Excellent digital camera!

I have been a photo enthusiast since about the fourth grade when I saved up my pennies (literally) to buy my first snap-shot camera. I graduated to a 35mm by high school and have easily filled 20 photo albums in the last ten years with everything from family snapshots to artsy type pictures of flowers and sunsets. I loved my 35mm cameras (all three of them) and was, therefore, extremely hesitant to make the leap into digital photography.

After tons of research, I ended up with the Nikon COOLPIX800 for my first digital camera. I ended up choosing the Nikon for two big reasons. First, I was on a limited budget (my dream cameras were up there in the couple thousand dollar range) and second, it was extremely important to me that I get the highest resolution possible. This camera fit both bills.

I’ve been using the camera for two months now and, for the most part, am extremely pleased with the results. I can honestly say that I’m probably well on the way to saving money because of this camera. I am a shutter bug – meaning that it is not unusual for me to take 2-4 rolls of film every month. This can get expensive – especially when you consider that half my prints are duplicates or just downright bad because I spend so much time trying to get just the right shot. With the digital – I have cut way down on the number of pictures I print (which does cost when you factor in photo paper and the ink). But I have not cut down on the number of nice photos that actually make it into my photo album. So when I watch for good deals on paper and ink, I’m sure I spend far less in the long run than I did on regular processing and developing.

Before I tell you about all the ways I am really pleased with the camera, I’ll tell you about the one limitation I have become frustrated with.

The only time I have not been happy with the quality of my photos is when I have tried taking group shots in poorly lit areas. For instance, I was taking pictures at a friend’s wedding the other day and, though the flash on the 800 was able to light up the subjects suitably well – their hair was completely lost to the dark background. In larger group shots I was having trouble even being able to see people on the back row. I am accustomed to working with a 35mm camera with an adjustable flash so I was really frustrated at having such a limited range of lighting. I attempted to set the camera on “scenic” setting. This did give me a greater distance of flash coverage but I could not get the camera to actually focus on my subjects. So my options were to have my subjects in focus with an extremely dark background or have better lighting overall with subjects out of focus. The camera does have three metering modes but I was not able to get results that were much better in extremely poor lighting conditions.

However, since very little of my photography is limited to these areas, I am still pleased with the COOLPIX 800.

What I really like about the Nikon COOLPIX 800:

Power Supply: This camera uses four AA batteries. You can use the regular old kind (though they won’t live for much over an hour) or you can use lithium or the rechargeable Ni-CD or Nickel Metal Hydride batteries. I bought two sets of rechargeable batteries. These work wonderfully as long as I remember to immediately recharge the set I have discharged and then to carry them with me. The one time I did leave my replacement set behind, it wasn’t a problem because I was able to pick up regular AA’s at a gift shop and still take my pictures.

Resolution: The camera has three modes for taking pictures, basic, normal and fine. The 8MB Compact Flash Card that comes with the camera will hold 32 pictures in basic mode, 16 pictures in normal mode and 8 pictures in fine mode. You can buy larger cards so I don’t see this as a limitation at all.

When I tested the three resolutions by taking a picture in each and printing them for comparison, I was surprised by the results. In fine mode, you can print an 8x10 picture (assuming your printer is up to par) that is easily photo quality. And for the untrained eye, it’s difficult to tell the difference between basic and normal modes, especially on smaller prints. I use the fine mode when I know I am taking pictures I want to blow up. But for the most part I use the normal and basic modes. They produce wonderful prints for sticking in a scrapbook or sending to friends.

Multi-shot mode: The 800 has a multi-shot feature which I have found to be invaluable with small children in the house. More than once I have wanted to get group shots and birthday parties or such. With the multi-shot feature turned on I don’t have to wait for the camera to load and process each picture. I can lay my finger on the button and take a series of shots and then go back to search for the one where everybody has their head turned in the right direction and a smile on their face.

Viewing images: The LCD monitor is large enough that you can view images immediately and usually have a pretty good idea if you want to keep them or not. This helps immensely if you are still using the 8MB storage card, as I am. I can delete pictures that don’t turn out well and have plenty of room for taking more without having to worry about getting to my computer to upload and save them.

Getting images to your computer Many people recommended that I get a camera which stores photos on a standard floppy disk. I opted to go with the Compact Flash Card because it seemed like you had to sacrifice resolution in order to get the standard floppy. I don’t regret the decision at all. The software that came with the Nikon was extremely easy to install. Basically I just had to put the CD in, tell it okay a couple of times and everything I needed was loaded onto my computer. It came complete with a cable that I attached to my serial port and all I have to do is connect the other end to my camera when I am ready to upload pictures. It takes very little time. I usually try to upload the pictures each time I’ve gone to an event and then I print a set about once a month. I also keep backups of the pictures I think I may want for later use on a ZIP drive. So far it feels much more convenient than those numerous packages of negatives I have stored away in a drawer.

I still think there are probably some drawbacks to digital photography. It would be easy to get caught up in the digital era and never make prints of your photos. That would be a sad thing if your computer ever crashed and you weren’t good at keeping backups. I also wonder, with the way technology changes, if you will still be able to access the pictures you are taking today many years down the road. But then again, most people can’t find their negatives after a couple of years either. So it’s probably not a big deal.

But I am glad I’ve made the leap into digital photography. It sure makes working on the web more fun. If you are looking for an affordable way to get into digital photography, I would certainly recommend this camera as a starter. It’s easy to learn to use and it is capable of taking high quality pictures.