Rating: Summary: Great Buy Review: After researching digital cameras for a month I finally decided on the Nikon CoolPix 3200. I'm astounded by its great picture quality and battery life. When I received my camera I was using it for two hours (taking pictures, fiddling with the settings, etc.) and the batteries held up. Two weeks later after some use, the batteries are still great! The picture quality is amazing for a digital camera! The image is sharp and the color is balanced.Another great aspect of the camera is the ability to zoom in and out after the picture has taken. It's not grainy at all, in fact it was so good I was able to see the tiny writing on a poster almost 30 feet away after zooming up close! The recycle time is good, under a second and the features are easy to use even if you don't read the manual. If you're a novice at digital photography or even a professional this camera is for you!
Rating: Summary: Compact and relatively easy to use Review: Got the Coolpix camera last week and used it already indoors and outdoors. For a person who doesn't like to read an encyclopedia of instructions before taking the first pic, this Nikon does a good job being almost intuitive for people like me who just like to take pics, not study engineering science. The pre-set picture modes are generally helpful, but the sports mode doesn't really work for fast action pics, especially if the light is not perfect. I wanted to take pics of my parakeets, they don't just sit there and wait for the camera!!!, so there the camera didn't perform as well as desired. With 256 MG card and Sony rechargeable Ni-MH batteries Nikon 3200 so far has perfomed very well. Whenever flash is used, overexposure is a concern. The main pros being all things small: size, lightweight, simple to use. The picture quality seems very good in digital format and I didn't even use the highest resolution setting. Software is very easy to use, it's "idiot-proof" so to say. I have not yet printed out anything, but for the old-fashioned prints I'd rather use my advanced Olympus camera anyway. Can't report on video component since I'd rather use a real dvd camera for that purpose, so for me it doesn't matter if the small Nikon has this feature or no.
Among things to be desired - better sports/action mode in less-than-perfect light; less noise for the zoom for discreet seetings like church, exhibition, meeting, museum.
Overall, for users who do not expect a CNN cameraperson level of sophistication for mere $181, this Nikon is an excellent buy. It's light and small, and for those seeking these features Nikon 3200 should be great.
Rating: Summary: Nikon comes out on top! Review: I bought my Nikon Coolpix 3200 right before a trip to Australia. My travel companions had various other cameras, including a 4MP Sony Cybershot that I had seriously considered purchasing. When we compared our photos of the same subjects after the trip, it was amazing how much BETTER my photos turned out to be. They were far clearer and the detail was amazing. I found many of my friends photos to be blurry or over exposed. I'm extremely happy with my Nikon Coolpix purchase.
Rating: Summary: best camera in this pricerange Review: I had a 2 megapixel Kodak camera for about 5 years before it got dropped recently and the battery compartment wouldn't hold the batteries in. So, off I went to research 3 MP cameras. I didn't want a high megapixel camera because I never get prints larger than 5x7. I was on the fence with this and the Kodak CX7330. I was always happy with the old Kodak I had, which seems to be the only manufacturer that takes true photo aspect pictures. All the other cameras take the computer VGA ratio (4:3) instead of the photo sizes (4:6 or 5:7). What really made me choose the Nikon was that they make great lenses and that's what photos are all about, not megapixels. Kodak is great, but they are a print company really, plus their camera has that horrible "share" button that I would never use with their dock. Also, the Nikon had a slightly smaller size, slightly lighter, had a better LCD screen, and the focus-assist lamp. That's a must-have for low-light situations and you'll be glad you have it when you really need it. I'm almost never in good lighting situations.
So, I got the Nikon and I'm happy I did. They have a great product and I was immediately WOWed by the screen. There's no advertised digital zoom (which you shouldn't use anyway), but it's there. It has easy to use menus, shooting modes, and GREAT software. It's simple, to the point, but VERY functional. I had great enhanced pictures in seconds. Plus, what I really love is the ability to mark photos with a simple "check". I've been looking for this in other programs and just couldn't find it. Every few months, my wife and I go through all the pictures we've taken and WRITE DOWN each filename to upload to a photo website. Other software has similar functions, but you can't view the images full screen. The thumbnails just don't show enough detail to know if the pic was good or not. With the Nikon software, you can view fullscreen, mark the shot, then search (via the software) for your marked files and upload them to your favorite photo website.
There are lots of other great features like voice-memo and video, but I rarely think I'll use either. If you're looking for a decent camera, but don't want to spend over $200, get this. You'll be happy you did! Sorry Kodak!
Rating: Summary: Big mistake by Nikon Review: I have had only 2 digital cameras in the past, a Sony and a Pentax, so I still have a short experience. I was told by a work mate how good was nikon 3100. So when 3200 with more options came out I thought to buy it. Now that I have used the camera for 2 weeks I can say that it is very easy to use it has a lot of features but ........ with low light condition the pictures are so noisy that are almost useless So if you want daylight camera maybe it's for you, but if you are going to use it with low light or flash think in another option. In my case I'm going to send it back to the store. Thanks Julio
Rating: Summary: Terrific value Review: I have had this camera for seven months now, and took about 1000 shots traveling for two months. It is an excellent first digital to learn on - point and shoot while learning bells and whistles. Incredibly compact and ergonomic too. Fits like a glove in the hand. Slides into a tiny Tamrac case that snaps on my belt and I hardly know it's there. Wear it everywhere (traveling). Unobtrusive for candid shots too. My pictures are uniformly excellent, better than I've had with film overall.
One piece of sage advice I got from a knowledgeable saleslady who uses this camera - use disposable CR-V3 batteries. About $10 each. I get 300-400 shots on one and don't have to mess with a recharger.
One complaint I have is image noise indoors when I zoom, but I had the same problem with my previous Olympus. Another complaint is shutter lag. Forget about taking pictures of people in motion.
You can't buy a better digital for less than $200 - or probably $300. And most of us probably don't need more camera than this.
Rating: Summary: Great camera.... Review: I love this camera! The picture it takes are wonderful quality, very clear and the color is great. My only complaint, which i guess is a big one is the battery life. After having the camera for one day, playing around with it and getting familiar, the battery light already went on. We bought rechargeable batteries and a charger, which makes it better, but I would have preferred a camera that could be charged directly. Aside from this though, the camera is great and works great on the fly.
Rating: Summary: Love at first click. Review: I love this camera. Color is great, detail is sharp and is has lots of settings to fiddle with. The only downside is, yes you may have heard this before, the battery life. The two that come with it plus an 8 pack of very good batteries lasted exactly 459 shots. That's about 91.8 shots per set if you are keeping score. That is with lots of zooming, flashing, and fidgeting with the setting. BTW if get the "battery exhausted" messages appears you can turn it off and let it sit for few minutes and get a few more shots. The CRC-V3 recharables has lasted 200+ so far (they just came in). Well worth it. The flash also charges faster. The LCD is accurate and has no dead pixels. It is also smaller than I realized. Basicly, get this camera, the case, a set of CRC-V3s, and a 256MB SD card and you will have everything you need.
Rating: Summary: Great Little Camera! Review: I needed a digital camera, primarily to capture the construction of our new house. So I spent a couple of months researching options before choosing the new Nikon Coolpix 3200. I am very happy with my choice. I have a Nikon N4004S SLR 35-mm camera, which I am very happy with, but I wasn't about to take hundreds of pictures of our house with it and spend the money on prints and converting all the pictures to JPEG images to put on a personal web site. After reading reviews of various digital cameras online, as well as in Consumer Reports and Smart Homeowner, I decided I wanted a 3 Megapixels camera with 3x optical zoom, a Secure Digital card slot, a nice color LCD monitor, date imprinting, audio memo capability, movie mode, good flash range, USB port downloading, excellent optics and color representation, and decent AA battery life. The Nikon Coolpix 3200 had everything I was looking for and more. At first I was leaning toward Panasonic, Canon, and Kodak models, but the Nikon won out because of my past experience with Nikon and it seemed to be superior in the features that were most important to me (plus some reviews of the competing models I was considering scared me a bit). Despite what some reviewers have said about this camera, I think it does very well on battery life. I am using the Nikon EN-MH-1 NiMH rechargeable batteries (I also have the MH-70 charger) and, so far, I am happy with the battery life. The pictures are absolutely outstanding - the color representation and optics are first class, and the images look great even blown up to maximum on my 15" LCD computer monitor. I haven't used all the shooting modes yet (mostly auto mode), but I was pleased to see the improvement in brightness and color of pictures I took during dusk in night mode. The date imprinting is very handy for taking pictures of the house construction progress and it has been great to be able to take the camera to my Mother-in-law to show her the house pictures on her television using the audio and video cable supplied with the 3200. The camera is also so compact that it is easy to take pictures with one hand, if necessary, and the zoom is very smooth. The Nikon View software is a nice bonus. The only drawbacks I've seen are that the LCD monitor is difficult to see in bright sunlight (not a problem though because I think the view finder is easy to use) and pictures in low light can be dim, grainy, and blurry, especially if you're not in the right mode (dusk or night) and the camera is not stable while taking the picture (a tripod is recommended for night shooting). All in all, a great camera at a very good price! I recommend it highly. I also recommend the Panasonic 10 Mb/s 256MB Secure Digital card, which Nikon had tested for this camera.
Rating: Summary: Cannot Beat this Camera Review: I will not reiterate what many have already said. In short, if you are looking for the single best digital camera on the market - for the price you will not be able to find a better one then the Nikon Coolpix 3200. It does everything that anyone could ask that a digital camera at this price point can do. Combine this with the Nikon Net website at www.nikonnet.com and you can shoot, download and post your pictures on your very own website, all for free and all with Nikon. By all means buy this camera and get started taking great pictures as soon as you put the batteries in. It really is that easy.
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