Customer Rating: 
Summary: Stay away from Nikon, lack of customer appreciation
Comment: Bought this camera from Amazon in January 2006. Paid almost $400 for it. Took a few pictures and the quality of the pictures were good. However my usage was very sporadic last year since there weren't too many picture taking moments popping up. Must have taken at the most 200 pictures with this camera.
This year my wife got pregnant and had twins. Tons of picture taking opportunities! However, the camera gave up just before our twins arrived in July 07! The camera would turn on but the screen would just be blank! Called Nikon to find out if I had accidentally changed some settings. They just told me to reset the camera and check if it works. I did so and it didn't fix the problem. When I called Nikon back they told me to just send the camera in for repairs (for which I would be charged). I decided to get on to the web and research this issue a bit since I knew my camera didn't get enough usage for normal wear and tear to spoil it. Not surprisingly, I found that this is not a problem unique to my particular camera. It is a general problem with the Coolpix. People have tried to get this issue addressed by Nikon but without any success. So, they try all kinds of tricks like banging the camera lens at particular angles with a certain amount of force to shake the lens but
not break it! I called Nikon back and registered this issue at their website giving them links to the discussion forums where people were seeing this issue (in case they were unaware!!) I wanted them to
acknowledge that this is a problem at their end and that I shouldn't have to pay for a fix.
But they "politely" refused after repeated email requests.
I decided not to waste any more time with Nikon. I am staying away from the Coolpix and from Nikon in general for their reluctance to own up to their mistakes and take care of their customers. I will also be spreading the word so that the next person doesn't get into the same trouble. I just wish now that I had spent that kind of money only after the Coolpix was tried and tested and the customer reviews were out on it.
I am going and buying a Canon camera based on a recent experience my brother had. His Canon Powershot (bought in 2004) gave some problems recently which he researched and found to be a general problem with Powershots also. However, the difference was that when he called Canon customer service, they asked him to send his camera in and they fixed it for him free of cost! Talk about customer appreciation! All I got from Nikon was a "lemon" and time wasted conversing with them!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Prize winning camera
Comment: I've had this camera now for over a year. I remember when I bought it, I paid over $400, but it has been WELL worth the buy! I have made several prize winning shots and i've been published in 2 different magzines now with my pictures. All that and I'm just an amateur. Having a 10x Optical Zoom on a camera is a nice commodity in itself. You just don't get that much with digital cameras.
I would recommend this for digital camera beginners and halfway serious amateurs, because it's far from pro.
If you want to take amazing shots (given the right lighting conditions of course) but don't understand Aperature Value, Shutter Speed, and ISO value, then this is the perfect investment for you!
Have fun and remember this: if a picture is worth 1,000 words, then that must mean that a really great picture is worth 10,000 so shoot away!!!
...like i read in a book recently, it's better to take 1 creative exposure than it is to take 6 standard ones...
happy trails!
Customer Rating:
Summary: SUNBLOCK!
Comment: This is a good camera with a nice large lcd. However, you cannot use it with the sun behind you (and thus the light on your subject) because all you can see is your own reflection. Great for putting on lipstick?
Customer Rating:
Summary: Quite unlike its predecessor
Comment: I purchased this item with hopes that it would aspire to the former incarnation I had wished to update: the Nikon CoolPix 950. I bought the 950 in 2000, and it consistently provided quality shots and unfettered flexibility throughout its tenure despite its somewhat antiquated technology... at least until that fateful day the airline destroyed it along with my baggage.
I was delighted to see that an alternative "Swivel-Lens" model had been released by Nikon. What could be better? The Swivel-Lens versatility I'd come to know and love, coupled with updated technological prowess.
It took roughly three pictures to determine that this was one of the weakest digital cameras I'd ever had the displeasure of using. The flash is pretty much REQUIRED - unless you're directly in the path of the sun with its radiant heat beaming down upon you with an intensity great enough to sizzle the very skin off your bones, the flash will automatically engage (unless, of course, you manually turn it off - in which case you're in for a real treat: the "blur sensor", while obviously intended as some sort of warning mechanism, never goes away... even if you set the camera down on a stationary device and gingerly press the button with the gentlest of taps). The problem with this is that flash-enhanced photos on this camera appear synthetic and overly-red, even after the settings have been adjusted. Expect to use PhotoShop or some other third-party photo editing software to make these pictures viewable.
I thought perhaps my novice expertise in the field of photography might have been to blame, so I contacted Nikon. I explained that this camera was difficult to operate in comparison to the earlier 950 model. They proceeded to chastise me for having purchased an inferior model of camera (keep in mind that they are referring to THEIR OWN PRODUCT, and that the "superior" model is a camera over 7 years old) and offered no suggestions whatsoever as to photograph improvement.
This was a severe disappointment. While I thought the first Nikon camera had made me a customer for life, this perception was quickly undone by my second purchase.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great zoom terrible low light.
Comment: This camera has the most wonderful design and form but it is really bad in low light. The flash is very harsh, and the higher ISO makes the images very grainy. I really like this camera but I wish Nikon could do a better job with flashes on these folding body designs. One review I read said the problem was that the flash was too close to the lens resulting in the glare and reflection issues.
Size is great so much better than my 990.
Summary: Stay away from Nikon, lack of customer appreciation
Comment: Bought this camera from Amazon in January 2006. Paid almost $400 for it. Took a few pictures and the quality of the pictures were good. However my usage was very sporadic last year since there weren't too many picture taking moments popping up. Must have taken at the most 200 pictures with this camera.
This year my wife got pregnant and had twins. Tons of picture taking opportunities! However, the camera gave up just before our twins arrived in July 07! The camera would turn on but the screen would just be blank! Called Nikon to find out if I had accidentally changed some settings. They just told me to reset the camera and check if it works. I did so and it didn't fix the problem. When I called Nikon back they told me to just send the camera in for repairs (for which I would be charged). I decided to get on to the web and research this issue a bit since I knew my camera didn't get enough usage for normal wear and tear to spoil it. Not surprisingly, I found that this is not a problem unique to my particular camera. It is a general problem with the Coolpix. People have tried to get this issue addressed by Nikon but without any success. So, they try all kinds of tricks like banging the camera lens at particular angles with a certain amount of force to shake the lens but
not break it! I called Nikon back and registered this issue at their website giving them links to the discussion forums where people were seeing this issue (in case they were unaware!!) I wanted them to
acknowledge that this is a problem at their end and that I shouldn't have to pay for a fix.
But they "politely" refused after repeated email requests.
I decided not to waste any more time with Nikon. I am staying away from the Coolpix and from Nikon in general for their reluctance to own up to their mistakes and take care of their customers. I will also be spreading the word so that the next person doesn't get into the same trouble. I just wish now that I had spent that kind of money only after the Coolpix was tried and tested and the customer reviews were out on it.
I am going and buying a Canon camera based on a recent experience my brother had. His Canon Powershot (bought in 2004) gave some problems recently which he researched and found to be a general problem with Powershots also. However, the difference was that when he called Canon customer service, they asked him to send his camera in and they fixed it for him free of cost! Talk about customer appreciation! All I got from Nikon was a "lemon" and time wasted conversing with them!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Prize winning camera
Comment: I've had this camera now for over a year. I remember when I bought it, I paid over $400, but it has been WELL worth the buy! I have made several prize winning shots and i've been published in 2 different magzines now with my pictures. All that and I'm just an amateur. Having a 10x Optical Zoom on a camera is a nice commodity in itself. You just don't get that much with digital cameras.
I would recommend this for digital camera beginners and halfway serious amateurs, because it's far from pro.
If you want to take amazing shots (given the right lighting conditions of course) but don't understand Aperature Value, Shutter Speed, and ISO value, then this is the perfect investment for you!
Have fun and remember this: if a picture is worth 1,000 words, then that must mean that a really great picture is worth 10,000 so shoot away!!!
...like i read in a book recently, it's better to take 1 creative exposure than it is to take 6 standard ones...
happy trails!
Customer Rating:
Summary: SUNBLOCK!
Comment: This is a good camera with a nice large lcd. However, you cannot use it with the sun behind you (and thus the light on your subject) because all you can see is your own reflection. Great for putting on lipstick?
Customer Rating:
Summary: Quite unlike its predecessor
Comment: I purchased this item with hopes that it would aspire to the former incarnation I had wished to update: the Nikon CoolPix 950. I bought the 950 in 2000, and it consistently provided quality shots and unfettered flexibility throughout its tenure despite its somewhat antiquated technology... at least until that fateful day the airline destroyed it along with my baggage.
I was delighted to see that an alternative "Swivel-Lens" model had been released by Nikon. What could be better? The Swivel-Lens versatility I'd come to know and love, coupled with updated technological prowess.
It took roughly three pictures to determine that this was one of the weakest digital cameras I'd ever had the displeasure of using. The flash is pretty much REQUIRED - unless you're directly in the path of the sun with its radiant heat beaming down upon you with an intensity great enough to sizzle the very skin off your bones, the flash will automatically engage (unless, of course, you manually turn it off - in which case you're in for a real treat: the "blur sensor", while obviously intended as some sort of warning mechanism, never goes away... even if you set the camera down on a stationary device and gingerly press the button with the gentlest of taps). The problem with this is that flash-enhanced photos on this camera appear synthetic and overly-red, even after the settings have been adjusted. Expect to use PhotoShop or some other third-party photo editing software to make these pictures viewable.
I thought perhaps my novice expertise in the field of photography might have been to blame, so I contacted Nikon. I explained that this camera was difficult to operate in comparison to the earlier 950 model. They proceeded to chastise me for having purchased an inferior model of camera (keep in mind that they are referring to THEIR OWN PRODUCT, and that the "superior" model is a camera over 7 years old) and offered no suggestions whatsoever as to photograph improvement.
This was a severe disappointment. While I thought the first Nikon camera had made me a customer for life, this perception was quickly undone by my second purchase.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great zoom terrible low light.
Comment: This camera has the most wonderful design and form but it is really bad in low light. The flash is very harsh, and the higher ISO makes the images very grainy. I really like this camera but I wish Nikon could do a better job with flashes on these folding body designs. One review I read said the problem was that the flash was too close to the lens resulting in the glare and reflection issues.
Size is great so much better than my 990.