Nikon Coolpix 4800

Opinion: Hi Folks,

The 4800 has proved to be a great camera - especially at the price of $187 ! It has many more features than I expected and Nikon support is impeccable - they are ready for all the dumb questions you can throw at them - 24/7.

I have taken about 200 pics and especially enjoy the fact that it allows many manual settings. It has a self-timer, movie mode, 8.3x optical zoom, dual electronic view finder, a bunch of "scene modes", buttons are in the right place and easy to use, pretty easy to understand manual or hunt and peck method, multiple focus area modes (5 spots on a grid), allows you to turn off annoying camera sounds, etc.

If you use the included Nikon Picture Project software - make sure to go to Nikon's website and download the most recent update (v 1.6) - it has more editing features.

While this camera certainly does not compare with higher end cameras - it is great for the low to medium range photog.

Sam's Club still may have a few left at $187. Circuit City had great prices on Memory Cards and Card readers - I shopped online and picked up 30 minutes later at the local store. And, CC will match it's own website prices instore. You have one happy camper here, thank the Lord!

Tom
--
Experience is the best teacher

Opinion: I can't understand the negatives totally. I see this camera as very good? I had several cause I liked it then wanted to try another only to come back . One had just the right shutter speed and the other was too slow. Still at the time a few years ago the camera was right up there with the best point and shoots at the beginner level with a bit higher zoom.

Opinion: I have borrowed this camera several times and made about 200 pictures with it. It has a very good zoom capacity and the pictures look fine when printed at postcard size.

But for family photography it is very very frustrating to use. The shutter lag is too long, the viewfinder shows what happened a while ago and zooming is very slow. At the far end of zoom the autofocus fails making the pictures useless. The noise leves are terrible above iso 100, making it impossible to use it for any kind of action photography. The exposure times are simply to long.

Overall it is a very compact and lightweight camera with powerfull zoom, alltough it cannot be used at maximum range. It will give you nice impressions of the buildings and landscapes you see when you are travelling. Portraits can also be fine as long as people are prepared to pose for them.

I'm sure you will be very happy with it if you use it for those purposes. Since I have a young family I want more speed and versatility.

Opinion: This camera does take nice pictures.The WB has to be in AUTO.But it is not above average because 8x zoom is pretty useless if you want to get clear shots at tele.Another annoying thing is poor LCD quality.sometimes it's difficult to say wether a shot is blurry or not.To my taste colors are a bit strong-I would prefer more realistic colors.And shots could have been a bit more sharper.But after all you won't complain about this camera.

Opinion: I don't understand the negative reviews on this camera. I have owned and used several "point and shoot" digital cameras this hands-down produces the best and most consistent images. Yes, it has a plastic body, but it seems to hold up well. No, it does not have a plethora of manual features. But for the price you can't beat image quality and ease of use and the 8.3 zoom is great as long as you use a tripod at max zoom. PS - Ive seen this camera as low as $299. And just make sure to set White Balance on Auto or Preset the White Balance before using.

Opinion: I know I'm not suppossed to post if I don't own one ... but ... I just had to.

Opinion: Very disappointed with this camera:
Body was light and tinny feeling
Pictures were off color
Indoor shots were weak
Outdoor not great color
Ended up returning it for the Olympus 770 - much happier

Opinion: In research of purchaseing the 4800 found that my son in law was also researching for new digital. We both settled on the 4800. Made my purchase mid Dec '04. At first it was a little like learning the computer all over again. Have taken over 300 shots on the Island of Maui with outstanding results. Still many situations to learn and shoot.

Opinion: I'm happy with this camera, my first digital. I'm studying the manual intently and experimenting with it. I'm so pleased with my images and ease of use, was surprised at the mediocre reviews of it. As the salesman told me, "depends what you use it for," which for me is nature studies, macros, landscapes and photo copying of my art work. Has a short manual and a long one, both clear. Battery is one pc, loads easily, recharges quickly.