Nikon Coolpix P100 10 MP Digital Camera with 26x Optical Vibration Reduction (VR) Zoom and 3-Inch LCD (Black) (OLD MODEL)

Ok, so I gave it a title that probably makes you wonder what I could possibly be talking about so here it is: 1. a really wide angle lens (26mm) for those close up shots and scenery shots (you know, the church with all of the spires that you have to backup all the way around the block to get into the picture). 2. a fantastic mechanical zoom lens that goes up to 678mm to bring in those distant shots (an with a tripod, the digital zoom puts you into the far objects pocket!). Keep in mind that with a zoom this large, holding it by hand is NOT going to produce a nice picture no matter how much stabilization is built into the camera! 3. One handed camera that is easy to use with a single hand and light enough to do so all day! 4. An articulated view screen that allows you to take pictures over the head of everyone crowding around the parade and still see what you are taking a picture of; it even allows you to take the pictue under the legs of someone standing in front of you or take that shot of a flower without having to bend down! 5. A camera body and lens that looks exactly like the SLR Digital Nikon! The only difference is you have a nice range of lens options that the other person (with the SLR) has to keep changing lenses to obtain. The camera also weighs a lot less and certainly costs a LOT less!!! 6. A wide range of shooting options from fully automatic to manual over-rides. Several scene modes also help with fast actions shots and close-ups. 7. A camera that you will not grow out of soon and one that even pleases the pro when they do not want to fuss with things. 8. the option to use a view finder if you want to! Yes, I know the 3 inch screen is nice, but if it is really sunny, the view finder works much better. Also, it is much quicker to use for those rare shots that you did not plan! You can turn off the through the lens view finder, the 3 inch monitor or both. A 16 Gig SD card (not included, the internal memory is good for 9 pictures) gives you the ability to take over 6,000 shots (enough for that trip to Italy) without worrying about memory cards. While on that subject, this camera essentially becomes free after your first 900 pictures (figuring that film and processing for 24 exposure film ran about $10). On a recent trip to the Tulip Fields in Washington State, I shot over 300 pictures in that one day! So, the camera quickly pays for itself. On the note of cost, this camera almost becomes a throw-away on a trip! Say you are in Italy and have been there for three weeks. You have averaged 100 pictures a day (very easy to do) and on your last day of the trip, you drop your camera from the third floor. You recover the memory card with your 2100 pictures. The camera was paid for after 900, so you are money ahead, have your pictures, and do not sweat the loss of the camera! (Ok, reality is that we will still be upset, but think how you would have felt if it was the Digital SLR with the nice zoom lens that you paid $5000 for!!) The only negative to this camera is that Nikon does NOT make a case for the camera! No one really does. However, the Lowepro case comes very close (a little large) with a belt clip (velcro for easy on and off), a carrying strap (detachable), and a carry handle on top with a front pouch that easily fits two extra batteries and extra memory. Speaking of battery, the included battery lasted for 350 pictures using the zoom extensively. The in camera charging unit works, but makes it a real pain. Purchase the Nikon En-El5 accessory package from Bargaincell (on Amazon) for $14 with shipping. It gives you a spare battery (larger than the original- good for 400 shots), a quick charger, a 12 volt adapter for the charger to allow you to charge from your car, and a European adapter that allows you to plug your charger in many European countries, including Russia. This is one fantastic camera and a great price to go with it!! UPDATE TO REVIEW: I just returned from a trip to Russia (30 days) and I have taken over 13,000 pictures with this camera during this time. I have used the zoom feature extensively in the many churchs that we visited and at all of the other landmarks. The wide angle lens really did an outstanding job getting all of Red Square into the picture! The zoom did a fantastic job (laying on my back on the floor shooting up at the cupala) obtaining the inlaid tile pictures in the dome! I made a comment earlier that a 16 Gig memory card would be adequate for a trip, but I found that I took almost 36 gigabyte of pictures and video on this trip! I had taken a laptop with me so that I could review pictures daily, but had not intended to actually do all of the storage on it. Well, that became my main picture store since I only had two 16 gig memory cards with me. The HD movie feature was fantastic as we were able to record several of the live performances of Russian Dance that we went to. Having the articulated view screen allowed me to shoot great video over the heads of the people in front of us. The only issue with taking movies by hand this wasy is that your arm gets very tired after about 10 minutes of holding the camera! I should have thought to bring a tripod!! We only had one problem in the trip with the camera and it happened after I had been taking extensive pictures in a very hot building (over 100 degrees) using the flash (took about 400 pictures). The camera closed the lens and gave me an error message. Changing the battery did not make any difference. My wife suggested that the camera had gotten too hot, so I waited 10 minutes and then tried the camera again, it worked perfectly! It has not acted up since. This happened in Moscow while the outside temperature was over 100 degrees and the building felt even hotter. As mentioned, I had been using the flash extensively and the camera was quite warm. Over the next two weeks I took over 5,000 pictures and it never acted up again. My recommendation is a very strong buy for a great camera and HD video unit!!

I just got this last weekend so I would normally not rate it this early, but first impression is that it has great low light picture and video capability which in my case has been really hard to find. The P100 also has different flash settings you can take advantage of and they work. I will say neither of these were important to me when I bought it because I did not think it would be able to do either. I bought it as I think many people did for the long range zoom, I would like to report that even adding the digital zoom which extends the 26x zoom x 4 I have gotten amazingly clear shots using available optical stabilization and mechanical stabilization while being hand held and in the fast action mode. I can also get steady handhelds when in all manual settings at or near the optical zoom limits. I have owned the Rebel XT DSLR for years and have acquired many lenses and a pretty good idea of how to use it. I simply got tired of lugging 30lbs. of equipment with me and the specs on the P100 are incredible for what it is. I can tell you if you really want a true point and shoot this is not it! The color saturation and blurriness of trying to use it strictly as an auto will drive you crazy as it is mostly worthless. I found that with patience and a clear understanding of the manual along with the different shooting modes, you can capture some fine pictures. I have experienced many of the same problems as with DSLR cameras with a CMOS sensor and multiple shooting modes, while many of the zoom point and shoots do not encourage you to have to learn about cameras because their auto features are really good this Nikon P100 works much like a DSLR camera where its up to you to take great pictures, the controls are there for you so go out and enjoy this one as I am. Well it has been 9 days since my initial impression and I have taken well over 500 pictures. The more I use and learn this camera the better it becomes. I am getting absolutely excellent photos, don't use the video much but it does well. I have had no problems with it. This is the un camera I had hoped and is so much easier to carry than a bag ull o len's that were ar to often being left behind.

I would not recommend this camera for a beginner because it's more complicated to operate than a point and shoot and I feel it's more suited to an experienced photographer. The price was very affordable and the condition was almost like new. The package arrived on time, and was packaged very well. It's a step up from my old Coolpix L810. The camera arrived without cable or instruction manual, so I downloaded the manual from the net, and the cable I found for a very reasonable price. I took some test shots and the pictures were clear and crisp, and the camera has features that were the same as my other Nikon. One of the best things is you can charge your battery with a cable that plugs into a usb port, which I think is very cool. Can't wait to photograph storms this summer. Needless to say I am very, very happy with this purchase.

I purchased this item after 6 months of consideration. I considered competitive cameras from Panasonic, Fuji, and Cannon. The P100 seemed to be the best compromise in performance for the price When you consider all the factors, it matched or exceeded the others in performance with its mega zoom, HD video, EVF, and feature rich controls. On paper there seemed to be no contest and with the price from Amazon the best available, I made this decision. I had been using the Panasonic point and shoot with 10X zoom and had been very happy with it, but was looking for better performance and a longer zoom. Here are some observations from someone that is not a professional and only takes pictures on a limited basis. PROS: The zoom is fantastic since it will get out as far as anyone really needs for normal pictures. It was pretty easy to use right out of the box and with the choice of using the display or the electronic viewfinder, selecting pictures & framing was great. It seems to have a good combination of automatic point and shoot qualities with the ability to manually override any setting. Downloading pictures was a snap using the included cable, but I found the class 6 card was not readable by my computer if I removed it and put it in the slot built into the computer. I guess the technology was not there a few years ago when my computer was new. I really like the Look and Feel of the camera and the ability to start HD video with only one button to push. It allows you to take pictures, then video, then back to pictures without taking the camera down from your eye. I saw a review that mentioned a negative because you had to use the camera to charge the battery, it's true, but for less than $20 you can get 2 extra batteries and a charger from Amazon, that works great. Overall I'm very happy with the camera. CONS: Picture quality so far is only good. I was expecting great. Maybe some of this is my fault since I haven't spent as much time learning all that it can do (not enough time). Some pictures appear "washed out" and it seems to have trouble with lighting. Again some of this may be my inexperience with the set up of the camera. The zoom in low light conditions is impossible to use without blurring the picture. If you plan on using the 26X zoom, plan on buying a tripod or what I did was purchase a monopod that works great. Again it was available from Amazon for about $20, and even works as a walking stick. Remember to turn off the "anti-shake" feature if you use the tripod. The last negative is minor, but annoying. I'm still trying to figure out how to find a simple way to determine how much battery power I have left, since it appears that you only get a "warning" when the battery is out of power. If you only have one battery, you are now waiting hours for the battery to be charged. All in all I really like the camera and still feel it is the best available for the money. I've not used the other cameras that I considered, but I'm still confident it was the right decision. Bill

This camera does so much, and I don't have to lug around extra lenses of attachments. The zoom is amazing and the quality of the pictures is never an issue. They come out very brigt and crisp, and even realistic if I must say. I abosultely love having the option of the EVF too. I didn't think I would use it much and now I use it pretty often. The LCD screen on the camera is very bright and show the colors very well. I can't believe how small the camera actually is. I can use one hand to take pictures and the other hand to hold my drink....lol. When you do zoom in all the way you will want to have something to rest the camera on if you want a perfect shot. It's doesn't have to be a tripod, just something more stable than your floating hand. Also, if you use the EVF when zooming that will help stable the camera too. I always told myself that I would never take the leap to spend this much on a camera. Well, I am glad I did and its been worth every penny. My only issue is that Nikon didn't make a case for this camera. I would have gladly paid another $30 for a custom made camera case. Either way though, I am so please with this purchase!!!! Thank you Nikon!!!!

I just received this camera yesteday and was soooo excited!! I took it out of the box, installed the battery, turned it on and tried a couple of test pictures. One was wide-angle, the other using the 26x zoom. Both pictures turned out great. I didn't have much time to play with it, so I turned it off and went about my other business. I came back to the camera about an hour later and turned it on, nothing, couldn't get the zoom to work, nothing. I turned it off, back on and still nothing. I took out the battery and put it back in and the camera went nuts!! The zoom kept going in and out, in and out, in and out and finally stayed out and I got an error message on the screen stating that I need to take off the lens cap!! There was not a lens cap on the camera and I had not ever put the lens cap on the camera!!! I decided maybe the battery needed to be charged so I hooked up the camera to the battery charger and charged it for 3 hours. I came back to the camera in 3 hours, removed the battery charger, same thing--zoom went crazy!!! Going in and out, in and out and telling me to remove the lens cap. I packed the entire thing back in the box and today printed out the return slip. I am going to return the darned thing for an exchange and try one more time. If the second one does this or anything else that it shouldn't do, I am through with Nikon. I have a Nikon Coolpix 5600 that I carry in my purse and it has taken some pretty good pics. I had such high hopes for the P100 but they just got dashed to the four winds. If I have to return a second one, I may go with Kodak again, that is mostly what I have had in the digital line of cameras and they have been pretty good. ---------------- Did not receive a replacement from Amazon, but ordered a new one from another vendor. It was shipped on Friday and arrived on Saturday. So far, this one works as it should. I have turned it off and on several times and it works each time. I should have suspected the first one was defective when I used the zoom the first time and it zoomed all the way out when I touched the zoom button!! This one is giving me some very good pictures indoors with just the room lights and no flash. The macro is fantastic--I sat on the sofa and took a shot of some flowers about 7 feet away and they are clear as a bell. Can't wait to check it out on a trip. I am much more pleased with this one. Will edit my review again when I have a chance to use it outdoors.

After several months of putting this bad boy through it's paces I am completely satisfied. I have taken a hand held shot of the moon and gotten stunning results. The lens, even at it's longest zoom produces very nice images. The HD movies must seen to be believed. Use the HDMI output to show your movies on an HDTV and you will think you are watching a DVD. Where the P100 really shines is in Macro mode. The Macro mode is made even more user friendly by the flip up and flip down LCD screen. This is the first one I have used and I will never be without this feature again. There are so many different modes and options I still haven't explored them all. My favorite option is BSS mode. That stands for Best Shot Selector. In this mode you can shoot a stationary subject (doesn't work on moving subjects) and hold down the shutter button as it takes up to ten shots at about 2 frames per second. Then when you are done shooting it will choose the sharpest shot of the group and save it and delete the rest. True magic. The menu systems are clear and easy to find things with. One of the things that really impress me over other "bridge" cameras I have owned is the ability to remember your settings when you turn the camera off. Every other camera I have had reverts to the default setting when you turn the camera back on, which can be a real pain. The only real negative I can come up with for this camera is I have not been too successful at birds in flight. I seriously considered the Canon SX20IS, the Olympus 800 and the Fuji HS10 before I decided on the P100 and I am glad I made the right decision for me.

2 Nikon EN-EL5 / ENEL5 / CP1 Replacement Battery + Battery Charger Combo Pack FOR Nikon CoolPix 3700 / 4200 / 5200 / 5900 / 7900 / P100 / P3 / P4 / P5000 / P5100 / P6000 / P80 / P90 / S10 Digital SLR Camera Zeikos ZE-CA38B Deluxe Soft Small Camera and Video Bag Transcend 16 GB Class 6 SDHC Flash Memory Card TS16GSDHC6E I am happy with the camera. It is easy to use. I went to Best Buy to check it out in person and in the store, I felt it was a bit of a tight grip for my right hand, but once I got it home and used it a few times, I got used to the grip and it's just fine. I mainly got this camera for the zoom. 26x zoom and a good camera for $300 and not $1000. I have a MAC and the pictures load beautifully to iphoto and so easy. The video is pretty good. It does "Shake" a touch if you zoom while taking a movie, but otherwise it is just fine. It comes with a battery and a charger to charge the battery while in the camera. I bought the above charger too. It comes with a wall charger, a car charger and 2 batteries. That is a deal for $4 and I should always have a battery ready to go ( I have 3 now- these 2 and the 1 that came with the camera) It does not come with a SD card, so i got this one In Best buy, that same card( 16gb) was about $45. I got a bag too. it fits the camera perfect and has room for the chargers and the extra batteries without being a big bulky camera bag. I was looking for a nicer camera with a good zoom that took nice photos. I think i've found it. My boys and my cats have has MANY pics taken of them since last week.... :)