do any better. The image stabalization helps, but will not fix everything. Make sure your expectations are reasonable and this camera will exceed those expectations. You will be unhappy if you think you can use this or any 8x, 10x+ camera handheld in any light or zoom length.
You'll get great images with either the Extra or Fine mode (jpg).
Stay away from the Hi (Tif format), there is no benefit and it takes forever to save. The resulting file is huge.
RAW is excellent, but slow to save. You can put it in burst mode and take several images while it is saving.
There is no CF card included with the camera. Get at least a 12x or better CF card. The Sandisk Ultra or equivelant work very well. You'll want a 512 or better if shooting at the largest images size and quality. A 512 will hold about 67 images at 2592 x 1944 in Extra, 45 at RAW and 124 at Fine. I'd recommend two 512 cards rather than one 1GB. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Use a card reader, don't plug the camera into the computer, it is an accident waiting to happen if you catch the cord on something.
That being said, you'll be amazed at the quality of the images this camera can take as well as the flexibility. You'd have to have a handful of lenses to achieve what this camera can do.
It is not pocket sized (unless you have large pockets).
You can buy Nikon filters or get an adapter and put any filter on it.
The batteries last forever on a charge, but get an extra one for a full day of shooting.
A lens hood is a useful accessory.
Both the 8400 and 8800 are IR capable with a Hoya R27 filter.
Check the Nikon Talk forum at (...) or the Nikon 8mp forum on Yahoo for more information on these cameras.

I bought the 8800 as a second camera to use when I didn't want to cart the DSLR and it's bag of lenses around. After using it for about two weeks, it's been returned.

On the surface, it seems to have a lot of features, but I'd have to characterize the 8800 as a "fair-weather" camera. In sufficient light (e.g. daylight) it takes great pictures.

Let the light get dim, however, or use it at it's extended zoom range, or indoors, and it just hunts, trying to find focus. Not being able to use the extended zoom in anything but the best lighting conditions make having one a bit pointless. The EVF is coarse, making it difficult to judge subject focus, and the camera's high ISO range (400) isn't really usable.

For those trying to make the purchase decision, be aware, the camera has some major drawbacks. You'll definitely need to determine if it fits your needs and shooting style.

The 8800 is one of the best 8mp cameras out on the market today. As a photographer, in my early days, I was after sharp pictures. The 8800 delivers in this area and has one of the best zoom lens of any digital camera. I've compared them all. If you love macro photograph you will love the 8800 with VR. VR technology allows and adjusts for camera shake. It will not work miracles but it does work and will give you sharp pictures when other cameras will give you a blurred pic. The 8800 is built like a tank with an all magnesium body. The buttons and dials are all first class and have a high quality feel to them. The camera feels good in my hands and is very ergonomic. One of the greatest joys of this camera is that it is an easy to learn and use. The camera has many features that are easy to get to without toggling through an lcd screen. The 8800 uses a dial on the top of the camera where the "most used" features are quickly available. The 8800 has many positives. Fast AF in normal lightning, incredible sharp pictures, a macro lens to die for (snapped a few sharp macro shots without a tripod that were razor sharp), a bright LCD screen that swivels any way you want, a great viewfinder that is accurate, infinity mode, several shooting modes (aperture priority, shutter priority, true manual, programmed mode), and excellent battery life all in a compact package. Some of the negatives: Dim lightening situations are not the Nikon's friend. I'm taking about a dimly lit room or no light at all. I simply turn on a light and I'm ready to go. If you do lots of birthday parties and are trying to capture the action in total darkness this camera is not for you. Although, there are work arounds. Focus with the lights on and then take your shots with the lights off. Another negative are the write times. The camera has minimal lag. When you press the button the camera takes the pic without any noticeable lag. However, in the highest JPG mode the camera takes a few seconds to write to the CF card. Unless you're doing action photography this shouldn't be a problem. And the 8800 has burst modes that allow you to take multiple shots blazing fast when you press the shutter. You will not be able to refocus or compost the pic. The viewfinders go black too. I don't see myself using these modes. There has also been concern about manual focus on this camera. It is useless but so is the manual focus on every other digital camera I tried including the FZ20. Honestly the camera can do a better job then your eye anyway, IMHO. If you want manual focus you'll have to pony up for a DSLR which has interchangeable lenses: You'll pay a lot more for a Nikon lenses with VR then you will for the 8800. All in all the Nikon is a great camera and I'm glad I bought the camera and I would buy it again.

I own three 8 mp digicams--the Nikon 8800, the Minolta A2, and the Olympus 8080. My Minolta sees use mainly in sports situations where its manual lens and fast focus are great assets, and I'm less concerned about sharpness. The 8080, in good light, takes the sharpest and cleanest pictures. The 8800, however, is the camera I carry with me most days, because of its versatility and the great images it is capable of producing. For me, the 8800's greatest two "flaws" are slow speed and high noise in dim light. It is relatively slow to focus, especially at long zoom lengths, if you do not pre-focus. It is slow to record, especially if you shoot a series of images. Noise becomes clearly present in low light images shot at ISO 200, and the noise at ISO 400 is, to me, intolerable. Noise can be discernable at ISO 100 if the light isn't good. The lens is slow at long zoom. In good conditions, however, the 8800 takes beautiful pictures that can be blown up to 8-1/2 X 11 and larger with breathtaking detail. I've been amazed at the clarity of pictures the camera will produce at maximum zoom. In more challenging light situations, the camera generally does at least as well as the other digicams I've used. Colors are usually accurate and vibrant, and the 8800 can capture up to five images in a quick series. If I don't know what I will be shooting and want to cover a lot of possibilities, the 8800 is my carry choice. It's compact and durable. It offers huge zoom length, great resolution, and good macro capability. It's easy to use, once you get familiar with it. It's image stabilization works, allowing for many great shots without a tripod. From the four months that I've used my 8800, there are dozens of shots that I've magnified to huge size on my laptop and just had to say, "Wow, that's a great camera!" In the right conditions, this camera can really deliver.