Rating: Summary: Small Wonder Review: I did a lot of research when looking for a basic digital camera, and was still surprised at how small this thing is! I was used to digitals being roughly equal in size to regular point 'n' shoots, but this is about 1/2 the size. No complaints - its easy to hold and does wonderful things. Amazing!The Coolpix 2100 does everything I wanted a digital camera for: Instant pictures, archiving capability, the ability to throw out pictures I don't want, etc. It is definitely easy to carry around, making picture-taking much more possible. I only rated it a "4" because: 1) If I really wanted great pictures, I would have wanted more megapixels (my choice). 2) I was disappointed that it only came with a non-rechargeable lithium battery. While researching, I saw somewhere a spec that claimed that this camera came with a rechargeable battery and a recharger. This must have been from some other country, because the camera in the US seems to require new power sources when the supplied battery runs out. 3) The supplied photo-management software may be good, but it is not intuitive, and I have not yet totally figured it out. Having said this, the Coolpix 2100 is a sweet little camera, and is easy enough to use that you will be taking pictures right away. Good Nikon quality in a small package.
Rating: Summary: Nice camera! Review: Pro's 1. Has all the desirable features like video out, only 2 AA batteries etc. 2. Nice looking and very small in size with good grip. Light weight too. 3. Uses inexpensive CF cards, not expensive sticks! 4. Easy menus and scene modes to use. 5. Competitively priced. 6. Superb macro pictures and good low light/night shots. It could focus in pretty low light without any AF assist light, because of a bright lens. 7. Good battery life on just 2 AA's. (unlike 4 on some models from Canon, HP and others) 8. Inexpensive accessory kit is available right here on Amazon! It has a very fast world charger, 2 NiMH AA's and a custom case. Con's 1. Reliability is doubtful and battery door is very flimsy. 2. Movie mode is bad, no sound and movie sizes very small. 3. A bit on thick, making it slightly tougher to pocket. 4. No rechargeable batteries or charger in the box. 5. Need to read & remember manual for proper use of so many scene modes like "museum"! 6. Weak flash and redeye. 7. Worst of all it doesn't work reliably with anything other than Sandisk and Lexar CF cards. Weren't these cards made to a standard? Its not the best but for its price its definitely worth considering. Esp if you like its its picture quality.
Rating: Summary: The Difference Between Nikon and Olympus Digital Camera! Review: Pros: Very compact design, great picture quality, compact size, comfortable in the hand, customizeable scene modes, 2-megapixel resolution for prints up to 8 x 10 inches Cons: Problems when using with LCD monitor off, scene modes can be a bit too customizeable, and distract you from the shot Summary: I had an option at the camera store between the Nikon 2100 and an Olympus model that was 3.0 megapixels. They were both priced the same and basically had the same specs. It boiled down to "ease of operation". To delete a shot with the Nikon 2100, you touch one button. On the Olympus model, you have to navigate through the menu and it's quite aggravating. That's just one of the many features that Nikon has added to the 2100. The menu is quite user friendly and the camera is very easy to use. A part of me was worried getting a 2.0 megapixel camera, but there really isn't that much of a difference between a 3.0/2.0 on a 4X6 picture. One other note, and this may seem elementary: the camera looks great! Very sleek and compact. There are some downsides: the flash seems a bit hot and the shutter is quite slow - you can't snap the shutter like you can on an SLR, causing you to miss some of those moments that happen in the "blink of an eye". BUT, for the price and the great quality, you can't beat it. And the biggest PLUS? NIKON! It's all about the NIKON quality - far and away the best brand!
Rating: Summary: great size and functionality, beware of memory card Review: i was reading the reviews below and noticed someone else had a problem with the memory card as well. just wanted to share my similar experience, though i DID use one that was recommended (SanDisk), however, found that it STILL took a long time to save each picture, so the wait time between taking pictures was just too long for me. this was very strange to me as i tried the same memory card in other cameras and it did not have this issue. i've sinced bought the same brand memory card as the starter card (Lexar) and have had no problems. so now i love the camera. it is the perfect size, great functionality with lots of options, and for a great price. PROS: - great size - great shape - lots of functionality, including black/white, sephia colors, multi-shot mode - very easy to use, though i don't use the scene modes much...auto and manual work just fine. - accurate & crisp picture quality - can use rechargeable AA batteries - great value CONS: - picky about memory card. seems to only like lexar so beware! - no sound with movies
Rating: Summary: Use only manufacturer-listed memory cards Review: Pros: The instructions are very easy and well-laid out. I bought this camera at a store where the sales person tried to get to buy an on-line manual for about $40---I am glad I did not since the camera comes with a great hard-copy manual as well as an on-line guide that I have not even tried out yet I had a problem with the camera (see con below) and I called the Nikon 24 by 7 tech support service center. They were very helpful in trouble-shooting with me on the phone. The gentleman was very service oriented. Con: The camera is very finicky about the memory cards uses. The store where I bought the camera sold me a 128 M memory card, claiming that they are all very universal. Wrong. The instructions (inside the box) for memory cards clearly indicate the tested and recommended brands. The card I was sold is not on the list, and because of this, I get intermittant results. Sometimes the camera works with the card, sometimes I get an error message that says "You can Not Use This Card". When the camera is in this mode, it will not work at all. I tried the smaller Nikon storage card that came with the camera, and it works consistently. If you buy this camera, be sure and buy only the cards listed by Nikon.
Rating: Summary: An incredible Camera Review: I looked at and tried out nearly every 2 MP camera that I could find. The Nikon's optics are superb, it is VERY easy to use, the software that comes with it is excellent, and I've been loving every second of it. Compared to every camera I've used, this camera beats them all. Have fun!!!!!!!
Rating: Summary: Excellent Camera for the price Review: I upgraded this camera from a Canon A200. Operation wise, the menu system of the Nikon was much more intuitive and easier than the Canon. One thing I hated about the Canon is you have to install software drivers just to have the camera be recognized. However with the Nikon first thing I did was put in the batteries, CF card, took some shots, and plugged into my computer via the USB cable and I was able to see it as a removable drive, and then drag and drop my pictures onto the desktop. It is truly plug and play and you don't need to install any software for it to work. The battery life is also very very good with a 1600mA NIMH rechargebale, I already took 200 shots with LCD and have yet to recharge them. Anothing area where this camera excels is its lens, the Nikkor lens I found to be much much sharper than the Canon lens, which are known to have softness as one of its characteristics. The zoom lens adds a lot of versatility to the camera. One favorite thing I like was that there is only one connector for both the TV out and the USB upload, as they use the same interface on the camera. This is more efficient than having a separate hole for USB and another hole for TV out. Also this camera seems more efficient in utilizing Compact Flash space. For example, I can get 155 shots on a 64MB compact flash on Normal mode, when an average 1600*1200 picture is only around 400k, which is less than about 500k for other cameras. I've noticed this exists in other Nikon models as well from online reviews that I have read. All in all, to sum it up, this camera is relatively small, have sharp lens that display excellent detail and accurate colors, and is very easy to use. One more thing I like to point out is that even due to a lack of AF assist lamp, the camera does well in low light situations. Perhaps it doesn't need an AF assist lamp, which is why it was left out in the first place. It takes pictures in the night without flash as if it had night vision technology integrated, I was surprised how well night shots turned out for a relatively inexpensive camera. One thing I would improve for this camera would be user selectable ISO in manual mode, this would lessen a little bit of noise in low lighting situations, but however being a 2MP camera, the noise are not noticeable to the naked eye. I would recommend this camera to anyone on a budget, but demands sharp and true colored pictures.
Rating: Summary: Nice little camera Review: I bought the 2100 to replace a stolen 3MP Sony P-72. I loved the Sony, and the jury is still out on the Nikon. I like the size & feel of the 2100, but find that images often appear "soft." The camera doesn't seem to do as well in bright sunlight, and certain colors, such as magenta & hot pink lose definition. Otherwise, picture quality is good. Though the Nikon is a solid deal at $150, in retrospect, I should have spent the extra money and bought another P-72.
Rating: Summary: Good party camera! Review: I really offer this for someone who wants to buy a party-recording device, or a tiny automatic machine. No manual focus, no manual aperture, but easy-to-use, handy machine. There are some good pre-programmed modes available also. 40-50 pictures can be made with well charged batteries. Good and user-friendly sw also included.
Rating: Summary: Problems with Refurbished Unit Review: I bought a "factory refurbished." It came without the compact flash card which was supposed to be included. Repeated messages to the seller have been ignored.
Also, I'm using recharageable NiMH AA batteries. After taking about 20 shots the camera shuts off and says "low battery." Recharging the battery shows that it's only about 20% drained. I'm not sure if this is normal or due to a defect with this unit.
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