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Technical Details
- Brand Name: Nikon
- Model: P100 Black
- Optical Sensor Resolution: 10.3 MP
- Optical Sensor Technology: CMOS
- Optical zoom: 26 x
Product Details
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Product Description
From the Manufacturer
Zoom closer, shoot faster, and do more with Nikon's Coolpix P100, with its new CMOS sensor, 10.3 effective megapixels and incredible 26x optical Zoom-Nikkor ED glass lens. The cameras huge bright 3.0-inch high-resolution HVGA (460k-dot) vari-angle LCD and Electronic Viewfinder makes it easy to compose and share your pictures. Shoot Full HD (1080i) video with stereo sound as well as high-speed 10fps shooting at full resolution.
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True versatility with a 26x optical zoom, 26mm wide-angle capability, and superb image quality
Coolpix P100, a new compact digital camera model that offers an impressive focal range, wide-angle coverage, and exceptional image quality. Incorporating the precision optics of a Nikkor lens and the image quality benefits of Nikon's innovative EXPEED digital image-processing concept, the Coolpix P100 is a tool that brings flexibility and fun to photography.
A new 26x zoom, Nikkor ED glass lens for the Coolpix P100 covers a broad focal range of 26mm wide-angle through 678mm super-telephoto (35mm format equivalent). It even covers macro shooting ability from as close as 1 cm (0.4 in.). The compositional freedom of this versatile reach and range is further enhanced by a 3-inch vari-angle high resolution Clear Color Display that can be tilted as much as 90 degrees upward or 82 degrees downward.
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Nikon Coolpix P100 Feature Highlights
EXPEED digital imaging technology
Nikon's smarter approach to digital imaging technology. From image capture to processing, Nikon's comprehensive EXPEED digital imaging concept encompasses the entire picture-taking operation. EXPEED is much more than a processing engine; it is a revolution in digital photography.
Backside illumination CMOS sensor for advanced performance
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The advanced performance of the new CMOS image sensor brings in-camera Backlit Scene HDR (High Dynamic Range) imaging to the Coolpix P100. HDR merges some images of the same scene to create an image with a range of tonal detail that could not be captured in a single photo. Night Landscape mode also benefits from a function that combines a series of consecutive shots taken at a fast shutter speed into a single, clearer image when taking handheld shots at night. Further extending its potential as a versatile photographic tool, the Coolpix P100 features high-speed shooting. This capability allows users to shoot consecutive images in maximum size 3648 x 2736 (10M) at a rapid 10-fps (approx.). Other high-speed options include Sport Continuous Mode (120-fps) and Pre-shooting Cache.
3-inch vari-angle 460k-dot TFT LCD featuring Nikon's Clear Color Display and electronic viewfinder
In addition to its 3-inch high-resolution vari-angle LCD featuring Clear Color Display with anti-reflection coating, the Coolpix P100 features the versatility of an electronic viewfinder that further enhances compositional freedom and accuracy under all lighting conditions. The vibrant 3.0-inch 460k-dot VGA display offers twice the clarity and detail of standard cameras for stunning image reproduction.
High-Definition movie recording
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*Recording stops automatically after 29 minutes. This figure is based on in-house testing standards and stated for recording at 25°C with a fully charged EN-EL5 battery. Actual results may vary greatly depending on factors that include differences in ambient temperature, and the amount of zoom and autofocus operations used.
Five advanced image stabilizing features* help ensure sharper results
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* The camera selects and uses only the features required to optimize each image.
Nikon's Smart Portrait System with Skin Softening
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Four exposure modes P, S, A and M
The Mode Dial provides quick access to the rich creative possibilities offered by advanced Programmed Auto [P], Shutter-priority Auto [S], Aperture-priority Auto [A], and Manual [M] exposure modes.
Innovative Active D-Lighting function
Enabled during shooting, Active D-Lighting is a unique technology that adds light and detail where necessary while leaving correctly exposed areas untouched to produce significantly improved images with a more natural-looking finish.
Nikon Coolpix P100 Other Features
- 17 scene modes for optimized shooting in various settings
- Scene Auto Selector
- Subject Tracking
- Optimize image (including monochrome filter effect)
- Active Zoom
- 1:1 size format
- Distortion Control
- Quick Retouch
- Approx. 43 MB of internal memory
- USB charging via Charging AC Adapter EH-68P/EH-68P (AR) or PC
- HDMI connectivity
- EN-EL5 Rechargeable Li-ion Battery
- EH-68P AC Adapter/Charger
- UC-E6 USB Cable
- EG-CP14 Audio Video Cable
- AN-CP21 Strap
- Coolpix Software Suite CD-ROM
Product Description
Zoom closer, shoot faster, and do more with Nikon's Coolpix P100, with its new CMOS sensor, 10.3 effective megapixels and incredible 26x optical Zoom-Nikkor ED glass lens. The cameras huge bright 3.0-inch high-resolution HVGA (460k-dot) vari-angle LCD and Electronic Viewfinder makes it easy to compose and share your pictures. Shoot Full HD (1080i) video with stereo sound as well as high-speed 10fps shooting at full resolution.Nikon's 5-way VR Image Stabilization System takes incredible pictures, incredibly easy. Nikon's Smart Portrait System automatically detects your subjects face , takes a picture when they smile, smooth out skin tones and warns you if they blinked.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
479 of 485 people found the following review helpful
By Tom North
Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a very versatile camera and responsive to most needs. It has a good macro range to go along with a super zoom range. It compares well to a Panasonic DMC-GH1 which has a much larger sensor and more expensive optics (the lens alone is twice the price of this Nikon). The Panasonic also produced higher saturation and contrast shots in default mode and this gives the appearance of higher resolution. The Nikon gave a truer auto outdoor color balance and more natural contrast. Even at ISO 800 it was very sharp. You can enlarge a few test shots at the DPReview forums by searching for "Nikon P100 test shots". or if this works: [...]
The two highlights that amazed me were the Nikon's focusing indicator system. It is so cool that when you shoot a bouquet of flowers the display shows you each blossom chosen by the matrix focusing system. You click the shutter with the knowledge that it is choosing what you want. Wonderful. The second highlight is the range of the optics from good macro, nice wide angle, and amazing telephoto. Please see the photos I uploaded showing how well this camera compares. What the Nikon lacks mostly comes down to smooth tones and fine detail at high ISOs; and this is only because it is being compared to a large sensor camera. The images would easily pass a fairly critical viewer on an 8x10 print and seem to be better than previous cameras with this size sensor.
Pros (so far):
Great focus indicator system, Display shows small green squares over selected objects for focus = ready to shoot, red square = not ready
Light, easy to hold good fit to my medium sized hands.
Articulated screen seems more natural than the swing out to the side screens (aligned with lens)
Quick access to shoot videos, focus tracking option, slow motion (lower res 240 fps),
Hugh zoom range and quite fast action, 1˝ ++ second end to end
Outdoor sunlight colors quite natural
Very good resolution lens for this price range and favorably compares to much more expensive lenses (see above photos, several are pieces of 16 x 20 prints)
Very good macro versatility (see blowup of portion of terry towel above)
Adequate viewfinder but very contrasty, necessary info in viewfinder.
Cons (so far):
When shooting a video the focus is not able to keep up with the zoom (I reduced my rating because of this).
No RAW image option (less important with tools like Corel Image Adjustment Lab that gives me color temperature correction on jpg)
Lens cap rather than auto protect system, must remember to take it off before turning on camera (your notified when you forget)
Must use the menu system for several settings (ISO, color balance), slower but OK (hats off to the Canon G11, Panasonic)
Fast zoom over big range means it is tricky to accurately crop a shot (same with others though) Would love to see a 'nudge' feature for small changes.
Color balance with my photo fluorescent lights was tricky to dial in
Quick shutter in most situations but not all
No hot shoe for accessories and external flash
Only an adequate viewfinder
Minimum aperture of f8 (standard for cameras in this class, but would love to see it improved)
Screen does not 'self protect'
Must manually switch viewfinder verses LCD, simple one push button though
The two highlights that amazed me were the Nikon's focusing indicator system. It is so cool that when you shoot a bouquet of flowers the display shows you each blossom chosen by the matrix focusing system. You click the shutter with the knowledge that it is choosing what you want. Wonderful. The second highlight is the range of the optics from good macro, nice wide angle, and amazing telephoto. Please see the photos I uploaded showing how well this camera compares. What the Nikon lacks mostly comes down to smooth tones and fine detail at high ISOs; and this is only because it is being compared to a large sensor camera. The images would easily pass a fairly critical viewer on an 8x10 print and seem to be better than previous cameras with this size sensor.
Pros (so far):
Great focus indicator system, Display shows small green squares over selected objects for focus = ready to shoot, red square = not ready
Light, easy to hold good fit to my medium sized hands.
Articulated screen seems more natural than the swing out to the side screens (aligned with lens)
Quick access to shoot videos, focus tracking option, slow motion (lower res 240 fps),
Hugh zoom range and quite fast action, 1˝ ++ second end to end
Outdoor sunlight colors quite natural
Very good resolution lens for this price range and favorably compares to much more expensive lenses (see above photos, several are pieces of 16 x 20 prints)
Very good macro versatility (see blowup of portion of terry towel above)
Adequate viewfinder but very contrasty, necessary info in viewfinder.
Cons (so far):
When shooting a video the focus is not able to keep up with the zoom (I reduced my rating because of this).
No RAW image option (less important with tools like Corel Image Adjustment Lab that gives me color temperature correction on jpg)
Lens cap rather than auto protect system, must remember to take it off before turning on camera (your notified when you forget)
Must use the menu system for several settings (ISO, color balance), slower but OK (hats off to the Canon G11, Panasonic)
Fast zoom over big range means it is tricky to accurately crop a shot (same with others though) Would love to see a 'nudge' feature for small changes.
Color balance with my photo fluorescent lights was tricky to dial in
Quick shutter in most situations but not all
No hot shoe for accessories and external flash
Only an adequate viewfinder
Minimum aperture of f8 (standard for cameras in this class, but would love to see it improved)
Screen does not 'self protect'
Must manually switch viewfinder verses LCD, simple one push button though
209 of 209 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Verified Purchase
Ok, so I gave it a title that probably makes you wonder what I could possibly be talking about so here it is:
1. a really wide angle lens (26mm) for those close up shots and scenery shots (you know, the church with all of the spires that you have to backup all the way around the block to get into the picture).
2. a fantastic mechanical zoom lens that goes up to 678mm to bring in those distant shots (an with a tripod, the digital zoom puts you into the far objects pocket!). Keep in mind that with a zoom this large, holding it by hand is NOT going to produce a nice picture no matter how much stabilization is built into the camera!
3. One handed camera that is easy to use with a single hand and light enough to do so all day!
4. An articulated view screen that allows you to take pictures over the head of everyone crowding around the parade and still see what you are taking a picture of; it even allows you to take the pictue under the legs of someone standing in front of you or take that shot of a flower without having to bend down!
5. A camera body and lens that looks exactly like the SLR Digital Nikon! The only difference is you have a nice range of lens options that the other person (with the SLR) has to keep changing lenses to obtain. The camera also weighs a lot less and certainly costs a LOT less!!!
6. A wide range of shooting options from fully automatic to manual over-rides. Several scene modes also help with fast actions shots and close-ups.
7. A camera that you will not grow out of soon and one that even pleases the pro when they do not want to fuss with things.
8. the option to use a view finder if you want to! Yes, I know the 3 inch screen is nice, but if it is really sunny, the view finder works much better. Also, it is much quicker to use for those rare shots that you did not plan! You can turn off the through the lens view finder, the 3 inch monitor or both.
A 16 Gig SD card (not included, the internal memory is good for 9 pictures) gives you the ability to take over 6,000 shots (enough for that trip to Italy) without worrying about memory cards. While on that subject, this camera essentially becomes free after your first 900 pictures (figuring that film and processing for 24 exposure film ran about $10). On a recent trip to the Tulip Fields in Washington State, I shot over 300 pictures in that one day! So, the camera quickly pays for itself.
On the note of cost, this camera almost becomes a throw-away on a trip! Say you are in Italy and have been there for three weeks. You have averaged 100 pictures a day (very easy to do) and on your last day of the trip, you drop your camera from the third floor. You recover the memory card with your 2100 pictures. The camera was paid for after 900, so you are money ahead, have your pictures, and do not sweat the loss of the camera! (Ok, reality is that we will still be upset, but think how you would have felt if it was the Digital SLR with the nice zoom lens that you paid $5000 for!!)
The only negative to this camera is that Nikon does NOT make a case for the camera! No one really does. However, the Lowepro case comes very close (a little large) with a belt clip (velcro for easy on and off), a carrying strap (detachable), and a carry handle on top with a front pouch that easily fits two extra batteries and extra memory.
Speaking of battery, the included battery lasted for 350 pictures using the zoom extensively. The in camera charging unit works, but makes it a real pain. Purchase the Nikon En-El5 accessory package from Bargaincell (on Amazon) for $14 with shipping. It gives you a spare battery (larger than the original- good for 400 shots), a quick charger, a 12 volt adapter for the charger to allow you to charge from your car, and a European adapter that allows you to plug your charger in many European countries, including Russia.
This is one fantastic camera and a great price to go with it!!
UPDATE TO REVIEW:
I just returned from a trip to Russia (30 days) and I have taken over 13,000 pictures with this camera during this time. I have used the zoom feature extensively in the many churchs that we visited and at all of the other landmarks. The wide angle lens really did an outstanding job getting all of Red Square into the picture! The zoom did a fantastic job (laying on my back on the floor shooting up at the cupala) obtaining the inlaid tile pictures in the dome!
I made a comment earlier that a 16 Gig memory card would be adequate for a trip, but I found that I took almost 36 gigabyte of pictures and video on this trip! I had taken a laptop with me so that I could review pictures daily, but had not intended to actually do all of the storage on it. Well, that became my main picture store since I only had two 16 gig memory cards with me.
The HD movie feature was fantastic as we were able to record several of the live performances of Russian Dance that we went to. Having the articulated view screen allowed me to shoot great video over the heads of the people in front of us. The only issue with taking movies by hand this wasy is that your arm gets very tired after about 10 minutes of holding the camera! I should have thought to bring a tripod!!
We only had one problem in the trip with the camera and it happened after I had been taking extensive pictures in a very hot building (over 100 degrees) using the flash (took about 400 pictures). The camera closed the lens and gave me an error message. Changing the battery did not make any difference. My wife suggested that the camera had gotten too hot, so I waited 10 minutes and then tried the camera again, it worked perfectly! It has not acted up since. This happened in Moscow while the outside temperature was over 100 degrees and the building felt even hotter. As mentioned, I had been using the flash extensively and the camera was quite warm. Over the next two weeks I took over 5,000 pictures and it never acted up again.
My recommendation is a very strong buy for a great camera and HD video unit!!
1. a really wide angle lens (26mm) for those close up shots and scenery shots (you know, the church with all of the spires that you have to backup all the way around the block to get into the picture).
2. a fantastic mechanical zoom lens that goes up to 678mm to bring in those distant shots (an with a tripod, the digital zoom puts you into the far objects pocket!). Keep in mind that with a zoom this large, holding it by hand is NOT going to produce a nice picture no matter how much stabilization is built into the camera!
3. One handed camera that is easy to use with a single hand and light enough to do so all day!
4. An articulated view screen that allows you to take pictures over the head of everyone crowding around the parade and still see what you are taking a picture of; it even allows you to take the pictue under the legs of someone standing in front of you or take that shot of a flower without having to bend down!
5. A camera body and lens that looks exactly like the SLR Digital Nikon! The only difference is you have a nice range of lens options that the other person (with the SLR) has to keep changing lenses to obtain. The camera also weighs a lot less and certainly costs a LOT less!!!
6. A wide range of shooting options from fully automatic to manual over-rides. Several scene modes also help with fast actions shots and close-ups.
7. A camera that you will not grow out of soon and one that even pleases the pro when they do not want to fuss with things.
8. the option to use a view finder if you want to! Yes, I know the 3 inch screen is nice, but if it is really sunny, the view finder works much better. Also, it is much quicker to use for those rare shots that you did not plan! You can turn off the through the lens view finder, the 3 inch monitor or both.
A 16 Gig SD card (not included, the internal memory is good for 9 pictures) gives you the ability to take over 6,000 shots (enough for that trip to Italy) without worrying about memory cards. While on that subject, this camera essentially becomes free after your first 900 pictures (figuring that film and processing for 24 exposure film ran about $10). On a recent trip to the Tulip Fields in Washington State, I shot over 300 pictures in that one day! So, the camera quickly pays for itself.
On the note of cost, this camera almost becomes a throw-away on a trip! Say you are in Italy and have been there for three weeks. You have averaged 100 pictures a day (very easy to do) and on your last day of the trip, you drop your camera from the third floor. You recover the memory card with your 2100 pictures. The camera was paid for after 900, so you are money ahead, have your pictures, and do not sweat the loss of the camera! (Ok, reality is that we will still be upset, but think how you would have felt if it was the Digital SLR with the nice zoom lens that you paid $5000 for!!)
The only negative to this camera is that Nikon does NOT make a case for the camera! No one really does. However, the Lowepro case comes very close (a little large) with a belt clip (velcro for easy on and off), a carrying strap (detachable), and a carry handle on top with a front pouch that easily fits two extra batteries and extra memory.
Speaking of battery, the included battery lasted for 350 pictures using the zoom extensively. The in camera charging unit works, but makes it a real pain. Purchase the Nikon En-El5 accessory package from Bargaincell (on Amazon) for $14 with shipping. It gives you a spare battery (larger than the original- good for 400 shots), a quick charger, a 12 volt adapter for the charger to allow you to charge from your car, and a European adapter that allows you to plug your charger in many European countries, including Russia.
This is one fantastic camera and a great price to go with it!!
UPDATE TO REVIEW:
I just returned from a trip to Russia (30 days) and I have taken over 13,000 pictures with this camera during this time. I have used the zoom feature extensively in the many churchs that we visited and at all of the other landmarks. The wide angle lens really did an outstanding job getting all of Red Square into the picture! The zoom did a fantastic job (laying on my back on the floor shooting up at the cupala) obtaining the inlaid tile pictures in the dome!
I made a comment earlier that a 16 Gig memory card would be adequate for a trip, but I found that I took almost 36 gigabyte of pictures and video on this trip! I had taken a laptop with me so that I could review pictures daily, but had not intended to actually do all of the storage on it. Well, that became my main picture store since I only had two 16 gig memory cards with me.
The HD movie feature was fantastic as we were able to record several of the live performances of Russian Dance that we went to. Having the articulated view screen allowed me to shoot great video over the heads of the people in front of us. The only issue with taking movies by hand this wasy is that your arm gets very tired after about 10 minutes of holding the camera! I should have thought to bring a tripod!!
We only had one problem in the trip with the camera and it happened after I had been taking extensive pictures in a very hot building (over 100 degrees) using the flash (took about 400 pictures). The camera closed the lens and gave me an error message. Changing the battery did not make any difference. My wife suggested that the camera had gotten too hot, so I waited 10 minutes and then tried the camera again, it worked perfectly! It has not acted up since. This happened in Moscow while the outside temperature was over 100 degrees and the building felt even hotter. As mentioned, I had been using the flash extensively and the camera was quite warm. Over the next two weeks I took over 5,000 pictures and it never acted up again.
My recommendation is a very strong buy for a great camera and HD video unit!!
248 of 260 people found the following review helpful
Just got home tonight with the camera; went to the store with the idea of buying the Canon SX20IS after reading all the reviews of the Nikon p90 and the Canon; previously I had gotten the JVC HD-1 $3000 HD camcorder and several Sony mini DV camcorders, and a Canon S2 (10x zoom) 5MP digital camera. Before that I had the OM-2 (film) SLR, for which I have a zillion lenses. We also have a Panasonic point and shoot and a new Canon 1300 elph. I notice that a lot of people griped about the Canon SX20 focusing and low light, and even more griped about the Nikon p90. At the store, they had the Canon and the Nikon p100. I thought both of them performed very well at high zoom, during zoom, good focus quickly, etc. Color looked good on the displays. I really like the Canon S2 as a point and shoot (early or first with the high zoom); can't stand the low zoom point and shoot idea, since I want to be able to bring out things I can't actually reach (architectural details, wildlife, etc.). I finally decided to try the Nikon (first one I've ever had) on the basis of the CMOS chip, 26 instead of 20:1 zoom, 1080p vs 720p, Li-ion battery vs. AA, and mainly the fact that in the (well lit, but not blinding) store, the image on the display was much brighter on the Nikon than the Canon. However, the actual pictures on the Canon were bright and nice, but it was easier for me to see to compose the shot on the display with the Nikon. It was so easy to use I was able to record video or stills and play them back in the store; and it turned out the Nikon was on sale and cheaper than the Canon.
My philosophy of picture taking is that I want to remember vacations, excursions, etc.; my ideal camera would see things the way my eye does except for bionic enhancements like night vision, zoom, etc. But in particular, I love existing light shots (and video) and love the HAD low light sloppy low res color slow shutter option on the Sony camcorders since you can (for example) take video of your wife at dinner in a dim restaurant and have it even if sloppy, at least in color and something like what the experience really was. So I am after memories, and not art, but if you can do art, that would be great. Anyway, I had no idea what to expect out of this thing; based on the tiny size, ultralight construction, low cost, etc. I figured it would be mainly a toy, but I hoped I could take it on vacation as a one thing does all photographic tool. I got the Sandisk "ultra" 16GB SDHC card for it, 15MB/s, figuring for HD you need the fastest card you can get.
I had not read any reviews before buying it, but when I read them when I got home with it, I was pretty bummed out.. all the stuff about locking up, hellish noisy zoom, sloppy focus, can't use the zoom with video, etc. etc.
I am happy to say that my experience didn't confirm any of that. (Of course, it might lock up etc. at some point, I have only had it a few hours but I have a theory about that I'll mention later.)
Anyway, I immediately went around the inside of the house in regular low light condtions shooting stills and video. By low light I mean some rooms only had light coming through the doorways from other rooms, some rooms had a few 13W compact fluorescents, one last room had 5 65W ceiling can lights on. It was lit for atmosphere not reading books. Bottom line is I had no trouble getting very nicely well lit pix and video in any of the rooms with lights on. In a stairwell with no light except a 13W compact fluorescent 6ft outside an archway leading to the stairs the wall and furniture seemed v. dark brown; by eye I could easily see the color. Where the stairs went up to total shadow, the camera cut out to black and white where by eye I could still see color. In comparison to a 5 year old top of the line Sony mini DV one CCD camcorder it was about like the camera on normal setting, not "slow color shutter". In other words, about as much as I could hope for.
The zoom is not as easy to control to get exact magnification as the Sony, BUT (and this is important) while you can hear the zoom motor on playback, it is very subdued and I didn't find it at all noticeable..when the room is silent, you can hear it, but it is about like a very soft whisper. In normal tourist situations I don't think you'd notice the zoom noise at all. With a bit of practice, I was able to use the zoom to my satisfaction.
Another pleasant surprise to me was that the hand held video when walking around the house from darkness to light was smooth and generally not jerky..the image stabilization must work very well, considering you don't have any weight to stablize the tremor of your hands, footsteps, etc. The video even handles normal panning (aiming the camera forward while walking around the end of a table, for example) without any major glitches...if you shake your hand beyond a given limit, there is an instant of moderate blurriness, but it handles the panning motion by making the whole scene's resolution lower; while walking and turning in low light, it is maybe NTSC quality, not HD. But the JVC HD-1 just blew up and went to blocks of "ice" if you panned, so I have no complaints about that. If you hold the camera still (handheld, low light as described) the picture is very sharp and looks like HD to me. So I don't agree with the review that the video is "crap". I think it will probably be sufficient to take this on vacation as my only camera, but I want to try it out in better conditions for a longer time first. My wife was blown away by the sound clarity, stereo, etc. She thought it sounded better than the Sony camcorders.
It seems to me that the basic operation (load, shoot, zoom, focus, etc.) is very easy and very satisfactory. So, so far I love it. If it had the equivalent of slow color shutter and nightvision it would be pretty well perfect (well, I'd like it to weigh twice as much also, to make it easier to keep steady, but even being light as a feather it competes well with the much heavier camcorders).
The display, navigation, menus, etc. seem to me easier to use than the Canon equivalent; having just set up my wife's new 1300 elph.
The comments about the viewfinder being dark, grainy, etc. is true in very low light...until you take a picture. As soon as you depress the shutter button to focus, the viewfinder lights up in crisp bright detail and it's easy to see what you are going to get...I suppose that is some sort of power saving feature. If you are walking around looking through the viewfinder, it may look worse than the Sony camcorder (or the Canon S2) until you press a button to shoot, then it is bright. I can live with that OK. In decent light (moderately well lit room at night) I don't notice it. In general, no complaints about the viewfinder. The diopter control worked like a champ and I will use the viewfinder not the display for shooting..only use the display for playback.
I like the flash being folded down, so you can suppress it if you wish (which I usually do), and it is easy to pop up if you want it. The flash comes on instantly..unlike the S2..no waiting period on the first use of it.
The Canons Sxx series is better in that you can have the display rotated out of the way (plastic out instead of display out) to keep it clean when you are using the viewfinder.
In short, I just tested it every way I could think of under the worst lighting and shooting (all hand held, low light) conditions and it did very well. I displayed the pictures and movies on a 44 inch top of the line Sony 1080p TV with mini HDMI/HDMI connection cable, and even handheld, you could zoom in (easy, from the camera) before you could see pixelation on the stills so I presume they are better than a couple of MP of usable info even under these lousy conditions.
Just a word of encouragement for its capabilities as a hybrid camera/camcorder...it well exceeded my expectations. With a tripod or decent technique it should be excellent indeed..and very usable without it.
I am very pleased with it. When it's daylight, will do some more rigorous tests of image quality outside in decent light. By the way, it takes (handheld, so very blurry) time exposures up to at least several seconds of exposure ...so I would expect that like the OM-2, which was great for taking full color pictures of my parents' backyard in the country by starlight, one should be able to take pictures in very dim light with a tripod.
If anything negative turns up, I will post a followup. Otherwise, very happy. I do notice it dies quickly when its buttons are not being pushed...I wonder if this is the "lock up" some talked about. I didn't find it a problem, just hit the power button and you're good to go. A bit disconceting vs. the Canon or Sony which stay inactive a lot longer before hibernating, but you may be able to change the setting on that if you want to.
----Update after more testing-----
I took it around outside in bright sun to see how it does in high light levels, also took some mroe interior shots & video trying some other situations, such as flash with high zoom level in the dark, etc. It did very well. You can point it at something that is so dark you can't see it, and get a perfect flash picture. You can focus perfectly for time exposures (tripod) through moderately dirty glass at things outside. Focus seems fast and reliable under all conditions except when you are shooting video and move to something that is significantly further away. In that case, it is slow to refocus and the focusing makes sharp clicks on the video sound track (you're supposed to turn the AF feature to focus only at the start of the video, and not make that sort of move anyway according to the manual. Read more ›
My philosophy of picture taking is that I want to remember vacations, excursions, etc.; my ideal camera would see things the way my eye does except for bionic enhancements like night vision, zoom, etc. But in particular, I love existing light shots (and video) and love the HAD low light sloppy low res color slow shutter option on the Sony camcorders since you can (for example) take video of your wife at dinner in a dim restaurant and have it even if sloppy, at least in color and something like what the experience really was. So I am after memories, and not art, but if you can do art, that would be great. Anyway, I had no idea what to expect out of this thing; based on the tiny size, ultralight construction, low cost, etc. I figured it would be mainly a toy, but I hoped I could take it on vacation as a one thing does all photographic tool. I got the Sandisk "ultra" 16GB SDHC card for it, 15MB/s, figuring for HD you need the fastest card you can get.
I had not read any reviews before buying it, but when I read them when I got home with it, I was pretty bummed out.. all the stuff about locking up, hellish noisy zoom, sloppy focus, can't use the zoom with video, etc. etc.
I am happy to say that my experience didn't confirm any of that. (Of course, it might lock up etc. at some point, I have only had it a few hours but I have a theory about that I'll mention later.)
Anyway, I immediately went around the inside of the house in regular low light condtions shooting stills and video. By low light I mean some rooms only had light coming through the doorways from other rooms, some rooms had a few 13W compact fluorescents, one last room had 5 65W ceiling can lights on. It was lit for atmosphere not reading books. Bottom line is I had no trouble getting very nicely well lit pix and video in any of the rooms with lights on. In a stairwell with no light except a 13W compact fluorescent 6ft outside an archway leading to the stairs the wall and furniture seemed v. dark brown; by eye I could easily see the color. Where the stairs went up to total shadow, the camera cut out to black and white where by eye I could still see color. In comparison to a 5 year old top of the line Sony mini DV one CCD camcorder it was about like the camera on normal setting, not "slow color shutter". In other words, about as much as I could hope for.
The zoom is not as easy to control to get exact magnification as the Sony, BUT (and this is important) while you can hear the zoom motor on playback, it is very subdued and I didn't find it at all noticeable..when the room is silent, you can hear it, but it is about like a very soft whisper. In normal tourist situations I don't think you'd notice the zoom noise at all. With a bit of practice, I was able to use the zoom to my satisfaction.
Another pleasant surprise to me was that the hand held video when walking around the house from darkness to light was smooth and generally not jerky..the image stabilization must work very well, considering you don't have any weight to stablize the tremor of your hands, footsteps, etc. The video even handles normal panning (aiming the camera forward while walking around the end of a table, for example) without any major glitches...if you shake your hand beyond a given limit, there is an instant of moderate blurriness, but it handles the panning motion by making the whole scene's resolution lower; while walking and turning in low light, it is maybe NTSC quality, not HD. But the JVC HD-1 just blew up and went to blocks of "ice" if you panned, so I have no complaints about that. If you hold the camera still (handheld, low light as described) the picture is very sharp and looks like HD to me. So I don't agree with the review that the video is "crap". I think it will probably be sufficient to take this on vacation as my only camera, but I want to try it out in better conditions for a longer time first. My wife was blown away by the sound clarity, stereo, etc. She thought it sounded better than the Sony camcorders.
It seems to me that the basic operation (load, shoot, zoom, focus, etc.) is very easy and very satisfactory. So, so far I love it. If it had the equivalent of slow color shutter and nightvision it would be pretty well perfect (well, I'd like it to weigh twice as much also, to make it easier to keep steady, but even being light as a feather it competes well with the much heavier camcorders).
The display, navigation, menus, etc. seem to me easier to use than the Canon equivalent; having just set up my wife's new 1300 elph.
The comments about the viewfinder being dark, grainy, etc. is true in very low light...until you take a picture. As soon as you depress the shutter button to focus, the viewfinder lights up in crisp bright detail and it's easy to see what you are going to get...I suppose that is some sort of power saving feature. If you are walking around looking through the viewfinder, it may look worse than the Sony camcorder (or the Canon S2) until you press a button to shoot, then it is bright. I can live with that OK. In decent light (moderately well lit room at night) I don't notice it. In general, no complaints about the viewfinder. The diopter control worked like a champ and I will use the viewfinder not the display for shooting..only use the display for playback.
I like the flash being folded down, so you can suppress it if you wish (which I usually do), and it is easy to pop up if you want it. The flash comes on instantly..unlike the S2..no waiting period on the first use of it.
The Canons Sxx series is better in that you can have the display rotated out of the way (plastic out instead of display out) to keep it clean when you are using the viewfinder.
In short, I just tested it every way I could think of under the worst lighting and shooting (all hand held, low light) conditions and it did very well. I displayed the pictures and movies on a 44 inch top of the line Sony 1080p TV with mini HDMI/HDMI connection cable, and even handheld, you could zoom in (easy, from the camera) before you could see pixelation on the stills so I presume they are better than a couple of MP of usable info even under these lousy conditions.
Just a word of encouragement for its capabilities as a hybrid camera/camcorder...it well exceeded my expectations. With a tripod or decent technique it should be excellent indeed..and very usable without it.
I am very pleased with it. When it's daylight, will do some more rigorous tests of image quality outside in decent light. By the way, it takes (handheld, so very blurry) time exposures up to at least several seconds of exposure ...so I would expect that like the OM-2, which was great for taking full color pictures of my parents' backyard in the country by starlight, one should be able to take pictures in very dim light with a tripod.
If anything negative turns up, I will post a followup. Otherwise, very happy. I do notice it dies quickly when its buttons are not being pushed...I wonder if this is the "lock up" some talked about. I didn't find it a problem, just hit the power button and you're good to go. A bit disconceting vs. the Canon or Sony which stay inactive a lot longer before hibernating, but you may be able to change the setting on that if you want to.
----Update after more testing-----
I took it around outside in bright sun to see how it does in high light levels, also took some mroe interior shots & video trying some other situations, such as flash with high zoom level in the dark, etc. It did very well. You can point it at something that is so dark you can't see it, and get a perfect flash picture. You can focus perfectly for time exposures (tripod) through moderately dirty glass at things outside. Focus seems fast and reliable under all conditions except when you are shooting video and move to something that is significantly further away. In that case, it is slow to refocus and the focusing makes sharp clicks on the video sound track (you're supposed to turn the AF feature to focus only at the start of the video, and not make that sort of move anyway according to the manual. Read more ›
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