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CP 5000 owners: Are you happy with your purchase?

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StevenN

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This question is not for people who don't own a Coolpix 5000, not for people who have never used a Coolpix 5000, and not for people who like to stand on the sidelines and criticize everything there is about the Coolpix 5000.

This question is for people who have owned a Coolpix for at least several days now, and have used it, and have seen in person what it can do.

Are you generally pleased with the camera (taking into account that no camera is perfect)? Would you recommend that people buy this camera instead of its closest competitors?

Your answers will help me decide whether to trade up from my Coolpix 990 or not. Thanks.
 
Hi Steven

The 5000 is my first DC and I love it. There has been a learning curve, but it is a great camera. Please check out my photos and see for your self.
http://www.pbase.com/markdyer
Good luck
Mark
StevenN said:
This question is not for people who don't own a Coolpix 5000, not
for people who have never used a Coolpix 5000, and not for people
who like to stand on the sidelines and criticize everything there
is about the Coolpix 5000.

This question is for people who have owned a Coolpix for at least
several days now, and have used it, and have seen in person what it
can do.

Are you generally pleased with the camera (taking into account that
no camera is perfect)? Would you recommend that people buy this
camera instead of its closest competitors?

Your answers will help me decide whether to trade up from my
Coolpix 990 or not. Thanks.
Click to expand...
 
Steven,

I am quite pleased with what my 5000 can do. .My only complaint (debatable) is the the small size. Of course, I have large hands and big fingers. I am planning to the the E5000 Battery pack because I think that the camera will feel better in the hands.

It is taking a while to learn the camera but when I get it right its great.

r
Mark said:
StevenN said:
This question is not for people who don't own a Coolpix 5000, not
for people who have never used a Coolpix 5000, and not for people
who like to stand on the sidelines and criticize everything there
is about the Coolpix 5000.

This question is for people who have owned a Coolpix for at least
several days now, and have used it, and have seen in person what it
can do.

Are you generally pleased with the camera (taking into account that
no camera is perfect)? Would you recommend that people buy this
camera instead of its closest competitors?

Your answers will help me decide whether to trade up from my
Coolpix 990 or not. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Nope... I'm longing for my 990. Something about this little camera is just not quite right. In particular, I'm finding that too many of my indoor pics are under-exposed. This really never happened with the 990 and is just driving me nuts with the 5000. Also, I really miss the ability to mount filters on the camera.

I'm a big Nikon fan (I had a 950, a 990, a 995, and still own a D1X) so I really want to like this camera. Unfortunately, I think it will take a couple of firmware upgrades (I can only hope) before I can really pass the praise.

Mark
 
StevenN said:
This question is not for people who don't own a Coolpix 5000, not
for people who have never used a Coolpix 5000, and not for people
who like to stand on the sidelines and criticize everything there
is about the Coolpix 5000.

This question is for people who have owned a Coolpix for at least
several days now, and have used it, and have seen in person what it
can do.

Are you generally pleased with the camera (taking into account that
no camera is perfect)? Would you recommend that people buy this
camera instead of its closest competitors?

Your answers will help me decide whether to trade up from my
Coolpix 990 or not. Thanks.
Click to expand...
I own the 950, 990, 995, D1 and now the Cp5000. Untill the D1x or Nikons next DSLR has a full size ccd to get rid of the 1.5x lens factor, I will be using the Cp5000 more than any of them. This is one very fine camera. Pictures are nicer than the 995. Controls are easy to understand. Do look forward to the Nikon battery pack/grip, my hands are large!--Greg GebhardtJacksonville, Florida
 
Yes I'm happy with the CP5000. There IS a learning curve, but if you take the time to learn what it can do, this camera can produce great pics. I'm still learning, but it gets better all the time. Also, I believe with the adapter rings you can mount filters. K.
StevenN said:
This question is not for people who don't own a Coolpix 5000, not
for people who have never used a Coolpix 5000, and not for people
who like to stand on the sidelines and criticize everything there
is about the Coolpix 5000.

This question is for people who have owned a Coolpix for at least
several days now, and have used it, and have seen in person what it
can do.

Are you generally pleased with the camera (taking into account that
no camera is perfect)? Would you recommend that people buy this
camera instead of its closest competitors?

Your answers will help me decide whether to trade up from my
Coolpix 990 or not. Thanks.
Click to expand...
 
Am I happy with my purchase???

I wish I could say I was! I'm trying REALLY HARD to love this camera but so far it is a disappointment.

I sold my Nikon 990 for this...I purchased a CP5000 for me, and a Canon S30 for my wife.

I am a HUGE Nikon fan and have shot Nikon film cameras for years. I generally liked my Nikon 990 except for the Red Eye problem and it's difficulty focusing in low-light situations.

The CP5000 is a cool looking camera with some incredible capabilities...BUT, so far I'm unhappy with the pictures I've taken. In fact, those I've taken with my wife's S30 look better exposed. Specifically, indoor shots with flash. For some reason, my Nikon shots are "blown out" (overexposed). Skin tones are MUCH more natural with the S30. I've tried several side-by-side tests...same subject (people & inanimate object, e.g. a wood table). Canon consistently is yielding better exposures.

I'm not happy about this, but I'm seriously considering returning my CP5000. I don't really want to step down to a 3 or 4 Mega Pixel Camera and can not afford to upgrade to a digital SLR...maybe I need to wait till Canon releases an S50 or ??? I don't know. I do a lot of enlargements up to 13x19 and when one takes into account cropping, a 3MP is not enough.

Despite the lack of a focusing assist lamp, the Nikon CP5000 seems to do well in low-light situations (certainly better than the 990).

The Canon however seems to be quicker, more responsive and yields better exposures.

Ooooh.... what to do?!?!!?!?!
Mark Chernis said:
Nope... I'm longing for my 990. Something about this little
camera is just not quite right. In particular, I'm finding that
too many of my indoor pics are under-exposed. This really never
happened with the 990 and is just driving me nuts with the 5000.
Also, I really miss the ability to mount filters on the camera.

I'm a big Nikon fan (I had a 950, a 990, a 995, and still own a
D1X) so I really want to like this camera. Unfortunately, I think
it will take a couple of firmware upgrades (I can only hope) before
I can really pass the praise.

Mark
Click to expand...
 
Oh, just an addendum...I am taking care to NOT cover the sensor with my fingers...whatever's causing it to over expose -- I don't think it's me.
 
I am very happy with my Nikon. I love the shape, and the software works well with it.
I have used a 995 and before that a Sony 707.

The 5000 can make good pictures. The only problem I had was with my SB28 creating over-exposed pictures. I am sure I will discover what causes it.
I plan to buy the grip/battery compartment.

Digital photography, in particular needs some work to get the good photos.....and if you are willing to work on it, it is rewarding.
StevenN said:
This question is not for people who don't own a Coolpix 5000, not
for people who have never used a Coolpix 5000, and not for people
who like to stand on the sidelines and criticize everything there
is about the Coolpix 5000.

This question is for people who have owned a Coolpix for at least
several days now, and have used it, and have seen in person what it
can do.

Are you generally pleased with the camera (taking into account that
no camera is perfect)? Would you recommend that people buy this
camera instead of its closest competitors?

Your answers will help me decide whether to trade up from my
Coolpix 990 or not. Thanks.
Click to expand...
 
This is my first DC and I am dissapointed. I have used a friends G1 several times before.

I am displeased with teh problems I have had focusing. I have been very careful to place the focus brackets on the person and I always pre-focus, but still some shots come out not sharp.

I have been getting better exposure results with my SB28 (and a StpFen) but still some slightly out of focus shots. I have been shooting alot with my N80 for the past year, so maybe my standards or expectations are too high? The frustrating part is the inconsistancy..
any suggestions?
 
Yes I am happy with it. I have owned a 950 and 990
before this and the 5000 is better in many respects. But
it is also quite different, so there is a significant
learning curve. I particularly like the small size,
as I travel a lot and space in my carry-on bag is at a
premium.
StevenN said:
This question is not for people who don't own a Coolpix 5000, not
for people who have never used a Coolpix 5000, and not for people
who like to stand on the sidelines and criticize everything there
is about the Coolpix 5000.

This question is for people who have owned a Coolpix for at least
several days now, and have used it, and have seen in person what it
can do.

Are you generally pleased with the camera (taking into account that
no camera is perfect)? Would you recommend that people buy this
camera instead of its closest competitors?

Your answers will help me decide whether to trade up from my
Coolpix 990 or not. Thanks.
Click to expand...
 
koo22 said:
StevenN said:
This question is not for people who don't own a Coolpix 5000, not
for people who have never used a Coolpix 5000, and not for people
who like to stand on the sidelines and criticize everything there
is about the Coolpix 5000.

This question is for people who have owned a Coolpix for at least
several days now, and have used it, and have seen in person what it
can do.

Are you generally pleased with the camera (taking into account that
no camera is perfect)? Would you recommend that people buy this
camera instead of its closest competitors?

Your answers will help me decide whether to trade up from my
Coolpix 990 or not. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
I have a Nikon 990 (before that a 950), an Oly D40 and an E10. After 1 week with the Nikon 5000 , I am thinking of returning the camera. In direct comparison with the D40, my shots are overexposed with the flash.

I expected better from the camera at least as good as my 990. I will keep it for one more week. Maybe I just need to experiment more.
Let us know what you decide
 
Yes. Controls are different--easier to use because you don't have to go through menus asmuch as the 880, but learning them takes a bit longer. Images so far have been excellent. ^^^Bob^^^
 
Yes and No. My biggest problem right now is inconsistency. Sometimes flash pictures are well exposed, more often overexposed. And yes, I learned very early about the flash sensor. I hold the right grip with my fingertips on the front of the grip to be sure I my fingers don't block or reflect light into the sensor. I just did some test shots with EV -0.3 and the flash exposures are much better.

Sometimes the pictures are sharp and sometimes soft. I see soft focus more when the subject is more than 5-7 feet away (and I am prefocusing on the subject). Close focus seems to be very good (when there is enough light to focus).

I have had some trouble with low-light focusing when I thought there should be enough to available light for the camera to focus. I tried to focus on a face where there was light from a bright computer monitor illuminating the face, but it would not focus.

I am not bashing the camera and have no other DC to compare to. Like others I really want this camera to work out, I have read the manual about 4 times, tried many different settings.

Here the latest settings that I seem to get the best results with:

White Balance - Auto
Metering - Matrix
Continuous - Single
BSS - Off
Image Adjustment - Normal
Saturation - Normal
Lens - Normal
Exposure - AE Lock - Off
Focus - Area Mode - Off
Sharpening - Normal
Noise Reduction - Off

I generally keep ISO set on 100. And shoot mostly in program mode, though I have tried Aperature Priority and Shutter Priority.

Those that are getting consitent results - I would be interested in knowing what settings you use most of the time or any or tips you can pass along.

I do have a group of about 4 stuck or hot pixels that show up in every image, so the camera will be going back for that, the question right now is do I have them send me another 5000 or something else. Jury is still out. Before I make a final decision I will shoot more and then I will print some images on my Epson 1280 at a larger size (e.g 13X19) to see how they print.

chip
 
Hi,

I’ve been using my Coolpix 5000 for one week and enjoyed working with it most of the time. The firmware update from 1.5 to 1.6 went smoothly.

I like the way the camera feels, it seems to be well build and is capable of producing spectacular images. I like the “film-like” image quality it produces straight out of the camera. The one big complaint I have is the auto focus system, sometimes I have a really hard time getting sharp images, both using it as a point-and-shoot and fully manual using the individual focus areas. I am also using a Minolta SLR which has a fantastic, ultra-fast auto focus system, so I might be spoiled…

I am still evaluating…

You can see a few of my shots here http://www.pbase.com/ullimueller .

Enjoy, Ulli
 
Steven:

I have been using the CP 5000 for several days now. My previous experience: I have owned the Sony DSC-505, Sony DSC-S70 and the DSC-S85. For me, the CP 5000 is far superior to all of them. (I tried the F707 and found it to be too heavy; check Phil's side by side analysis on the weight of the two cameras!). Plus, if you review a recent posting with pictures comparing the 707 and the CP 5000, the oversaturation of the newer Sony cameras in the S85 and the 707 ALONE heavily weighs against any Sony cameras. In fact, I sent my S85 back to Sony only to be told that they could not do anything about the over-exuberant reds in all photos. You may remember that Phil Askey had criticized this tendency in his review of the Sony cameras. And he was right.

As a purely amateur photographer, I love the wide angle lens in the CP 5000, the control that is lacking in other cameras I've tried, and the ability to use quality wide angle and telephoto lenses as accessories.

Lastly, some negatives? Well, the battery life is relatively short. We will need to either use a Maha Powerbank or the Nikon MB-E5000 battery pack, which of course adds to the cost. One thing for sure, if battery life alone were the criterion for purchase of a dig camera, then go and get a Sony----and live with oversaturation and no saturation control.

Reading through the other postings should help, especially coming from experienced camera buffs.

Good luck.
StevenN said:
This question is not for people who don't own a Coolpix 5000, not
for people who have never used a Coolpix 5000, and not for people
who like to stand on the sidelines and criticize everything there
is about the Coolpix 5000.

This question is for people who have owned a Coolpix for at least
several days now, and have used it, and have seen in person what it
can do.

Are you generally pleased with the camera (taking into account that
no camera is perfect)? Would you recommend that people buy this
camera instead of its closest competitors?

Your answers will help me decide whether to trade up from my
Coolpix 990 or not. Thanks.
Click to expand...
 
I have mixed feelings with regards to this camera...I have almost made a decision to return it. Although I have gotten much better results as of late those results are just not consistant. This is quite annoying and frustrationg..I can pick up my E100 or S30 and really count on either of them to give me excellent results no matter what the situation. I had company today and I picked up the 5000 and took a couple of pictures and I came back with the s30. When I looked at the picctures the 5000 was way underexposed and the Canon was perfect. (and no, it wasn't the flash sensor). So most likely I return it and just wait for Nikon to take care of some of these problems...I really hate to give it up...I like the camera a lot. I wanted so desperately for it to be my perfect digicam...But for a 1000.00...I can do better with what I've got already. I can't wait for Phil to review this camera...I want to hear his take on it. My friend Cathy took a sample picture of her grand daughter with the 5000, G2, and the 707 and the 5000 came in last as far as I am concerned. The 707 and G2 were oh so close but for my money I would choose the 707...and I don't even like Sony cameras...so that is saying something to me....

Good Luck and Happy Shooting,

Carmen
chip said:
Yes and No. My biggest problem right now is inconsistency.
Sometimes flash pictures are well exposed, more often overexposed.
And yes, I learned very early about the flash sensor. I hold the
right grip with my fingertips on the front of the grip to be sure I
my fingers don't block or reflect light into the sensor. I just
did some test shots with EV -0.3 and the flash exposures are much
better.

Sometimes the pictures are sharp and sometimes soft. I see soft
focus more when the subject is more than 5-7 feet away (and I am
prefocusing on the subject). Close focus seems to be very good
(when there is enough light to focus).

I have had some trouble with low-light focusing when I thought
there should be enough to available light for the camera to focus.
I tried to focus on a face where there was light from a bright
computer monitor illuminating the face, but it would not focus.

I am not bashing the camera and have no other DC to compare to.
Like others I really want this camera to work out, I have read the
manual about 4 times, tried many different settings.

Here the latest settings that I seem to get the best results with:

White Balance - Auto
Metering - Matrix
Continuous - Single
BSS - Off
Image Adjustment - Normal
Saturation - Normal
Lens - Normal
Exposure - AE Lock - Off
Focus - Area Mode - Off
Sharpening - Normal
Noise Reduction - Off

I generally keep ISO set on 100. And shoot mostly in program mode,
though I have tried Aperature Priority and Shutter Priority.

Those that are getting consitent results - I would be interested in
knowing what settings you use most of the time or any or tips you
can pass along.

I do have a group of about 4 stuck or hot pixels that show up in
every image, so the camera will be going back for that, the
question right now is do I have them send me another 5000 or
something else. Jury is still out. Before I make a final decision
I will shoot more and then I will print some images on my Epson
1280 at a larger size (e.g 13X19) to see how they print.

chip
Click to expand...
 
Steven,

After a week with the Coolpix 5000 here's what I think. It has image quality that is fine for a point and shoot, but it's not the easiest or cheapest point and shoot camera. It has features to please creative photographers, but not the image quality that creative and/or professional photographers often need. Noise levels are higher than I hoped and dynamic range is more limited than I hoped. Many of us are noticing that this camera almost always finds some highlight area to blow out. I don't think it is over exposing. The range of light to dark that it can handle is apparently very short. I can't compare it to other cameras in its price range because I haven't used any digital extensively other than the Canon D30. I knew from reading Phil's explanations about the size of the sensors that the 5000 wouldn't match the D30's image quality. Now that I actually see the differences it is discouraging. I'm going to give the camera a few more days. It didn't help when I opened the wide angle adapter that someone gave me as a present and we discovered that Calumet had sold them the wrong one. Bummer.
Hap
 
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