Got new camera. Nikon P100.

[Mark42]

A few months back I had ordered a digital SLR camera, and was not happy with the product, especially for the price.

After doing a lot more research, I chose a digital "point and shoot" that is nearly as good as a DSLR. The real difference is in the size of the sensor, the point and shoots being smaller than the DSLR.

That being said, I chose the Nikon Coolpix P100. It is a 10+ mega pixel camera with a 26x optical zoom (aka the new line of "super zoom" cameras that have come out lately). Do to the smaller sensor than regular DSLR's the point and shoots can have huge zoom lenses that cost less to make. And they are good quality lenses.

One of the reasons I chose the Nikon over the Panasonic FZ35 and Canon Powershot SX20 IS (besides the powershot being discontinued) is that the Nikon will shoot 1080P full HD video where the others are limited to 720i. All the cameras in this group have huge zoom lenses and shoot 720i video. The Panasonic and Canon were tied for first place in a review of 9 super zoom cameras by DPReview.com, and the Nikon came in second. http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/Q110superzoomgroup/ Keep in mind that DPReview does an outstanding job of testing and comparing photo quality between cameras, and they are oriented toward the professional photographer. They are as nit-picky as they get. Even by their own admission, any of the top few cameras in this test will produce results better than the average person will need.

The Nikon has better low light photos which is good for me when shooting indoors with no flash. The difference in daylight shooting between the Nikon, Panasonic and Canon is so insignificant that the average user will not be able to tell. I also like the color saturation better with the Nikon, even though DPReview listed it on the "cool" side. The view finder shows all the same info that displays on the rear screen (and they are big now, not those little 2" jobs, they are all about 3" diagonal now) The menu is easy to use, there are manual overrides for focus, aperture and shutter if you want to use them. Multiple pre-programmed settings come in handy for night shots, birthday cake shoots, beach and snow shots, etc.

I was playing around with the video and it works really great. In fact, it is 10 times better than the dozens of vidoes shot with the Nikon on youtube. Yes, there is an obvious lense shake when zooming, but that is only at the far end of the scale. At wide angle, there is no problem. With a 26 x zoom, the camera needs to be on a tripod to use its full capability, even with the 5-Way VR Image Stabilization. You just can't zoom that far and hold it still in your hands.

The video can be shot at 1080P up to 240 frames per second. WOW! That makes for some cool slow-motion playback. And it can focus up to 10 cm from the subject, so it has a nice macro setting too.

It is so cool being able to plug an HDMI cable from the camera directly into the TV and play back the video just shot in full 1080P. It looks fabulous on the big screen. The 16gig sand disk high speed memory cards are only about $24 a piece now! Prices are dropping like a rock. And a 16 gig will hold up to 240 minutes of 1080p video (or so they claim on the package). All this video will be copied to a 1 terrabyte drive. Even a 1 terrabyte drive is down to $100 now! Wow!

Almost bought the Panasonic (about $275), but when B&H dropped the price of the Nikon to $319 I could not resist. I added extra battery, memory, charger and HDMI cable and the whole package came to $400. Not bad considering a DSLR is about $500 and up not including the lens!

My plan is to move away from the video tape machines, and go all digital hard media for ease of use, and speed of downloading to edit. So this camera will let me experiment and get it done right. Right now, anything shot in 1080p will have to be downgraded to be burned on a DVD as 720, but that is why a big hard drive is needed (unless you go blue-ray). Also thinking of using an online backup service so I don't need two terrabyte drives.

There so many features in these cameras it is amazing. Great quality high resolution photos (10mp for the Nikon, 12+ for the others), great video from 1080p down to 320 that will easily replace your camcorder.

Check out the review linked in above. Its just amazing what can be had now.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Got new camera. Nikon P100.

Sounds like a real nice one. We just bought this one http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Canon+-...lack/1218341.p?id=1218237709263&skuId=1218341 and are absolutely THRILLED with it! Takes amazing pictures in all light levels, from moving vehicles, etc. Video is great. Some of the onboard editing features are really cool. And for that price? Unbelievable! Like you said, what you can get today for the money is amazing.

 

[ajgraz]

Re: Got new camera. Nikon P100.

Life is strange; I just came on here to ask if anyone owns a Nikon P100

Thank you thank you for this thread.

The wife wants a camera for Christmas. She wants something as easy-to-use as your basic snapshot digital, but her main gripe on the basic digitals we've had is they can't zoom to take long range photos for crap. So I too am looking at 15x+ optical zoom models.

The Nikon P100 is one I'm looking at after seeing it in Consumer Reports, and is rapidly rising to the top of the heap. Reviews like this are likely to push it over the top. I'm thinking it'll be great not only for snapping shots of the kids at the games, and the visiting relatives, but also our Summer camping trips and that Yellowstone trip we've long been planning.

 

[Mark42]

Re: Got new camera. Nikon P100.

Life is strange; I just came on here to ask if anyone owns a Nikon P100

Thank you thank you for this thread.

The wife wants a camera for Christmas. She wants something as easy-to-use as your basic snapshot digital, but her main gripe on the basic digitals we've had is they can't zoom to take long range photos for crap. So I too am looking at 15x+ optical zoom models.

The Nikon P100 is one I'm looking at after seeing it in Consumer Reports, and is rapidly rising to the top of the heap. Reviews like this are likely to push it over the top. I'm thinking it'll be great not only for snapping shots of the kids at the games, and the visiting relatives, but also our Summer camping trips and that Yellowstone trip we've long been planning.

It does seem to be a good all around camera. Lots of reviews by users give it good marks. Just remember that the 26x zoom is rather useless at its max zoom unless its on a stand or resting on a hard surface due to shake. The equivalent old 35mm spec would be 26-678 mm in a traditional lens! Its almost insane!

Its light, small compared to its DSLR counterparts, and easy to use menu.

Complaints I read were that the battery gets run down fast, and that the camera does not come with a separate battery charger (battery is charged in the camera via a USB cable and supplied outlet power supply). So you can't be charging one battery and using the camera at the same time.

The solution is to buy "stand alone" Nikon charger (Nikon MH-61 CHARGER ). It has a plug for the wall and the battery clips in for charging. That leaves the camera free to use. The charger is under $20 and a spare Nikon brand battery (Nikon EN-EL5 ) is $20.95. Another good accessory is the AC adapter so the camera can be used for long periods without running down a battery (Nikon EH-62A AC ADAPT) $25.42. It does not just plug into the camera, it has a "dummy" battery at the end of the cable that must be placed into the camera. A little cumbersome, but it works. The prices I listed are from Bhphotovideo.com. Note that the prices for genuine Nikon accessories are half or a third the price of accessories for the Panasonic brand. That really turned me off to Panasonic, even though their product is top notch.

The large display probably contributes to the short battery life. So I've been using the view finder when possible and it does make a difference in battery life.

I've been playing with the video features more than the photo. For general video, I find that it works best to zoom out to wide angle and leave auto focus off,. It makes good video in both 720i and 1080p. If you zoom the mics pick up the noise. Same with the auto focus. Its not super loud, but it is obvious.

The photo settings for manual and shutter priority and aperture priority work very well. It shoots well in low light, although the DPReview marked all the camera brands in its test group as poor for low light pics, the Nikon was listed as the best (I think). I think its better at low light than any other camera I have. White balance is great too, also better than other cameras in the house.

Still have to try the fast photo shoot, says up to 10 pics in a few seconds can be taken. There are lots of other features I haven't even got to yet.

Its also a good idea to download the owners manual from Nikon to your pc in PDF format because the printed one is pretty small. See nikonusa.com.

 

[waterinthefuel]

Re: Got new camera. Nikon P100.

I've had my doubts about these cameras that also shoot video. You really can't have a great "both" in a single piece of equipment. You want a camera? Get a camera. You want a video camera, get a video camera. If you go for one of these 2-in-1 jobs I think you could potentially be disappointed on BOTH sides of the coin. It does everything ok, and nothing real good.

I have a 600 dollar DSLR Canon Rebel XTi that is fixing to have it's 3rd birthday. It came with two el-cheapo lenses. It takes magnificent pictures. If I'd put some decent money into lenses for that thing, the photos would be unbelievable.

People don't realize, a small lens with a large zoom won't be able to capture what you see these godzilla lenses on the sidelines of the football games can capture. Before you say, "Yea but those lenses could cost thousands of dollars" I would agree, they do. However, with a true SLR camera, you have the CHOICE. The non-detachable lens cameras, you'll never be able to really get exactly what you want. You'll have to compromise with everything. I have the option of keeping my SLR camera a simple point-and-shoot or making it a semi-professional piece.

I say if you're happy with it great, but it does seem to have disappointed you a bit which doesn't surprise me. What you might have wanted to do was really decide do I want a digital camera or a video camera, and get the best you could get in your price range for one of those.

Either way, I hope you enjoy your purchase!

 

[Mark42]

Re: Got new camera. Nikon P100.

I've had my doubts about these cameras that also shoot video. You really can't have a great "both" in a single piece of equipment. You want a camera? Get a camera. You want a video camera, get a video camera. If you go for one of these 2-in-1 jobs I think you could potentially be disappointed on BOTH sides of the coin. It does everything ok, and nothing real good. .....

Actually, after playing around with the camera for a few days, I have to say it takes photos and video very well. The photo quality is outstanding for a point and shoot, and the video is 10 x better than what my Sony Digital video camera shoots. Come on, the average video camera doesn't even shoot 720i quality, and this thing shoots 1080p. And the Nikon actually gets more video time on one chip (240 minutes at 1080p) than the Sony does on a mini DV tape.

Seriously, they are the best of both worlds. Of course a DSLR will take better pictures, but you won't be able to tell until you blow them up to 8x10 or so.

Another great bonus is I only have to carry ONE camera. This is the future of photography. Even the DSLR's shoot video now. It has become the standard in digital cameras.

For those of you who are wondering, this is what the Nikon looks like. Looks like a DSLR, but is about 1/4 to 1/3 smaller and much lighter, depending on what brand DSLR its compared to. I like the smaller, lighter size.

There are so many like this on the market now, its hard to chose. I got headaches comparing features and quality.