Nikon Coolpix P50

Opinion: Nice handling. Decent macro and it can even lock on right object unlike some previous Coolpixes like the 5400 and 990 which could struggle woefully in that regard. Normal AF speed is not too slow. Watch out for bad sample variation of the the lens, Dpreview had a faulty unit with soft left side.
I was one of the very first to get my P50 on this forum back in the day as I had mine on preorder before the release and I posted some findings in the forum but thought that I might post a short review also.

Tested it with a Sandisk Extreme III 2Gb and the cardwriting was not a problem if I remember correctly.
Good that the camera uses AA batteries (two) I used Sanyo Eneloops and didn't have a problem although in the review them whined just a little over battery life.
What attracted me was the zoom range 28-102mm in a compact body which I find very useful. I didn't keep the P50 for very long though and have since bought a Samsung L74 wide which have an almost identical zoom-range.

Both of these two have almost foolproof auto white balance indoors which is rather unusual.
Build quality: P50 plastic though well built. L74: Almost all metal and well built.
I don't know how well the P50 manage to focus in dim light but the L74 manage to do that very well, even with that AF-lamp turned off.
The L74 have a touchscreen interface which works well. I could only wish that adjustment of EV could take marginally shorter time which still is not too long. I never bother myself using the pen. Always tap carefully witht he top of a finger nail, not to add fingerprints to the screen.

Opinion: I bought his model in a clearance sale for USD.100/- which
is steal. I own Nikon P5000 too but P50 is no match to
that. I think this is the only camera with 28mm wide lens
comes with AA battery power. Picture quality is average
and satisfactory. Only advantage is wide angle
photography and anywhere anytime available batteries. I
think I am going to keep this camera for long.

Opinion: I have a DSLR camera but its bulky to use it in some situations. I need to take pictures sometimes at work. So, I got this camera to carry everywhere.
Good camera overall , lots of adjustments.

It has also Timelapse recording feature but you can not see at the DPreview P50 page.
It has timelapse video recording too.
(See User Manual page:92 for more info)

Opinion: Good image quality on computer screen.

Lens distortions are evident especially around edges, at various focal lengths.

Managed to produce excellent 8x10 inch prints, even from cropped frames.

Opinion: Baad image quality. Grainy pictures even at low ISO. Inconsistent results.
The name Nikon sounds pretty good though.
Returned back to the store for full money refund.

Opinion: Excellent image quality, great dynamic range, easy to use. Unbeatable value for $160Canadian dollars. Nice LCD, even in bright sunlight.

Opinion: I decided to wait awhile after getting this camera before posting my observations about it to make sure that I got a chance to get to know it well.

I have been searching for some time to find a replacement for my aging Olympus C-5000, a camera that can take excellent pictures, but is just way too slow. I bought and used a Canon A-530 for awhile, but sold it. I then got a Canon A-550, but sold it even faster.

I got the P50 because it looked and felt really nice for the price and because of its wide angle view on the short end of the zoom.

In general I would have to say I'm pretty satisfied. After using the Olympus and Canon models, I found the menus a bit strange, but in the end they are not very extensive, so I have been able to learn them pretty well. This camera does a good job with white balance. It focuses quickly and pretty accurately. Shutter lag has not been a problem. Two rechargeable AA's seem to last fairly long, even with the lcd monitor on all the time.

The one thing I do have to say about image quality is that the shots I take seem to need a lot of sharpening. This camera seems to be set to take very soft images. Still, although they need sharpening, the upside is that they can also take a lot of sharpening, especially for a P & S camera, without starting to look over-processed. Colors? Well, not as nice as Olympus, IMHO, but they do seem pretty realistic and accurate.

This camera is capable of good images, but you have to work at it. Would I recommend this camera? Yes, but more so today (because the price has come down) than when it first came out.

Opinion: Really wanted a wide-angle compact, and after searching high and low, chose this one. No regrets. It has a workable combination of wide-angle lens, some manual control, face detection, decent IQ, now at an excellent price.

Reading reviews it seems like it sits between its nearest rival(s) in this price bracket: Canon A570 and A720. Both the latter with longer lens reach and very competitive IQ but no wide-angle. Drums the likes of the Olympus FE290 out of the ring.

Low light non-flash shots can be quite noisy if you just push up the ISO, but w a steady hand (or tripod) and manual control or even using one of the scene modes, you can get surprisingly great low light results. Flash shots are near enough perfect - helped by both FD and in M/P modes can scale flash up or down.

Handles highlights quite well and brings out detail in shadows. Managed to keep the balance in bright outdoor shots without blowing out the blue sky or plunging the shaded foreground into gloom. Camera also has a neat Nikon trick - D-lighting, correcting lighting in dark/shadow areas.

Exposure hard to fool, and auto white balance one of the best I've experienced (more tricky if you use custom). Colours really true, and skin tones in natural light or flash quite exceptional.

All photos benefit with a bit of sharpening in photoshop, but still perfectly usable straight out the unit - plus you can use the in-camera custom setting to get sharper results.

The electronic image stabilisation (e-VR) works ok, with maybe 5 in 100 shots shaky but not as accomplished as a mechanical system.

Menu system easy to navigate.

You can adjust shutter speed (8secs to 1/1000) and aperture (only two options -F2.8 OR F5.6) at the same time, which is nice for such a inexpensive unit. Image size can be adjusted too (in all modes), including a 16:9 mode that's a decent 3200x1800 resolution.

Overall a wide range of functions that encourages you to explore the commendable limits of this camera.

Opinion: Though I do have experience with classical cameras, I'm new at digital ones. I purchased the P50 to use occasionly instead of my Nikon FM3A. I have P50 since one week and I am pretty pleased with it. Pretty good image quality at good conditions, appropriate AF, good flash, pretty wide angle lens, very easy/intuitive navigating system, excellent ergonomics, compact, pretty robust construct, AA battery powered.