Customer Reviews

Nikon Coolpix P60 8.1MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom with Vibration Reduction (Black)

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

Just bought one of these over weekend and tried it out extensively. Compact, solid design that feels good in your hand. At this price the feature list is superb: Electronic View Finder (EVF), 5x opitcal zoom, 8 megapixel, Auto/Program AND Manual controls. Movie mode that allows zooming while you shoot. Exceptional image quality. Vibration reduction image stabilization works great, too. I also was pleasantly surprised to see that it uses AA batteries--no expensive special purpose lithium batteries. These were all important features for me.

The EVF is very cool and unusual in a camera at this price and, it seems more and more, a viewfinder of ANY kind in a point & shoot camera is becoming unusual. So many of the newer models are eliminating this feature, requiring you to use the large LCD screen. The EVF is better than a traditional optical viewfinder, since it mimics the large preview LCD: it shows any menu options, too. In bright sunlight this makes the camera very easy to use. Without the EVF, I don't know how I would have shot so many of my test photos over this past weekend in the bright sun.

The P60 is fun to use. Its various shooting modes offer real differences in image composition and creation. Lots to experiment with here, but at the same time it is an easy-to-use point and shoot camera for taking snapshots.

If you're in the market for a small digital camera, seriously consider this one.

Over the past 2 years, I have gone through a lot of Nikon Point and Shoot Cameras. I started with the L1, S200, s51, 7900, even a P5000 and briefly had a Canon SD 700IS. I have to say, the P60 is the best out of all of them! Almost absent is Nikon's annoying shutter lag they had in previous models and now it is a fast, responsive little camera. I don't think it will win the award for quickest compared to the Canon's Elphs, but it is a sure improvement. The camera is quiet when zooming and very fast. Image quality from what I can see so far is excellent. Best of all, it takes Double AA batteries back to the days when I had a Nikon 950. It is very light and not heavy. Also it isn't a sub compact camera, so don't expect it to fit in a little girl's pocket. The electronic viewfinder is also very nice to have on a camera this small. It isn't the sharpest when u look through it, but it is a nice option to have. The only drawback is that the P60 does not have the wide angle lens that the P50 had, it makes up for it though in the 5X Zoom. This camera also has less shutter lag than the flagship P5100, which I have used (I had the previous P5000 model). All in all, I think Nikon fixed a lot of flaws on this model. Hopefully, they keep up the good work!

Having been a fan of Nikon cameras for years. I wanted a small camera to take on our upcoming trip to Disney World.

I also own a Nikon D300 but it would be way too difficult to lug around this camera and the many lenses I have for it. Don't get me wrong, my D300 is THE greatest camera I've ever shot with but just not practical on a family vacation like this.

After reading several reviews of the Coolpix P60, I decided to purchase it and am very happy I did. After just a few days with this nice little camera, Nikon really has a winner on their hands for the compact market.

Some of the benefits that are important to me include...

A digital viewfinder - As I normaly use a dSLR camera, I'm just used to composing photos through the lens (viewfinder). It's also great for bright conditions when there may be too much glare on the screen.

The advanced shutter & aperture controls give me more function when needed rather than just letting the camera choose the settings. I never use the AUTO settings on any camera.

Great low light (high ISO) settings which actually produce usable pictures.

A very good image stabilization feature.

I highly recommend this camera.

Length:: 6:18 Mins

Hi, My name is C Joseph and this is my review of the Nikon Cool Pix P60
I paid 125 dollars for this beauty and I can say that it's been a good investment. The Nikon is roughly the size of an adult fist and about as thick. It has 8 megapixel which for me translates to a better quality of photos and more to work with when I'm editing. The optical zoom in beautiful, perfect for the fun on the go photographer.
The camera is really compact, it fits in a pocket in a purse but it's not as thin as the more fashionable ones but it makes up for that in quality. The image stabilization on it is really good, again perfect for quick crazy shots. I got a 8g card for it because I'm a pack rat when it comes to deleting pictures and also because it has a big beautiful preview screen so you can just carry it around and show
your friends pictures from the party they missed. Moving past the technical I love this camera for three main reasons. It's brilliant, in that the quality is so above par one you get the pictures onto your computer you'll appreciate it. It's versatile, I love the different settings, modes and features and the fact that you can tweak every little thing to get your picture just perfect. And finally, I love how tough it is, this very camera that I'm recording from right now
fell three stories and survived. It's a little scuffed up but the lenses is fine, I think thats luck on my part, but it takes pictures and records great still. I think for a gadget as cool and as fun as this, is worth the cash.

After recording I have only a few corrections.
The audio skips in and out occasionally but not too much. It seems you have to be facing the mic at all times for optimal audio quality.
Also I had to reduce the size of this in Divx so that it was 100mb needless to say the quality is not as sharp.
Also the image stabilization is not perfect, always hold on tight to your camera :)

I bought the Nikon P60 to replace my aging Nikon CoolPix 3700. The 3700 just wasn't getting the job done anymore, so I wanted to upgrade to something better. I briefly considered a low end DLSR, but decided instead I wanted something that was compact yet still adjustable in its settings.

The P60 was the cheapest camera I considered, and the first one that I decided to try out. I was extremely impressed out how well all my pictures turned out, and how customizable all the settings were. It also feels great in the hand, and it is not too heavy.

I have only one complaint, and that is the way the P60 absolutely chews through batteries like none other. I am going to have to get some rechargeable batteries for it, and I would recommend anyone buying one to just automatically buy some rechargeable batteries to go with it.

I'm an active saltwater angler and shoot outside in bright sun a lot so I wanted a point and shoot that let me compose shots in a viewfinder and allowed me to see my subjects clearly even in the brightest conditions. The P60's electronic viewfinder works very well in these conditions and delivers sharp well-composed pictures. Telephoto is also impressive and overall controls are fairly intuitive. My other camera is a high end Nikon SLR and while the P60 is clearly a step down in capability, it is an amazing little camera and I am very happy with it.

I liked everything about the Nikon P60, except for 1 thing. Nikon has not fixed the "lag" time between indoor flash shots. It's much to slow for any kind of spontaneity. such as children shots. The quality of the photos are very, very good, which isn't new to Nikon, but there is still that lingering problem with "recharge lag" for the next shot. Of course, this isn't a problem outside where the color and sharpness are outstanding.

Nikon's P60 is a great point and shoot digital camera with a very important feature, a view finder. The P60 is the 5th Nikon I've purchased starting with the Coolpix 775 (which I gave to my 5 year old), all of them are still in service. I use these cameras primarily for work and as careful as I try to be, they are used hard. While my 5600 was out for repair I purchased an L14 which for a variety of reasons I do not like, including lack of a view finder. I knew this when I purchased but thought I'd give it a try. Decided to try the P60 and have not been disappointed.

One thing I feel purchasers must understand is what they are buying and then learn how to use it. If you want a camera that does it all, you need a different camera, don't buy a Brownie and expect a Hasselblad. I buy these cameras to take thousands of reference shots while skiing. They are small, fit in my breast pocket and can be operated with one hand. For snap shots they are great, but when I need the money shot I get out the SLR. A lot of complaints I see in reviews are a result of not learning how to use the camera and work within its limitations.

The P60 has some draw backs, it can be a bit slow especially the flash refresh. I didn't give it 5 stars mainly because of the placement of the memory card. Having to work around the batteries is a design flaw that surprises me from Nikon. You also have to push the monitor button very hard or a few times before it activates.

The optics and zoom are great, I have been pleasantly surprised with the digital end of the zoom. I just took pics of the Waterfalls installation in NYC, zooming into the digital zone from Manhattan over to Governors Island about a half a mile, with excellent results. Falling water is a challenge without zoom and camera shake, the pictures are clear and the water frozen (no tripod).

Other reviews have addressed various technical aspects and again, while important, I think may overshadow the utilitarian nature of a point and shoot.

I would recommend the Nikon P60 to anyone.

UPDATING THIS REVIEW POST VACATION:

Just returned from vacation and another good test of the P60. The P60 performed great and after 600+ photos (both 3M & 5M size) I'm still on the same set of batteries. No flash shots were taken but to those who complain about "eating batteries" .. I would recommend buying better batteries or getting high quality rechargeables. I spring for Lithium
and keep some rechargeables as extras.

As mentioned before, I have several Coolpix and have never experienced any quality (product) issues. I have had two repaired but again after the way they are used, I don't hold that against the camera.

The Nikon Coolpix P60 is very good for a small digital point-and-shoot. It makes very clear pictures at the 5MP setting, which is what I usually use. I especially like the Hi ISO setting. This allows me to take very good picutes in low light settings. The movie capability is good and allows zoom during the filming which some cameras don't. The use of AA batteries makes it convenient for travel. The only negative I can think of is that it is somewhat slow to be ready for taking that first shot when the camera is turned on.

After much research and pavement pounding I recently decided to buy a Nikon P60. I have had no regrets on buying this fine camera and it does 95% of what I need a camera to do.

On macro work the camera is quite good as I have taken a number of very good closeups of flowers, insects, and other small things like bare microchips. Hard to find fault here except on some subjects I've had to take two or three shots to get a good one. I personally chalk this little problem up to operator error because I'm still learning about what this little gem can do.

Using this camera for outdoor photography is where it shines. Unlike most modern point and shoot cameras that depend entirely upon the big LCD on the back of the case, which is glare prone on every one that I've seen, this camera has a viewfinder with a tiny, but very good LCD in it that simply removes the glare issue. The other added bonus in using the viewfinder instead of the big LCD on the back of the camera is greatly increased battery life. I managed close to 500 shots on a single pair of AA alkaline batteries using this feature alone.

If there is any weakness in this camera it has to be the same with all small frame point and shoot cameras, the flash. To me it is amazing the output of the tiny flash unit built into the camera but it is quite limited. When buying this camera you have to keep in mind that all indoor flash photography is best when your subject is between ten and twenty feet away. At least that's where I've gotten the best results in all the various modes that require the flash when I've used this camera.

The real bright spot with this camera is the fireworks mode. I suggest having some kind of camera stand when using this mode because when you hit the switch the shutter will remain open for a full four seconds thus getting a good exposure of the fireworks in motion, leaving nice traces in the image looking like some beautiful artwork in the end. Really fantastic. I intend to experiment with this scene mode in other situations, like parties or night time city scenes.


There are many other scene modes but I do not have time, or space to review them all but there are three other strong points with this point and shoot camera.

1. Lens body is quite good with very little distortion at the higher levels of zoom.

2. This camera has a natural 5x zoom capability, and also a digital zoom. Disable the digital zoom, as in all digital cameras I consider that feature worthless, stay with the optical zoom. If you need to get closer to the subject then handle that with post processing in your favorite photo editing program but be certain to have the camera at its highest quality (least amount of compression) setting and resloution (highest mega-pixel setting).

3. The P60 takes two standard AA batteries, not some special format. Add to that the battery chamber is quite well designed so that the batteries will not get stuck in the case. The previous camera that I have been using now has a Li-Ion battery that is solidly stuck within the case. When it dies that four year old beater will be going to the landfill. Add to that getting new batteries will not be a problem because AA's are sold everywhere.

In summary I feel that this is a wonderful camera for the price that is quite capable of what it was designed for but remember it is a mid-range point and shoot style camera with a few more features, useful features, than your standard point and shoot style camera. If you need a camera to do more then you need to look at the high end point and shoots like the Nikon P80 or P6000 which has a RAW file mode.