Customer Reviews

Nikon Coolpix 3700 3MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I purchased the Nikon CoolPix 3700 after much research and chose it over the Canon S400. I've been extremely satisfied with the quality of the pictures and videos. This camera was rated #1 Best Buy by PC World and for good reason.

Pros:
-rediculously light and very sturdy
-has a long, narrow shape that is more natural in your hand and your pocket as compared with the more square Canon S400 and other Nikon Coolpix cameras
-almost NO SHUTTER LAG, a big plus when photographing people who don't like to hold still for too long.
-EXCELLENT PICTURE QUALITY, 3MP is PLENTY for most uses.
-takes such great videos (with sound) that it might just replace your video camera.
-easy to set up and fairly straightforward menus
-uses SD memory which is generally better than CF.
-pretty good battery life, recharges fast, most users probably won't need an extra battery.
-if you need it, Nikon's tech support line is very helpful (toll-free and 24/7!)

Cons:
-Performance in low-light isn't great, but that is the case with most other cameras of this type.
-No case included and only comes with 16MB SD card. A leather case and 256MB SD card will set you back about a hundred bucks. (256MB is the ideal size, I recommend Panasonic SD cards because they record at 10MB/s)
-on/off switch and zoom buttons are awkwardly placed/shaped, should be switched, takes some getting used to.
-included USB cord is a bit fragile, I had to get a replacement from tech support
-3x optical zoom isn't much. If you want a lot of zoom go 10x.

Overall a great camera with the best performance in this price range. Highly recommended, it's really a hidden gem. Perfect as a first digicam or for someone who wants to upgrade.

Had previously bought a Canon SD10 to replace a Coolpix 4300 since I needed a faster and smaller camera. Was confident of good picture quality after reading reviews on Amazon and CNET.

Much to my horror, no matter what settings I changed, the picture quality was blurry when compared with my old Nikon. So I returned the Canon and, with much trepidation, bought the 3700 even though it offered a megapixel LESS than the Canon, and for more money too.

In this case, it is obvious that you get what you pay for. Sharpness of photographs are amazing despite being a megapixel less. Definitely superior to the Canon and comparable to my old Nikon 4300. Upon reading the manual, discovered that Nikon has specifically built a algorithm to ensure sharpness in its digital processor. Makes a world of difference. Responsiveness is great too with imperceptible shutter lag. Would recommend to all looking for a compact camera. Just make sure that 3 megapixels are enough for your purposes. I eventually returned this camera to wait for Nikon to release a compact, fast, 4 megapixel camera. The extra megapixel is important if you crop your photos or otherwise want to be able to print larger than 4x6 genuine photo-quality prints.

I am no camera buff. I know nothing about the workings of a camera or how to manually render wonderful picures. Thankfully, the Coolpix 3700 is totally automatic, no need for me to adjust or fool around with obscure settings to get a decent pic. Still, the camera does offer a number of different "environments" you can choose from, such as indoor party, portrait, night landscape, panorama, closeup, etc. But the beauty of it is you only need to choose the appropriate setting to match the environment, no need to configure the f-stop or shutter speed or all that other crazy stuff. I agree with the other reviewers, I think this camera is awesome, especially for the price after rebate.

What I like best are this camera is 1. The rechargable battery lasts a really long time, 2. The macro shots are amazing, the close up detail is really exceptional, 3. The size is a mere 4.6 ounces, there are smaller cameras out there like the optio 4si, but the 3700 is still smaller than the canon elphs, 4. the build has a solid feel with a brushed aluminum finish, no cheap plastic, and 5. the overall picture quality is first rate, in my opinion, it's just really crisp and bright.

That said, I would've liked a 4 megapixel camera, but I realize that this 3.2 mp is more than sufficient for my needs. I'm not going into the photo development business anytime soon, so oversized prints are not necessary for me. The manual also states that this camera is best suited for up to 7x5 prints, it can certainly go higher, but this size is optimal for quality.

I think it's strange that this camera is not very popular, I have yet to see a camera match the 3700's picture quality in the point and shoot category. The closest rival is of course the Canon Elph, but that's too rich for my blood. Plus, I think a case can be made that the 3700 is arguably a better point and shoot camera than the elphs, not to mention the smaller size. So, if you're on a budget, I highly recommend this camera to really get your money's worth.

One other note on memory cards: this camera comes with a 16 mb SD card. I recommend a high speed card, perhaps a 256 mb. Check out newegg for the kingmax sd card, it's 60x speed (up to 10mb/sec transfer) and it's incredibly cheap. Also, if you're into name brands, outpost has the 256 panasonic SD (also 10mb/sec transfer) for a mere 45, (...), but it won't last long. Happy shopping!

I needed an ultracompact digital camera capable of taking decent pics (including photos of text), recording voice (like meetings, classes etc.) and making a short movies. My previous digital camera was a no-nonsense Ricoh DC-2 (bought back in 1996), so I had to learn about today's technology befor meking my purchase decision. My choices were, in chronological order: Casio EX-Z4U (but since American version doesn't feature video I hed to resign of it), Minolta Dimage G400 (but reported problems with focusing in darkness made me still open for another options), and was all the time attracted to Canon, but neither could record long audio. All of the sudden Coolpix 3700 emerged, the very latest from Nokon (I searched just after New Year).
It's really as advertized:
- ultracompact, so rather thab considering to take it or not you keep it all the day long in your pocket, ready to take a pic
- with many preset photo modes and some manual setting
- offering 5 video modes, up to 640x480 (TV resolution) in color and 30 frames per second
- delivering high fidelity of color and sharpness
- very fast in response - can make a pic in a second after turning on
- with excellent, crisp LCD
- audio/video out so you can watch your movies or photos directly on TV (NTSC and PAL)
- and of course with fast USB to dump your files onto hard drive of your PC
The attached software bundle is good and easy to use.
Finally, it uses SecureDigital memory cards (up to 512 MB) which are very fast.
Thats all I needed and much more. In one sentence: EXCELLENT PRODUCT WORTH WELL MONEY IT COSTS. Strongly recommended!

I love this camera. I researched cameras quite a bit before purchasing, and with the $100 rebate, this camera is an awesome deal that simply can't be beat. This is my second digital camera, after having traded up from a 2.1 megapixel model. I find that the quality of a 3 megapixel camera like this is ideal--big enough for high quality photos, yet not insanely detailed to the point that the photos eat up incredible amounts of hard drive memory. The camera also takes pictures quickly without much lag time in between photos. Also, one of my favorite aspects of this camera is that with a 512k memory card, the camera doubles as a little camcorder for capturing high quality, quick videos (with sound) of precious moments. The only thing I don't like about the camera is that the rechargeable battery has to be removed in order to be recharged. There's no way to recharge it simply by plugging in the camera.

Pros:
-compact size, stylish
-metal body, nice build quality
-selectable AF sensor and metering in M-record mode, each AF bracket acts as spot meter, useful for tricky lighting
-framing guides on LCD
-generally competent metering, Auto white balance, focusing. again, for difficult lighting, the AF sensor acts as spot meter in M-record mode
-straightforward transfer with Nikon View, although a separate card reader is recommended instead of connecting camera directly to computer, this is to save those USB contacts in the camera from wearing out prematurely.

Cons:
-movie mode exhibits that notorious audio-sync problem
-hot or dead pixels on my unit, resulting to those annoying white spots on the image when viewed at full size
-Scene Modes disable features here and there, and that set up may not be what you really want
-no option to set ISO, camera adjusts ISO on its own, which may result in noisy images
-more on noise, you really need lots of illumination, either daylight or flash, to keep the camera from bumping the ISO up, and with it, the noise
-still having difficulty dealing with the green cast of fluorescent lighting (as do most cameras)
-button operated zooming, with those tiny Wide-Tele buttons, especially when in Macro mode, is not the easiest thing to do

Overall, a decent picture taker that requires well-lit scenes to perform well. That means it is a "flashy" camera. For someone used to the Olympus Stylus, this is not an issue, however, this camera is not for those who prefer shooting without flash, especially indoors. There's the auto-ISO issue mentioned above, which leads to noise, also, the lightweight and small size of the camera, not to mention all those buttons which get in the way of the left hand, prevents any decent steady handhold. This maybe the reason for those soft lens comments from other reviewers, among other variables (e.g. how is the Sharpness set?).

Many of the cons are limitations imposed by the small size of the camera. Regardless of make, for compact cameras, these limitations are something one must live by. If you want more control (to prevent the ISO from bumping up by itself), and you want to stay Nikon, the larger Coolpixes (4500, 5xxx) maybe the better choices. The Canon A70/75/80 also offer greater controls, but at the expense of compactness. However, I cannot believe that Nikon or any other manufacturer for that matter, cannot make a compact that allows manual ISO setting.

The decent build and finish of this camera are regrettably offset by noise issues, and in my sample, dead pixels, which prevents me from giving this camera a higher rating.

The CP-3700 is my 5th camera I owned in 5 years due to my traveling need. The last one I use was Nikon CP-3100 and which have been lost by my friend, I then bought this Nikon CP-3700.

This camera is very handsome and small. Its whole metal body is stylish and well built. It can easily fit into any pocket, so you can carry it all the time and never lose a scenery. This camera is fast and its vedio mode is super that takes 640*480 vedio with sound, and the length is only limited by the memory card you installed. And this camera has assistance beam to help focus at low light condition. However, when talking about image quality, I am not impressed.

The color of the pictures are always very good, and seems they were always well exposured, however, most of the images are not very sharp, even compared to the cheaper and older CP-3100. besides, serious distortion occurs at the wide angle, which makes those pictures looks very bad especially when there were big buildings near the edge.

So, if you want a small nice-looking camera and you are going to take family pictures or party pictures or for flowers or yor dog, this one is good. However, if you are going to take picture with part of building in it, say you are going to shot in New York or Paris, then avoid this one, or you will find curved skyscrapers and cathedrals in your picture.

I already gave this camera to my girl friend. I may buy the Sony DSC-W1 for my next digital camera, it is slitly bigger but it comes with Carl-Zeiss lens, some manual controls and can attach with some converters.

I beleive this is a good camera for the light/novice photographer. Check steve's digicam and cnet for a review. just remember the camera's limitations; fully automatic ( no Man. Settings), flash range is 7-8 feet, in dark or zoom, try to have a steady hand as shutter speed decreases. it is an overall v.good camera for just ponit and shoot with good focusing system.
P.S.Try to copy and paste the camera's name in google and check for prices on pricegrabber.com, cnetshopper.com and epinion.com. You'll be amazed, that it actually exsists in other trusted websites for $75-$125 less than in amazon.com. and this is the case with most of the electronics on amazon.com.
It seems that amazon.com is fooling only its loyal cusomers (I have been a loyal amazon customer for 4 years now)by its nonsense promotions. The huge price difference clearly shows that amazon.com is now not looking to keep its customers who are always few clicks away from other sellers. Amazon.com is obviousely looking just to use it's customers' trust to get an exaggerated profit margine on the merchandise compared to the common market profit, as you'll see from other stores' prices.
Don't let amazon.com silly promos fool you. Shop smart and don't allow them to use you.
I believe, with this attitude, amazon.com will loose a huge number of its current customers, along with a big market share in the near future. The consumer has become now more and more aware about the e-market tools and rules.

I've owned and used all sorts of digital cameras. My three last digital cameras were Sony and they all had some things in common: 1)the picture quality was not up to par, 2)the MemoryStick(tm) has very slow write/read speeds. When I decided to browse for a new camera, the usual brands came to mind...Olympus, Minolta, Kodak. However, the product offerings were not tantalizing to me. I then looked-up for Nikon and to my surprise they had the product I was looking for at a price I could afford.

Let me tell you, the camera is very small and light. The picture quality is DEFINITELY superior to that of Sony's and Kodak's I've used. The full-quality, full-TV-screen video option is very good and comparable to full-fledged DV cameras. The options are vast. The user interface is very intuitive and easy to get around of. The versatility of using SecureDigital media is definitely a plus, since it can be used in PDAs, cell phones, et cetera. The voice-recording option can be very handy. The flash recharge time is minimal (it used to take my Sony good 10 seconds to do the same). The auto-shutter is pretty good. And the Auto-Focus is very precise. It's worth its price and then some. I highly recommend this device. A must for digital photography enthusiasts.

***Ok, I wrote this review before trying night-time shots. To my dismay, in low-lights the camera it's incredibly useless. It won't let you shoot w/o flash-- period. I'm incredibly frustrated. It does not let you choose manually the shutter spped and the pre-set scene options are ludicrous. It's a shame, because it took such a good pictures with good light...but tonight was nothing short of catastrophic.

This camera takes great photos and gives you lots of options, from simple point and shoot to preprogrammed settings (landscapes, fireworks, dusk, closeups) to total manipulation of features and images using camera features and software. We wanted a small, light camera, and this one is compact while easy to get your fingers on the "mouse" and dial. We were especially surprised by the quality of movies and audio (movies with sound and sound alone features) for an inexpensive camera that is not meant to be a true video/audio recorder. What a bonus!