Rating: 
Summary: manual lens cap removal very annoying
Review: After 2 hears of removing the lens shade manually on my Nikon 880
I will never buy another Nikon product again. Up to now, I have not found any reference to this irritating procedure in the Nikon manuals, specifications, or camera sale's blurbs. The battery charger & rechargeable battery's extra cost & time to recharge the battery negates owning a digital camera that should provide fast & easy use. The ready light does not go off when the battery is charged. Time between captures is more like 3 seconds, not 1 second as stated
Rating: 
Summary: We're almost there
Review: As a lifelong technology heat seeker, I'm going against type when it comes to digital cameras. It's just for that kind of money, I want all the kinks out. I couldn't wait to pick it up when I was at the camera store. Feels good in the hand, has the great Nikon optics, takes additional lenses and filters, the controls are easy to handle and the 3.3 megapixel resolution does a superb job. So, what's not to like? First, in this class camera I want to have some more creative lighting options -- so it needs the ability to attach/synch a remote strobe. Then, the battery life is suspect -- and could really get expensive in a hurry. While you can pick up AA batteries anywhere, this camera takes batteries that not everyone carries in case your rechargable battery expires on a big photo day (and what's with the $100 option for a rechargable battery when the regular batteries cost $20 a pop? When you figure in options like the batteries and a bigger-than-8 meg-storage card, the price jumps to $1,000 or higher). Finally, I want to be able to take pictures of my non-stop grandchildren in full motion. Two clerks at the camera store spent 20 minutes trying to capture shots of people walking by the storefront in the mall. No luck. Either it's too hard to figure out or still doesn't can't respond quickly enough to get the pictures in mall-bright conditions. So, I'll continue to buck my lifelong early-adopter pattern and hold out for the camera to give me a wee bit more of what I'm looking for before plunking down close to a thousand bucks.
Rating:
Summary: Compact, versatile camera!
Review: Being a photo enthusiast, I didn't want to get a digital camera at first, but since I'm also a long-time web user, the process of shooting a whole roll of film, waiting to get my film developed, picking up the photos, scanning them into my computer, and resizing the images were a bit time-consuming. I wanted a camera that was compact, took good photos and easy to adjust the settings, and I'd say that the Nikon CoolPix 880 comes pretty close. After using a manual camera for years, this took a little getting used to. There are many features on this camera, including pre-set "scenes" that adjust light/color/speed for those who just want to point-and-shoot and not worry about the settings - I took this camera on a trip to Mammoth Mountains and took GREAT photos in the snow (There's a scene for "snow/beach"). Also, I used the "Indoor/Party" scene and the photos came out GREAT. Another great thing about this camera is its size. Unlike most digital cameras out there, it fits in the palm of your hand and feels very natural to hold while taking pictures. The pictures are sharp with great detail and vibrant colors. My favorite thing about digital photography is INSTANT GRATIFICATION! No more wasting rolls of film - you see what a photo looks like right after you take it, and if you don't like it, hit delete! No more waiting at the photolab, and best of all, total customization! The USB lets you download the photos in a flash, and with my trusty photo software, I can adjust colors, change brightness and contrast, and even air-brush out an imperfection or two ;-) and you don't need a fancy color printer to print out great photos - I've been using my Epson printer and using glossy photo paper - output looks terrific. You can hardly tell that it was produced at home. Now the cons: The CoolPix 880 comes with a 8MG compact flash card, if you are taking photos for only web use, you can fit as much as 90 pics. If you're going to take higher-rez pictures for printing, you'll definitely need to shell out for a bigger card. Another common problem with many cameras is battery life - they eat batteries like crazy. For the planet's sake, don't buy disposable batteries! Unfortunately, the CoolPix does not come with a battery charger, so you'll have to pay [more] for the charger. With normal use, the battery will last about 2 hours, so you'll need to buy another battery and have it charged and ready to go. This camera is perfect for those who want to invest a little more for a digital camera that takes great pictures with no fuss. Highly recommended!
Rating: 
Summary: This camera does it all!
Review: For the price of the Nikon 880, you are making a major commitment to digital photography. The good news is the 880 delivers on all of its promises with few compromises. Incredible "ease of use" enables both novices and veterans to create great digital photos. Image quality is outstanding and the features will keep have you experimenting for many a late night. I admit it, I am in love with this camera! Another advantage you should not underestimate: the compact size and light weight of the 880. My "other camera" is a N70, but size is an issue as I like to travel light. The 880 always makes the road trip, either in the jacket pocket or briefcase. Several issues to consider: The 880 drains disposable batteries faster than any electronic gadget I've ever owned, so unless you have friends who work for Duracell you'll need to spring for the optional rechargeable battery and charger. Plan to spend another $100 or so for both. The camera comes with only an 8mb card so you may want to upgrade to 16 or 32mb. The software bundle is light, it will allow you to upload pictures but not much else. Consider Adobe Photoshop LE or JASC Paint Shop to complete your setup.
Rating:
Summary: This camera does it all!
Review: For the price of the Nikon 880, you are making a major commitment to digital photography. The good news is the 880 delivers on all of its promises with few compromises. Incredible "ease of use" enables both novices and veterans to create great digital photos. Image quality is outstanding and the features will keep have you experimenting for many a late night. I admit it, I am in love with this camera! Another advantage you should not underestimate: the compact size and light weight of the 880. My "other camera" is a N70, but size is an issue as I like to travel light. The 880 always makes the road trip, either in the jacket pocket or briefcase. Several issues to consider: The 880 drains disposable batteries faster than any electronic gadget I've ever owned, so unless you have friends who work for Duracell you'll need to spring for the optional rechargeable battery and charger. Plan to spend another $100 or so for both. The camera comes with only an 8mb card so you may want to upgrade to 16 or 32mb. The software bundle is light, it will allow you to upload pictures but not much else. Consider Adobe Photoshop LE or JASC Paint Shop to complete your setup.
Rating:
Summary: Digital photography is fascinating
Review: Having used this CP880 for about 2+ yrs, I've still on the learning curve and have only scratched the surface . Although most shots are quite good with the Auto sequence, it's nice to have flexibility with manual settings. Be prepared to buy the extras to make your digicam experience practical: 2 re-chargeable Li-ion batteries and the charger; upgrade to a 64 or better yet a 128 MB CF card with card reader (supplied with my Lexar 64 MB CF card. USB connectivity reader greatly expedites transfer of files to PC); optional digital wallet (Minds@work 3 GB portable HD for travel and downloading on the road); belt case (to keep the CP close by for those "once in a lifetime shots"). I'm familiar with many controls but the manual is a bit cumbersome. I'm now reviewing "Nikon Coolpix 880 Photography by Dan Curtin...to pick up more nuances. The CP4300 may be a more current version and deserves consideration. All in all, a great camera. My 1200 shots taken in Oregon,Washington,Vancouver, and Victoria were burned to CD's with relative ease thanks to my CP880 and peripherals. Some of my Butchart Gardens shots were spectacularly polarized courtesy of a hand-held 52 mm polarizing lense from my old 35 mm Nikorrmat!!
Rating:
Summary: Great camera!
Review: Here are some of the pros: 1. Excellent picture quality and colors, even indoors and under fluorescent lights. 2. 2.5x zoom. 3. compact size. 4. presets ("scene") mode good for amateurs. And cons... 1. You must (emphasis here) purchase rechargeable batteries separately...2. 8MB CF is small, very small. 3. slight red eye problem (and there is no flash socket). 4. Don't even bother installing the bundled software. It's not worth it. However the basic Nikon View and usb drivers work great and make transfering the pictures a snap.
Rating:
Summary: The initial battery power message is wrong, don't waste it!
Review: Hi guys - got this camera after much umming and erring in January, and it takes great pictures. i wanted to say a word about some of the comments here saying that the initial battery power appears to not last much longer than the initial power up. Well - there's a weird flashing battery symbol that comes on very soon after you've loaded the camera up for the first time, but if you ignore it, and simply turn it off, it carries on going. In fact I've taken a large number of photos off the first battery, and still haven't loaded up the rechargeable I bought in England. So there you go. I'm a bit dissapointed with the so-called SLR-esque qualities, but this could be through my only just beginning to stray off "autofocus" (it's a complicated wee thing). God luck with your photography. Oh yes, and the pixel depth is fine - there's a tiny wee amount of overt white speckling but it's genuinely miniscule and doesn't show up on the vast majority of photos.
Rating: 
Summary: Buy the Kodak 4800 or the G1 instead of the 880
Review: I am amazed by the number of positives reviews for the 880 ... and can conclude 2 things: either these folks have little prior experience w/ digital cameras, or my camera is broken. And although my camera is sorely in need of a firmware update, I do believe it is operating as designed. The good points first ... in good lighting conditions, and when all of the camera's parameters are appropriately set ... this camera has the raw ability to take exceptional pictures. The lens is quite good (for a digi-cam), and the resolution provided by the 3.4 M-pix CCD is fantastic. However, such fantastic pictures are rarely obtained. The bad points ... 1) The camera is incapable of automatically setting its own parameters (focus, aperture, speed, etc.) on its own. Its "auto" and "Scene" modes stink. The worst is auto-focus. Even in bright outdoor pictures, this camera almost always produces focus errors. So far, I can always guess the distance to the subject and manually set the focus better then the camera can. And believe me, setting the time on a VCR is a lot easier than setting the focus distance on a Nikon 880. 2) Indoor pictures are awful. With less light, the focus errors increase. Even more importantly, the "grain" is awful (like using an ISO 1600 film). The "auto" modes set the ISO to 400 (max), where grain is the worse. When I override this (ISO=100), I can reduce the grain, but the dumb camera doesn't compensate for the change in film speed, so I end up with very dark pictures. Finally, all of my indoor pictures have the white balance heavily skewed toward red/yellow. The amount I have to "push" my pictures with the computer afterwards is tremendous. 3) The User Interface ... this is a non-trivial device to master. I probably have invested over 20 hours of experimenting to try to master this camera. One can just use the "Auto" modes, but then one is stuck w/ very mediocre to poor pictures (worse than my old 1-Mpix cameras). And if one was to use their famous "Scene" mode, it takes almost 20 seconds before you are ready to take the picture (10 seconds to power up, 10 seconds to navigate/select the Scene menus). And the manual overrides are very difficult to master. For example, to set the ISO, one holds down one of 4 buttons while moving the zoom in/out. 4) Lots of other annoyances, which make this camera frustrating to use everytime I pick it up. In a typical social situation (trying to capture the memories), perhaps only 20% of my pictures, w/ the Nikon 880, are keepers. With my older Olympus D600 (1 M-pix), I would get 80% good pictures in similar situations. I bought the Nikon 880 through the internet, so I don't have the option of returning it. Why did I buy it ... I thought it was the best bang for the buck. Note: when comparison shopping for price, always always add an additional $150 to the base price of the 880 to account for the charger, the rechargeable battery, and a larger flash card. This camera will eat a $12 disposable CR5 battery in under an hour. If I had to do it again, I would have bought the G1. This assessment is based upon playing w/ a friends camera, and based upon my personal bias toward performance. My 2nd choice might have been the Kodak 4800 (no 1st hand experience, but my sense is that this is a fairly easy-to-use point-and-shoot that would produce good pictures using their auto modes). Hope this review helps. Since I am stuck w/ the 880, I will be publishing my preferred settings for this camera on some of the news groups in the near future.
Rating:
Summary: It's the extras that are costly...
Review: I am happy with the Nikon 880, however, I also purchased the battery charger, rechargeable batteries, 128 meg compact flash card, flash card reader, Adobe Photoshop Elements software, stepdown ring adapter for lens filters, slide copy adapter, photo glossy paper and textbook. I would also like to buy the Epson Stlus Photo 1280 printer, but that is for the future.
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