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245 of 246 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Tons of performance in a very modest package, March 4, 2010
This review is from: Nikon Coolpix P100 10 MP Digital Camera with 26x Optical Vibration Reduction (VR) Zoom and 3.0-Inch LCD (Black) (Electronics)
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, 1½ ++ 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
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83 of 86 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent product. Great improvement over the P90., March 4, 2010
This review is from: Nikon Coolpix P100 10 MP Digital Camera with 26x Optical Vibration Reduction (VR) Zoom and 3.0-Inch LCD (Black) (Electronics)
I love this camera. I researched several cameras before purchasing the P100 and I was not impressed with any of them. Then I found the Nikon p90 which I thought was alright. It had several features that I liked such as the 23x zoom and the multi-angle view finder. I was a little disappointed with the picture quality I attributed most of the poor quality to the fact that it had 12.1MP resolution which most people will agree is only useful if you are taking pictures that you plan to enlarge into wall art. Then I heard about the New P100 which had an even more impressive zoom at 26x and when I found out it was only 10MP and It shot 1080P HD video I was sold. When my camera finally arrived right out of the box I was impressed with the overhauled version of the p90 they had added several useful features. I have taken several photos so far and the problems with the p90 are gone the photo quality is amazing even in low light. I love the facial recognition mode for up to 12 faces and the fact that the shutter releases when every one smiles. The in camera photo editing software is decent the software for your computer is better. I have found only one flaw the battery does not last but for about 300 pictures less with the flash so it is a good idea to buy extras but they are cheap and easy to find on e-bay also it does not come with an external battery charger but again you can find it cheap. In conclusion I LOVE THIS CAMERA!!
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130 of 138 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
So far I love it...blown away by the low light video, April 6, 2010
This review is from: Nikon Coolpix P100 10 MP Digital Camera with 26x Optical Vibration Reduction (VR) Zoom and 3.0-Inch LCD (Black) (Electronics)
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.)
I found...
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