Customer Reviews

Nikon Coolpix 775 2MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(42)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

The Coolpix 775 is geared toward the casual photographer that is looking for convenience and compactness in a digital camera. The camera is light and tiny but still very comfortable to hold with the built in grip on the side of the camera (unlike Canon's Elph cameras). The 3x zoom range on the lens is unheard of in a camera this small!

What sets the camera apart is Nikon's exposure metering system and the scene modes. It uses Nikon's renowned sophisticated metering system to get the perfect exposure for nearly every shot. In addition, it has seven scene modes for common situations where the metering may be fooled (backlight, landscape, beach/snow, sunset, portrait, party/indoor, and night portraits). This is great for the novice that doesn't want to mess around with complicated manual exposure adjustments.

The 2-megapixel CCD is plenty for getting great 8x10 prints. You'll want to purchase a larger compactflash card because the included 8 MB card will definitely be too small to take more than 15 photos at the highest quality and resolution.

It comes with a rechargeable lithium-ion battery and battery charger which many other digital cameras in this price range leave out.

Compared to the Canon cameras I have used, the colors are much more natural, especially for skin tones. The Nikons seem to go for the more natural colors as opposed to many cameras that go for more saturated and punchy colors

If you're looking for a camera with a ton of manual features (saturation control, aperture and shutter priority, full manual control, etc.) then you need to step up to the Coolpix 995, which costs twice as much.

I would definitely recommend the camera to the user that is looking for a great, easy-to-use, point and shoot digital camera that takes awesome photos for printing up to 8x10 photos or just digital photos to share.

I got into digital cameras through the Coolpix 990 (and recently upgraded to the 995). I love the power and flexibility of those top-of-the-line Coolpix cameras, but they weren't portable enough to make the cut for parties, light travel, and similar situations. From the start, I was evaluating this as a second camera: I have the 3-megapixel 995 for high-quality "composed" shots, and wanted a less expensive, "fun" camera for casual, everyday use. I was about to buy the Canon S110, but decided to wait for Nikon's 775 release, and I'm glad I did.

As a 995 user, I can use the same batteries and NikonView software with both cameras (unfortunately, the USB cable is slightly different to prevent people from trying the MC-EU1 remote cord on the 775). This fall, Nikon is even releasing the UR-E3 converter that will allow use of the 950/990/995's Wide-Angle and 2x Tele lenses!

Compatability aside, the 775 is a winner in it's own right. I really appreciate the 3x optical zoom (vs. 2x in the Canon S110), and the scene modes allow even greater refining of the quite-capable "auto" setting. You can get creative without delving into the world of manual settings -- great for first-time users, yet still offering something new and useful to the experienced digital photographer. As you would expect, Nikon delivers on its reputation for high-quality optics and great pictures, even from its 2-megapixels. The "macro" close-ups are unbelievable (the Canon doesn't even come close). Think mini-950.

The only area where the Canon beats the 775 is size -- the Nikon is a good deal thicker front-to-back (I could put the Elph in a shirt pocket, but the 775 just won't fit). I figure it's a small price to pay for a 3x zoom. I would have given the 775 "Five Stars," but knocked one off for the construction. The casing is plastic and, despite its high quality, makes the camera feel like it's "cheap" (compared to the aluminum S110, although the 775 is much lighter). Even if it feels inexpensive, the proof is in the pictures. The performance has been flawless; we'll see if durability is an issue over time, but I've got no basis for concern.

For point-and-shoot convenience and portability, with the quality one would expect from Nikon, the 775 is a most worthy addition to the Coolpix line.

The Coolpix 775 is my first digital camera buy. I finally found a camera with all the features (recharger included, >2 megapixels, smaller size, compact flash). After using it for a week, I was very pleased with it. The size makes it very convenient to carry around. It is very easy to use. The one-touch upload is a neat feature. Pictures on first impression are quite good.
However, as I play with the photos that it takes a little more, I do notice some image quality issues that I didn't notice originally. First, many pictures have a slightly greenish hue to them (more common in lower light situations), though this is not really a big problem. I find that using an editing software and backing off on the green slightly corrects the colors. The other image quality issue that I note is a little more bothersome. On close inspection of the images, many areas have slight "noise" in them consisting of reddish and greenish bands and spots. When zoomed out, they blend fine without any noticeable color problems. However, if you increase the color saturation in image editing software, they become very obvious. I found this to be a problem when getting prints made at Kits camera as the digital media photo printer that they use automatically increases saturation on the images before printing, which causes noticeable red and green artifacts/noise in the pictures.
Despite the image quality issues above, the price/size/convenience can't be beat.

The choice of digital cameras are evolving. They will become more and more specialized. This is a good multipurpose everday camera. It is very small, lightwieght, two mega-pixel camera that met my requirements for my photographic needs. I wanted at least two megapixels, small enough to fit in a pocket, optical zoom, macro capable without extra lenses, compact flash memory, and a widely available battery. There were important to me because (1) my first camera Kodak DC 290 shot very good pictures for my needs at that pixel range (2) I wanted something smaller (3) optical zoom because I can do digital zoom back on the computer so who needs the camera to do it (4) compact flash because its faster and cheaper, and Sony didn't learn from betamax and created another format error, memory sticks (5) I don't like it when a company sticks the consumer 80 to 100 bucks for 'special' batteries for a camera (see Cannon Elph). This narrowed the list down to just a few cameras. This one just felt the best in my hand. Takes great shots, has a self closing lens cap (a nice bonus). A great everyday camera. Although you can't buy batteries at the gas station or quick mart; it uses a veyr common camera battery available at photoshops, drug stores, and discount retail outlets. It comes with one set of rechargables, but its nice to be able to afford inexpensive backups for special events and travel.

Purchased Nikon Coolpix 775 (NC775) two days ago after EXTENSIVE research on what would be the best "first" digital camera to buy. I am an avid photo taker mostly for scrapbooking purposes. The NC775 appeared to have the best reviews as well as the best features for the money for a first time user. Encountered a major problem, though, in transferring the pictures from the camera to the computer.

The software has a fatal flaw if loaded onto a computer that also has the CD burner software "Adeptec Easy CD Creator." After 10 hours of wrestling with the software and camera, I called the 1-800 number; and a very nice gentleman worked with me for about 10 minutes before analyzing what was happening. He asked me if I had a CD burner; and to my answer of yes, he asked if I used the software Easy CD Creator. When I said yes to that, he told me about the conflict. It turns out that even if I removed the Easy CD Creator software there would still be residual files left over that would crash the program. The Nikon engineers are working on fixing it and they would send me an e-mail notice when there was a fix. In the meantime he said I might think about getting a "Memory Card Reader"; but although that would be a stopgap solution, I don't want to spend this kind of money for a camera that has one fatal flaw. I don't know what other problems might crop up after the time period expired for getting a refund. He also suggested that the Nikon Coolpix 880 could be a good match for me. I'll have to research that.

It seems, also, that the NC775 is the only camera in the Nikon line that has this particular software incompatibility problem. This major problem should be in a warning to buyers--especially first time buyers of a digital. The camera is promoted as being an ideal fit for these novice users. If I had mail-ordered it over the Internet instead of going to a local retailer, I would have had twice the frustration of returning it. Because the service technician was so nice and straight forward with me, I am very inclined to go with Nikon again since I know that they won't give me the runaround like so many service technicians do (and we have all had that kind of experience). When I called the 1-800 number I was connected to a technician within a minute of the first ring. That impressed me even more.

I gave it 3 stars because regardless of the software problems, I was impressed with the camera features. If all had gone well, I might have been a 5-star customer. I really am going to check out the Nikon Coolpix 880.

I obviously didn't expect a camera that is a fraction of the price of the 995 to match it in quality, however I did expect better than this. The camera has positives and negatives:

Positives:
a. As with all Nikon digitals as of yet, you can't beat the macro mode.
b. The camera comes with a rechargable lithium-ion battery. However, in a pinch, you can walk into pretty much any drugstore or camera store and purchase a 2CR5 battery that will also run the camera (that's one positive this camera has over the comparable Canon).
c. Nice, small body.

Negatives:
a. Image quality isn't fantastic. I've seen other 2 megapixel digicams that blow this away, specifically the Olympus 2100 and Nikon's Coolpix 950.
b. Body is all plastic. Some see this as a positive because it decreases the weight, however I like something made of metal because its generally more sturdy and the weight doesn't really bother me.
c. The LCD screen is fairly small.
d. To attach the accessory lenses, you have to use a very chintzy, goofy looking adapter (the UR-E3). It wraps around the whole camera.
e. Only comes with an 8mb card (comes on Nikon...8mb isn't enough for anyone).
f. I have yet to see a Nikon come with a *good* software package, and this camera is no exception. In terms of the software you get with digital cameras, the stuff Olympus and Canon bundle with their cameras blows away the stuff Nikon includes.

It's decent, but for the money you could probably do much better. If the size of the camera isn't important, there are other 2mp cameras in the same price range that are a little bigger but much better.

I bought this camera despite all the posts regarding compatibility issues with Win98 and Adaptec EZ CD Creator.
I have both. Now, i didn't install NikonView because I have tons of good paint programs.

So when I plugged the camera into the USB port and turned it on, the computer detected it and asked for drivers. I got usb drivers from Nikon's technical support via email. Now when I plugin my camera, I see it as a removable drive on my computer and can move my pictures around freely. FYI, Win2K and WinME detected the camera automatically and didn't need any drivers.

As for the camera itself, I love it.
The rechargeable batteries are great, the pictures look great and it's easy to take with you because of it's small size.

I went out of my price range because this was the first camera that had Everything I wanted. Anything cheaper had something lacking.

For a point-n-shoot, this is very cool. I shot about 70 pics just playing around with it a couple of hours last night. It is very capable, and the images are very sharp. Although you can't set aperture and shutter speeds manually, there are plenty of ways to control your images through custom white balance, flash, and exposure compensation features. The manual is also very well written and easy to understand. There are two reasons why I don't give it 5 stars: 1)Custom settings are not saved if you turn the camera off. Once you switch it back on, everything is set back to default settings, and many of these custom settings are only accessible through the menus (although they are very easy to navigate). 2)You cannot mannually set white balance, flash, or exposure compnesation if you are in one of the scene modes. You can accomplish what you want in auto mode where you can get to these settings, but it would be quicker to dial in a scene mode then be able to change just one setting (i.e. flash). All in all, though, this in an excellent buy for a family point-n-shoot digital camera. One thing, you had better buy a bigger memory card - the 8mb card that is included just won't do it if you're shooting at the highest resolution. I suggest 96mb or higher. This will give you capacity for 99 images at the highest resolution, best quality setting.

The camera works great! It's easy to use, the layout is straight forward and intuitive, and it takes great pictures. However, I ran into problems when I tried to install the software and upload my pictures to my PC. Every time I plugged in the USB connector to my camera, my PC would lock up and give me the blue screen of death (fatal exception error). I called Nikon tech support (1-800-NikonUX) and waited for about 15 minutes. When I finally talked to a support person, I described the error. He asked if I had Microsoft Windows Media Player or Adaptec Easy CD Creator installed on my PC (both of which are fairly common applications). I told him that I had both of them loaded on my PC. He replied, "Sorry, your Nikon camera doesn't work with these applications. We're currently working on a fix for this problem and will contact you when we have a solution." I asked him if removing the applications would allow me to upload the images. He replied, "We do not recommend removing any applications." I then asked him what good my camera is if I can't download the images to my PC. He replied, "I can see where you're coming from." Needless to say, I was very frustrated. Basically, the camera works great, but you can't download the images to your PC unless you delete some fairly common software.

How can a company sell a camera that they KNOW has software conflicts? As stated in other reviews, this camera does not work with Adaptec CD creator V. 4.0 and Media Player V. 7.0. Software updates may not be available until January! Two customer service agents admitted that they knew there was a problem, but the company chose not to notify the public. TELL EVERYONE... check your computer before buying this camera, or you'll be stuck like we were... with a good camera and no access to the pictures! Canon now has our business!