Rating: Summary: A great camera. Review: I've had two other Nikon 35mm film cameras over the past 15 years and I bought the 5700 coolpix recently. It takes pictures equivalent to or better than the 35mm cameras. You will need a photo quality printer to get the full advantage of this digital camera.
Rating: Summary: Awful autofocus--NOT happy with it. Review: I'm bringing this camera back in exchange for a Coolpix 4500 tomorrow. The camera is well built, does produce high quality, sharp pictures and has a boatload of features, however the autofocus is horrid. The autofocus doesn't work correctly in anything but bright sunlight. If you're shooting inside under slightly darker than normal conditions, the autofocus just hunts. It's very frustrating when you miss shot after shot because the camera is struggling to autofocus. If you want to stay with the Nikon name, check out the 4500. It's a far better performer.
Rating: Summary: I wish I had it earlier Review: I bought the Coolpix 5700 after I sold my older Sony DSC-P1 3.3MP camera. I missed the manual flexibility I had with my older SLR cameras and the 5700 gave me the best of both worlds, a point-and-shoot camera with Nikon's superb metering and autofocus, and full manual control over all of its functions. Pictures come out GREAT in 5MP (averaging 1.7MB each on 2560x1920 1:4 JPEG compression), handling is GREAT after you learn where everything is.The included 16MB flash card is not very useful. You can store an average of 6 snapshots at 2560x1920 Fine (1:4) mode. So, Amazon was offering the Viking 512MB Compact Flash Card for less than $$ and I took it: It gives me an average of 209 shots at 2560x1920 Fine (1:4) mode. So, I can be away from a computer for a while before the need to offload the pictures and format the card. I'm sure other reviews on the net tells stories about how GREAT this camera is, but let me tell you about my disappointments: - I feel I should make a comment on the battery, Nikon did a good job by making one battery for the entire Coolpix line, this makes it easier for you to buy extra batteries when needed. However, an extra battery is a MUST. That's why Nikon included the external battery charger with the camera, you can charge a battery while you use one (my old Sony had a power supply that plugged into the camera, which tied up the camera during charging times.) - I usually install a UV filter on my SLR cameras to protect the lens, I failed to find a UV filter for the 5700 and no adapters are available yet for it. I noticed that the Coolpix 4500 has a standard 28mm thread, which could have been made for the 5700.
Rating: Summary: Great lookin' camera Review: I've been searching for another digital camera since I sold my old one (Koday DC4800). The two I was thinking about after a lot of research was the Minolta Dimage 7i and the Nikon 5700. They are so neck and neck it was hard to choose. I finally decided to go with the Nikon because of it's reputation as a quality camera, the 8x optical zoom (don't ever bother getting a camera based on its digital zoom, digital zoom is horrible), and the MP quality. The main reason why I didn't get the minolta was the battery choice they made. My first digital camera (Agfa ephoto 1680) used AA and it ran out within an hour of using it and swore I'd never do it again. That camera was only a 1.? MP camera, the minolta is a 5 so you can imagine how bad it'll drain the batteries. This camera can use different kinds but primarily uses a rechargable Li-ion. And if you want, get the optional battery pack and you can use AA if you want (maybe a good idea if you don't want to spend the high price for extra Li-ion batteries). Also since it's a 8x optical zoom you really only need to get the wide angle lens so you'll save money there. My experience has shown that I have needed a wide angle a lot more than a telephoto lens.
Rating: Summary: Many strengths, reasonable compromises. Not for action. Review: [Note: I have revised this review, originally written August 2002, to reflect the fact that better cameras are now on the market from other manufacturers.] If you are an advanced amateur -- someone who likes to take really nice pictures for aesthetic reasons, in additon to occasional ordinary snaps -- this camera will impress you with its quality. Having now tried several thousand shots under varying conditions, I am quite pleased with the Nikon Coolpix 5700. It was a good purchase, and worth the price. The photo quality is definitely comparable to most 35mm cameras. The camera combines subtle color sensitivity, good brightness sensitivity, and extreme detail in the images. The range of the zoom lens is wonderful. Controls are available for almost everything an advanced amateur would want. The included software (with included USB cable) makes image transfer to the PC, and previewing a big set of photos, very easy. You NEED to read the manual to use the advanced features of this camera. You can leave it set to full-auto, hand it to a friend, and just say "press here to take a picture," but to get the full benefit of the camera you'll need to understand some rather elaborate controls, some of which are un-guessable. After I invested 90 minutes to read the manual, my shots went from good to breathtaking. Since getting this camera I have not taken one single photo using my rather nice Canon EOS 35mm film camera -- it's all digital for me now. Though the camera is far smaller than "8x zoom" would lead you to believe, and smaller than an SLR camera, you'll still want to use two hands. And there is no way you'll be putting it in any sort of pocket -- it's not something you'll carry around just in case you want to take a snapshot. The single included battery lasts for well over 100 shots, assuming you don't use the flash much AND you use the viewfinder instead of the larger preview monitor. But frequent flash use drains it quickly, so if that's your need, order a second battery. And you'll NEED a larger memory card (128 to 512 MB is reasonable), so go ahead and order the extra memory card now. There are lots of semi-advanced features for the photo buff -- too many to list here. If you like messing with settings and trying different things, you'll like this camera. If you just want to turn it on and shoot without thinking, this is not the model for you. The main weaknesses I'd still like to see improved all relate to action photography: (1) a noticeable delay between pressing the button and taking the shot; (2) a slow auto-focus motor, sometimes painfully slow ;(3) high-speed shooting only at low resolution. One other weakness is that resolution in the new digital viewfinder is not even close to the sharpness of a normal 35mm SLR optical viewfinder -- it doesn't show you enough pixels. A further very real weakness is that this camera has extreme difficulty auto-focusing in dim light. Even if you intend to use a flash, that doesn't help the camera focus. And due to the above-mentioned viewfinder, you can't manually focus very well with this camera. So if you intend to shoot much in very dim light (e.g., indoors at night), this is NOT the model to choose. While there is room for improvement, and it's showing its age vs the competition, this camera is feature-packed and fun to use and takes photos of the highest quality. And you could not pry the 8x optical zoom lens away from me now that I've seen what it can do -- I could not go back to my previous digicam with 3x optical zoom. If you want to read even more, the "Steve's Digicams" reviews website has extensive details on this fine camera. I've been quite pleased with mine -- but I got it a while ago, and the competition has definitely improved since then.
Rating: Summary: What could be better in this awesome camera Review: It's obviously a great camera and there are many pros. I'm sure it's not a problem to find what's great. I've spent some time comparing this camera with others so I want to share what cons I've found. 1. Motorized zoom. Many people feel much better about manual zoom ring. 2. Price. It's a few hundred dollars higher then close competitors. 3. Proprietary batteries. Usually proprietary means less freedom and higher price. 4. Zoom range. It's very impressive 35-280mm but if you take wide angle shots (e.g. inside small rooms or shoot buildings on narrow streets) then you might prefer to have zoom starting at 28mm... Everything else is just either perfect or very good.
Rating: Summary: Awesome camera Review: I just bought the 5700 after using a 5000 for 8 months. When I bought the 5000, I found four things I didn't like about it: Not enough telephoto, flash sensor in bad location resulting in severly underexposed flash photos, on/off switch a little difficult to use, and the lens cap had to be removed in order to turn on the camera. The 5700 corrects all of these things with up to 280 mm (35 mm equivalent) maximum focal length. The on/off switch is just like the one on the 5000 but it is easier to turn. Both the 5000 and 5700 seem to be the same camera as far as features and quality are concerned. The LCD monitor on the 5700 is a little smaller but it is clear and sharp. The 5700 has an electronic view finder which I was concerned about before I was able to try it out. It is just a miniature LCD monitor and it is surprisingly good, even in low (relative) light conditions. Only one monitor can be on at a time which saves power consumption. It is a little deeper in size than the 5000, but that's necessitated by the long focal length of this camera. I love using this camera. I highly recommend the Nikon Coolpix 5700 camera. Update after 3 months. I recently took my 5700 and my N80 with me on a vacation to Colorado and Utah visiting nat'l parks. I like the electronic view finder very much as it displays what the picture will look like with any adjustments I have set, i.e. exposure compensation. I never took my N80 out of its bag. I took over 600 pictures and I was extremely happy with its use and its results. This is one mighty fine camera!
Rating: Summary: excellent camera, fully manual control... Review: this is my first digital camera, and the first attemp to use it was frustrating, there were so many buttons, and so many menus to explore; then after an hour reading the manual, I learn how to use all the controls and now I taking pictures like crazy, probing all the features, wich by the way are endless. Anyway, the best choise, outstanding quality in every picture, somewhat noisy, nothing too important to care anyway, and tons of options for every situation. At first the shots may seems a litle oversaturated, but with a few settings being adjusted, it's perfect. >the RAW format offers you a great amount of data to work with in graphic programs, such as photoshop (its fully supported in photoshop cs). The 8x zoom it's of great help. and the digital 4x zoom has his benefits too. The memory card it's not enough for this machine. Buy a 256mb or more, and make sure you get one with fast writing speed in case you're planning to go RAW. Finnally, the Nikon warranty it's international, so it's perfect for those who don't live on the US, or travel very often.
Rating: Summary: AF need serious improvement Review: I think the camera is ok, interms of picture quality but to get the picture you want would sometime be impossible due to screwed up AF. I tried to take some pictures of kitten that are black and white stripes, and it was imposible to take a decent of kitten it self. if I focus on the kittens, it just won't focus correctly, unless you point at some surrounding object. even than blown up pictures are slightly blurie. when it comes to AF this is one POS. I would recomand this camera if you intend to take pictures of non moving object b/c of slow AF and slow shutter reponse. I have all my 35mm cameras are Nikon and really disappointed that they actually have this POS.
Rating: Summary: I love this camera to death Review: This is my second digital camera and it is the best. My mom has the 35mm Nikon and she loves it. Nikon is the best name in photagraphy and it shows. I just printed out my first photos and i am so impressed with the quality. I will never buy an other brand of cameras.
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