Digital Camera Fiend - A Camera Review

Sandy Hook Sanderling, originally uploaded by *foxy_k*.

Amazing detail captured and a wonderful example of bird photography. Note the tiny specs of water drops suspended in mid-air.

This photo was shot with a Nikon D200, a semi-professional digital SLR camera.

It’s magnesium alloy body, 1/8000 shutter speed and medley of other features make it a truly remarkable piece of equipment.

Retailing for more than $1,000, the operator who used it to take this shot is probably very serious about photography–and it shows in this stellar capture.

The first thing on my digital camera wish list right now is the Nikon 55-200mm VR camera lens. The reviews on this piece of equipment are great and I know it would be a fantastic compliment to my Nikon D40 SLR camera.

The D40 is great for events where I know I’ll want to take pictures—like vacation. But what I really need is a ultra-compact digital camera like the Canon Powershot 630 or some of the newer Nikon Coolpix….something I can stick in my purse and go anywhere with.

After all, you never know when a fantastic photo opportunity will present itself.

Nikon cameras are the best in my opinion, but I wouldn’t rule out a Canon or Olympus. Sony is also stepping to the plate, although I am not a firm believer in their foray into the world of SLR.

With so many choices out there, it’s important to study up before you make a decision and do some comparison shopping. Hold each camera in your hand, see what feels right. This is just as important as looking at the functions and features.

Many people find a brand of camera they like and loyally stick beside it. My advice—check out different brands and models each time you thinking of upgrading, especially if you are a beginning to intermediate user. This is a sponsored post.

Derek Jeter, originally uploaded by _mentat.

This photo, taken with a Nikon D80, is the stuff classic sports photography is made of. It seems like an intimate capture of one of the game’s marque players.

He is projected as alone and isolated on the field–a clever framing by the photographer–because in actuality, the photo was probably taken as he was warming up for his turn at the plate.

Might look even better in black and white.

Darkfield, originally uploaded by Strobe2go.

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I decided to look into the new Nikon P5000 after seeing that it won a TIPA award for best compact digital camera. (TIPA is a European association of photography and imaging professionals).

It seems the acclaim for the P5000 is not universal. Reviewers from dpreview.com gave it a tepid recommendation and stated that the Canon Powershot G7 is a better camera in this field.

Among the writer’s criticisms, the P5000 has a very slow focus and slightly sluggish performance overall. Say no more! Nobody wants a sluggish digital camera. The writer also noted that anything above ISO 400 is noisy and the ISO 3200 function is “totally pointless,” and that the sound cuts out before the end of movie clips in video mode.

“The P5000 is a product that…has an achilles heel that we feel is important enough to reduce its rating,” the reviewer stated, referring to its sluggish performance. “[This] has a serious effect on the overall usability of an otherwise excellent camera.”

On the other hand, if you plan to use this camera for landscape shots, it will perform beautifully. Just stay away from fast action or point and shoot social snapping in low light.

Sounds like a dud of a camera, not an award-winner, to me. I thought TIPA’s other picks (the Nikon D40x and the Nikon 55-200mm VR lens) were brilliant. But if the reviewer from dpreview.com is right, they missed the boat on the P5000.

Nikon has put a lot of great products on the market in the past year, and its efforts have not gone unnoticed.

The Technical Image Press Association (TIPA) has tapped three recent Nikon products for best photographic and imaging awards: the Nikon 55-200mm VR lens, the D40x Digital SLR camera, and the COOLPIX P5000 compact camera.

TIPA, a non-profit European organization, is composed of professionals from the photo and imaging publishing industry. We were very happy to see that two of the items they selected for awards happened to be products that digital camera fiend also highly recommended.

We raved about the D40X as did the TIPA judges in their official comments calling it “an excellent DSLR for those entering the world of digital photography. [It has] superb image quality and a very fast shutter response.”

The 55-200mm VR telephoto zoom lens has been called the best lens of the year by photographer Ken Rockwell. TIPA judges praised its VR (vibration reduction) technology, which helps cancel out camera shake.
“Thanks to the VR mode, it is possible to shoot sharp images with up to three stops less light,” judges said, calling it the “perfect complement for the standard 18-55mm lens.”

And last we have the COOLPIX P5000, a product I admit I am not too familiar with. The TIPA judges liked the amount of manual control in this point and shoot camera.

[The P5000] brings the creative controls of a DSLR into the body of a compact camera,” one judge said.

This high-end compact camera is crammed with a 10-megapixel sensor, a 2.5 LCD screen as well as an optical viewer for traditionalists, and fast access to manual modes.

All in all, a stellar year for Nikon.

Asking someone what the best camera is, is like asking what the best food or best movie is: totally subjective and based on personal preference.

David Pogue, tech writer extraordinaire for the New York Times, can’t tell you how many times readers pose the ‘best camera’ question to him.

“That’s a crazy question,” Pogue says on his blog. “There are so many models and so many people with different priorities.”

That said, he decided to humor his legions of readers and posted a Best electronics list that includes two cameras: the Canon SD800IS and the Nikon D40.

Canon’s SD800 IS (the IS stands for Image Stabilizer) is a 7.1 megapixel compact digital camera with a 3.8x zoom. It’s the best camera that fits in your pocket, according to Pogue.

He especially praised the SD800’s image stablizer which, “saves about 90 percent of the low-light photos that would otherwise have been ruined by blur.”

The camera also has face recognition technology, ISO capabilities of up to 1600 and an easy-to-use interface. DP Review.com also recommended the Canon SD800 IS, but complained that the ISO 800 and 1600 were of limited use and that there is very little manual control. The older version, the SD700, is better, DP Review said.

The Nikon D40 has received heaps of praise from reviewers, and is Pogue’s pick for ‘Best Amateur SLR camera’. This entry-level DSLR camera is great for SLR beginners.

The Nikon D40 takes features from the more advanced Nikon D50 but is more lightweight and significantly lower priced. It’s a solid, well-built camera with an insanely low price.

“The price is amazing ($530) considering everything you get: fast startup, zero shutter lag, fast autofocus, big sensor, spacious and bright viewfinder, big screen,” Pogue wrote in his blog.

He says it’s a better buy than Canon’s Digital Rebel, which he finds awkward to hold and handle compared to the Nikon.

Although the D40 is barely six months old, Nikon has already updated it with the D40x, which has 10.2 megapixels compared to the D40’s 6.1 megapixels.

But seriously, unless you are going to be doing professional poster-size prints, you don’t need more than six megapixels. The D40 gets the job done and image quality differences are negligible.

Don’t forget to take a look at the best lens for the Nikon D40 and D40x. This one is also a bargain and would be a great addition to your lens kit.

Nikon has revamped its family of Coolpix digital cameras just in time for the 10-year anniversary of the industry-leading product line.

Consumers are going to love the ultra-slim Nikon Coolpix S200, a 7.1 megapixel point-and-shoot camera with a 3x zoom-Nikkor lens. This entry-level camera has a sleek, aluminum body measuring just 18.5 milimeters at its thinnest portion.

Released just this spring, the camera retails for less than $250.

Nikon constructed the camera with its VR (vibration reduction) technology to reduce camera shake. Use it automatically in conjunction with optimal ISO settings and BSS (Best Shot Selector).

The Nikon Coolpix S200 has an ISO 1000 capability to aid in low light settings, although I personally haven’t yet had an opportunity to test its effectiveness.

Another feature manufacturers like Nikon and Canon have started putting into their compact digital cameras is in-camera correction. If you’re not pleased with your shots, you can always employ the built-in correction features like Face-Priority (finds and sharpens focus on faces), In-Camera Red-Eye fix, and D-lighting (improves underexposed images).

Or pay a little more for the Nikon Coolpix S500, which has slightly better features like a stainless steel body, ISO 2000 capabilities, and a lightning fast power-up time: .6 seconds.

Both are beautiful cameras that follow a tradition of quality cameras in the Coolpix family.

It’s the smarter and faster sister to the Nikon D40 (and she weighs less too!) The Nikon D40x, releasing today, builds upon one of Nikon’s most popular SLR cameras.

At just 1 lb. 1 oz., the D40x is now the most compact Nikon digital SLR camera.

Designers maintained the ergonomic comfort and build of the D40, but packed the D40x with extra features including more megapixels (10.2 compared to the D40’s 6.1), an improved Image Processing Engine, enhanced auto white balance, extra battery juice (up to 520 shots compared to the D40’s 480), and a nearly instantaneous start-up time (.18 seconds).

But is it worth the extra money? At $750, the Nikon D40x is 33% more expensive than its sister model.

Sure there are improvements, but could it be that consumers are paying for the extra megapixels–something that’s not really needed? Megapixels are kind of an antiquated way of measuring a camera’s quality.

The D40x is no doubt an excellent camera, following in the D40’s footsteps, but I would suggest taking the other sister instead. It’ll save you money that you can use to buy an amazing new lens, like the Nikon 55-200mm VR.

Taken with a Nikon D200, this photo has amazing color and perspective. Is that Donald Duck peeking in at the top of the dome?

The photographer used Capture NX, a digital imaging software from Nikon, to enhance the photo’s color.

Released in Summer 2006 as the successor to Capture 4.4, Nikon designed Capture NX so that both novices and advanced users can utilize it. This software allows users to enhance images without the use of masks, selections or layers (terms Photoshop users are quite familiar with). 

Capture NX is priced at $129.