dmspringer
Member
I purchased the P6000 specifically because of its high-ISO capabilities, and have been very disappointed after only a few test shots (living room with incandescent floor lamp or office with flourescent desk lamp, well-lit subject). In both Fine and RAW, the noise at either ISO 1600 or the 'High ISO Auto' setting is unacceptable (to me), whether the camera's noise reduction is set to On or Auto. It is far more usable at 1600 than 400/800 on my other p&s (Panny TZ1), but comparing it to my 30D at 1600 really shows the deficiencies. Yes, I do appreciate the difference in sensors, but it's advertised as a high-ISO camera.
The camera itself is well-constructed and the ergonomics are good, which makes the poor low-light performance even more disappointing, since it's close to an ideal size for this grade of p&s (not nearly as 'bulky' as the G10, which I will be trying next), as well as for my purposes. The optical viewfinder is on the small side, but I'd only use it when I needed to be stealthier and have the LCD off, but the LCD is great (although I haven't tried it in bright sunshine). I haven't gotten used to the adjustment dial, but that's strictly a placement/familiarity issue.
The camera has an Ethernet jack on the bottom which I haven't tested (apparently for Internet connectivity, for updates?), but I don't like the fact that charging has to be done with the battery in the camera and the AC power plugged into the side of it, since this would negate having a 2nd battery to charge while you use the camera. This wouldn't likely be an issue for most users, however.
I do like the pop-up flash and the back-panel controls. The menu is adapted from their D-series SLRs, and so is more intuitive to me as an SLR user, and quite easy to navigate. Power-up is fairly quick (< 1 second, from what I can judge), and the zoom works well, as does the AF.
If you want a well-built, nicely-sized p&s with lots of control and a good feature set, this is a very nice camera. Nikon does push the high ISO capability, however (going as far as including "ISO6400" on the fancy sticker that's affixed to the front).
I want something useful for concert shooting when I'm not allowed to bring in my dSLR, and if the G10 turns out to be as noisy as the G9, I'll likely keep the P6000 since its size and handling suit me better.
Problems:
The following aren't problems as much as they are issues for my particular use.
noisy high ISO (1600)
3200 and 6400 restricted to 3 MP size
charging battery can only be done in-camera
The camera itself is well-constructed and the ergonomics are good, which makes the poor low-light performance even more disappointing, since it's close to an ideal size for this grade of p&s (not nearly as 'bulky' as the G10, which I will be trying next), as well as for my purposes. The optical viewfinder is on the small side, but I'd only use it when I needed to be stealthier and have the LCD off, but the LCD is great (although I haven't tried it in bright sunshine). I haven't gotten used to the adjustment dial, but that's strictly a placement/familiarity issue.
The camera has an Ethernet jack on the bottom which I haven't tested (apparently for Internet connectivity, for updates?), but I don't like the fact that charging has to be done with the battery in the camera and the AC power plugged into the side of it, since this would negate having a 2nd battery to charge while you use the camera. This wouldn't likely be an issue for most users, however.
I do like the pop-up flash and the back-panel controls. The menu is adapted from their D-series SLRs, and so is more intuitive to me as an SLR user, and quite easy to navigate. Power-up is fairly quick (< 1 second, from what I can judge), and the zoom works well, as does the AF.
If you want a well-built, nicely-sized p&s with lots of control and a good feature set, this is a very nice camera. Nikon does push the high ISO capability, however (going as far as including "ISO6400" on the fancy sticker that's affixed to the front).
I want something useful for concert shooting when I'm not allowed to bring in my dSLR, and if the G10 turns out to be as noisy as the G9, I'll likely keep the P6000 since its size and handling suit me better.
Problems:
The following aren't problems as much as they are issues for my particular use.
noisy high ISO (1600)
3200 and 6400 restricted to 3 MP size
charging battery can only be done in-camera