Rating: Summary: Very satisfied Review: I'm a novice at digital camera photography, and just got the Coolpix 3200 three days ago. I'm loving it! The pictures I take are sharper than expected, and the camera is very easy to use. The uploading to the computer is a snap, and the editing software included with the package (I bought) makes for easy use.The camera is small, and fits nicely into a shirt pocket, so I carry it every where I go - including a recent fishing trip with one of my sons. I shopped for a long time before deciding on one of the many digital cameras available, and took the Coolpix. I have not been disappointed. I used it nearly all day yesterday at a grandson's birthday party, taking lots of picture, and the batteries still have power. We even reviewed the pictures on the TV, which is a great feature. I have a recharger, but so far, battery life has been long.
Rating: Summary: "obscure" features take care of any concerns Review: I've had my coolpix 3200 for about a week, and am really surprised at how good the pictures are, how easy it is to get the pictures into my PC, and how long the batteries last. I bought Duracell rechargeables with the camera, told my camera that these were the batteries I was using through its menu system, and have been taking pictures for a week on the same batteries. That's more than 80 pictures -- perhaps more -- all on the same 2 batteries, most of them using a flash. My battery charge meter has not even shown up yet. When I first read the manual, I didn't understand the value of all the frame, portrait, and scene assist modes. As I've used the camera, though, I've come to see that they are very important. The frame and portrait assistants actually change the location of the auto-focus. When I am in sports mode, the camera's auto-focus is constantly changing so that the picture will shoot quickly when the shutter release is pressed. Shutter speed and aperature are adjusted depending on which scene I've selected. In other words, using the modes makes for much better pictures. They are more than just marketing pitches. The software that came with the camera is okay, though it is nothing earth shaking. Better tools came with my scanner/copier/printer combo, but if you don't have those tools, what comes with the camera is much better than nothing and will get the job done. I'm very satisfied. The camera is so small that I wear it in a tiny case on my belt all the time. BTW, I was going to buy the 2200 instead, but am glad that I didn't. Once I had the manual (which is the same for both cameras), I saw that there are a number of small features that the 3200 has that are not available to the 2200. For example, the 3200 has sound for movies, the 2200 does not. You can record voice memos and set sounds for camera functions with the 3200. The 3200 can take more continuous pictures at a time (due to the higher resolution and space required). There are more differences, and most of them are small, but by the time you add them all up, it's worth the additional $100, in my oppinion. I was an avid amateur photographer back "in the day", but grew tired of the hassles of large cameras and film developing. Thanks to this tiny, filmless camera, I'm a photographer again.
Rating: Summary: This is great for a first digital camera! Review: In fact, this was my first digital camera. I love it. The pictures come out great. All you have to do is point and shoot. This was probably the highest rated camera in its 3.2 megapixel class, and 3.2 megapixels is all most people will ever need. So, don't get all excited about a 4mp or 5mp...etc up to 9mp or whatever they have now. You can make good prints of pics with this camera of 8x10's for sure...and most people are not going to want anything larger than that. With a 5mp camera, you can print a 20x30 poster. If you need that, have fun, but if you want a no nonsense camera that still has the power you need, this is it.
If you're a professional photographer that needs extreme definition at long distances, you're looking in the wrong section.
Rating: Summary: Good camera at good price Review: Nikon has always had a reputation for superior photo products, but I never bought one because there was always a near-as-good Pentax or Canon. This time, they've hit a home-run. The Coolpix 3200 is as good or better, according to industry reviews, as other manufacturers' and the price, for a change, is right. Not only that, but once you load the software, you can set the camera up to automatically load the pictures. The camera comes with several editing software programs as well, and they work nicely. You don't have to go out and buy Photoshop. Remember, this is a point-and-shoot. It is not meant for people that have to have all kinds of control over how the picture comes out. If you are a pro, stick to SLRs, either digital (which cost in general, more than $1000) or film, which are still far more than this camera. A strong suggestion: Buy an RCR-V3 rechargeable battery. These are Lithium-ion rechargeables. You can get a Delkin one for under $30 including battery and charger. It will take many more picture than the NiMH.
Rating: Summary: A great point-n-shoot camera Review: Pros
1. Ultra-compact size. Believe me SIZE DOES MATTER especially if you like to take it on trips and not feel that you are carrying a burden with you.
2. great design.
3. intutive menu.
4. 15 scenes modes which are more than enough for the amateur casual photographer (families or indiviuals who are not so familiar with the right set of shutter speed and aperature mode setting for a specific snap). For people who are looking for more control (who are really photographers) you should look at digital SLRs. I think by definition ultra compact are for people who just want to point and shoot anything they want without much thinking.
The 15 scene modes tell you exactly what settings you need for the specific shot you are taking. It is also very easy to get to them and set. Nothing complex. Intutive !
5.good picture quality
6.good in low light.
Cons
nothing much. It is the best in its segment of ultra-compacts.
For a long time I kept on debating between the coolpix 3200 and its arch rival, the canon A75. I have come to the conclusion that nikon is the best because
1. of the smaller size
2. the usage of less AA batteries than canon.
(canon - 4, nikon -2)
Picture quality is equally good. Again people who need manual control can go to the canon a75 but it is very bulky. point and shoot cameras should always be really point and shoot.
Go to the following link for the comparison between the canon a75 and nikon coolpix 3200.
http://www.digitalreview.ca/cams/3MPCameras.shtml
Rating: Summary: If you like screwing around with substandard software.... Review: Then this camera is for you. After using the camera for several months, I have been wrestling with several problems: the camera is not recognized by my computer, saying it does not have a memory card, which of course it does, or it won't start at all.
Also, all of the pictures are DARK. Junk. Run away from this piece of [...].
Rating: Summary: thank you so much, Santa! Review: This is my first digital camera. The day it arrived my husband and I were leaving for a trip to Jamaica. A friend of mine already had one, so we ran by her house for some quick tips on the way out of town. It took her 5 minutes to show me the basics, and I was taking pics like a pro!!! I love this camera; I've been taking so many more pictures of my kids since I got it. I highly recommend it especially for people new to digital cameras. We even recorded a couple of short movies with it in Jamaica. It's SO easy to use!!!
Rating: Summary: best camera you can buy this xmas!!! Review: this was a christmas present to ourselves and we are sooo glad we bought it early!! this little camera is about $200.00 and it has everything you would need (unless you're a professional).
we are a family of five and what we really needed was a camera with a sport mode(gymnastics, football, etc)... what we got was even better... a camera that handles motion with no blur, has a fabulous snow mode for super glare conditions(which we are enjoying as we are buried under 29" of snow in the midwest), one-touch upload on the web, and a menu for all these modes that is extremely easy to navigate. we looked at the sony, fuji and kodak........none of them came close to how this one handles......try them all out but take my word for it....you will love this little camera!!
Rating: Summary: Excellent battery life Review: Up till now I've been a big fan of Canon digital cameras (esp. the PowerShot S410 and S500), but also have liked Minolta and Pentax offerings. Last night I went to a wedding and the gentleman sitting next to me had the Nikon Coolpix 3200, and I was astonished to discover how excellent its battery life was. The gentleman took over 300 shots, all with flash on and all with LCD on as viewfinder, and he also played back the pictures to lots of guests, and at the end, when we were among the last to leave, the batteries in the camera were still going strong! I was totally impressed. I had my Minolta Dimage F300 (5MP camera) with me and the batteries ran out after about 80 shots -- and my NiMH was rated higher than his (2100mAh vs. his 1950, I believe). I walked away totally sold on the Nikon. OK, I exaggerated. If the image quality weren't good, perpetual battery life wouldn't have meant much. But judging from zoomed-in playback on the Nikon's LCD, as well as his comments, the image quality seemed excellent. Compared to my Minolta Dimage F300, the 3200's images were generally sharper, while the color temperature was not as pleasing as my Minolta's, but still excellent. He took a wide range of shots, from outdoors to indoors to close-ups to wide-angle... and most came out quite satisfying from a technical point of view. All were well-exposed, sharp, and evenly lit in cases where flash was used. In addition, I noticed that when I borrowed his 3200 to shoot a few pictures after my Minolta's batteries died, the recycle time on the 3200 was quite fast, unlike my Minolta, which could take 6 or 7 seconds before I could shoot the next shot. The 3200 was ready in under a second. The only problem I experienced was there seemed to be a shutter delay with the 3200: after I pressed the shutter, it waited a second or slightly longer before taking the picture. You may want to keep this in mind when shopping for this camear. The delay didn't affect the pictures, but did feel weird since my Minolta has virtually no shutter delay. The camera seemed well built. But it was the battery life that was truly impressive -- and the fact it delivered such good battery performance on 2 AA NiMH batteries!
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