Rating: 
Summary: Great first-time buy
Review: Don't have much to add to the already-thorough reviews that have been written about this superb high-tech piece of machinery, but I would like to say that having never used a digital camera before this one, I found it incredibly easy as well as fun to just pick it up and start shooting. The manual really doesn't contain much helpful information, but learning as you go has been a breeze.I've found that with our tripod, the Nikon 950 also takes perfect Ipix pictures. (Whether you want to buy their stupid keys or not is a different story.) The battery life doesn't seem to be too long, but I don't even find that worth complaining about. If the 990 is even slightly improved from this one, it must be the absolute top of the line.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Digital Camera for All Abilities
Review: I am very happy with the options that this camera presents. Multiple lenses, and really sharp pictures I am amazed at how easy it is to use. I have never had a digital camera nor a great regular camera before and there is so much that I can do with this camera that is amazing. It was a gift to me and I think that it would be a great gift for others. I got the wide angle lense and an extra memory card(a necessity) as well as a docking station for the memory flash cards that is easier to download the pics to your own computer. I have a ScaDisk USB docking station that treats the flash card like another drive on my computer. That option is easy to use, downloads and uploads are a snap. Overall this is a great camera at a great price.
Rating: 
Summary: A Great Digital Camera
Review: I bought a Nikon Coolpix (my first digital camera) about a six months ago and am very satisfied with it. Previously, I had owned a Nikon 35 MM "point-and-shoot" camera, but was interested in the advantages a digital camera would provide; immediate gratification through seeing your pictures NOW, the ability to send JPG images to freinds and relatives, the ability to delete pictures "on-the-fly", etc. What I got was a mixed bag of results - mostly positive. Before I go any further, I must advise you to get the following options: two sets of rechargable NiMH batteries which should be standard with the camera (I use the Kodak ones available at Amazon.com), a higher-capacity memory card (I use a 128 MB San Disk - Nikon's OEM), and some sort of adapter to transfer your images quickly - the serial cable is just too slow. I have purchased a SanDisk adapter and insert the memory card directly into the PCMCIA slot on my laptop computer for rapid transfer. Anyways, in use the camera is fantastic. Initially, I was using the 640X480 resolution setting to save space, but with the new, larger card, I now use the 1600X1200 setting with moderate compression for all pictures. I find that the card can hold about 100 pictures at this resolution. Once I find a picture I like, I use the Microsoft Photo Editor software (comes with Office) and reduce the resolution as appropriate (web pages, etc.). I store my "keepers" on CDROM at the higher resolution - you can always reduce resolution and size. The picture quality is great. The flash, however, should only be used up to 10' - any further and your pictures come out too dark. Nikon USA has a web page with the latest firmware available for download - which I recommend. Low points for the camera include the fact that the lens resets to full zoom every time you turn the camera off! I find myself zooming out every time I turn the camera on - this eats up your batteries and takes time. The flap that covers the memory card does not always stay closed and flops open from time to time. Sometimes, the camera takes a while to reset between pictures, so a bit of spontaneity is lost. There are now newer cameras out there. I find that the 2.1 Megapixel capability of this camera meets my needs and that, given the recent price reductions, I would buy this Nikon now if I were in the market today.
Rating:
Summary: I love my Coolpix 950 (you will too!)
Review: Hello. My name is Danny Bruce and I researched many digital cameras before I made a decision and I spoke to several professional photographers. I have had my 950 for about 2 months now and it is truly amazing. It shoots clear photos in color and black & white. You can buy this camera for under $700 on Amazon.com and other sites. Here are a few tips when buying a digital camera:
1. The Nikon 950 is your 'best buy' for under $700. It has won numerous awards from photography magazines.
2. Nikon is offering a $100 mail-in rebate on the 950 until the end of June 2000.
3. Do you know the difference between 1 megapixel and 2 megapixel cameras? Well, 1 megapixal cameras will allow you to print up to a 5x7 clearly while 2 megapixel and up cameras will give you clear 8x10 and larger prints.
4. Go ahead and buy 2 sets of NiMH(nickle metal hydride) batteries and get a charger for them (you can get a set of 4 batteries and a charger for around $20-$30). The Nikon 950 will "EAT" regular batteries (even the top brands) in about 1 hour!
5. If you plan to shoot pictures to print them out, you need to shoot in HIGH resolution. The 8mb card that comes with the camera only hold 8 pictures in the resolution. So plan on buying a 32mb or larger card (prices range from $65-$300).
6. If you are interested in shooting Macro shots (pictures that are taken very close to the subject), get you a 950! It will shoot a clear picture at only 1" away!
7. If the Nikon 950 is a little too pricey for your wallet, don't worry. You can get a Kodak DC215 for less than $300 and get great pictures!
8. If I can be of any further help, please email me at snyper7777@yahoo.com
9. Thanks Amazon!
Rating:
Summary: Trying to decide? Get a Nikon 950!
Review: Background: I have had a 35mm SLR camera for years and was a weekend photographer. I knew that to quicker exposure times on bright days, that I needed to turn the f-stop to a higher number, for example. I took time exposures by mounting the camera on a tripod with a remote shutter release...I knew some times, but was hardly a professional! Basic stuff. I spent about 4 weeks reading every review I could find on 2 megapixel digital cameras. It came down to several options. First, several people tried to convince me to get a Kodak DC280 running about $400. I didn't. Why? Because it offers very little manual control over the camera and Kodak appears to oversaturate the colors too much. Second, I looked at the Nikon Coolpix 800 for about $400 too. I didn't get it. I went to Best Buy's several times a week and played with the CP800. The picture quality is fantastic (see some of the review websites), but it only had a 2X zoom and offered manual focusing. It did not allow shutter or apeture priority. Third, I decided on the Nikon 950. I missed out on some of the lowest prices on this back in Mid-April, but found I could get it from Amazon.com for about $570 after rebate. I avoided some of the online stores with bad ratings on the resellerratings.com website. Why the 950? Well, I have had it for about 5 days now and KNOW I made the right choice. Out of the bag, it takes great pictures under an amazing list of situations in automatic mode. But...there is so much more! Yesterday, I took it with me to my son's soccer game. I wanted to take some action shots. In automatic mode, all action was blurred. :-( But, I put the 950 into shutter priority mode, set it to take pictures at 1/500th of a second (it was bright daylight), and all action is stop-action. It's great! I've also used it to take pictures of the moon by placing the 950 on a tripod and positioning the lens against my telescope eyepiece. I used shutter priority mode with exposures of 1/30, 1/60, and 1/125 of a second again. Pictures are stunning. I would not have been able to do this with the 800 or the Kodak. How to get pictures into the computer? If you have a laptop with a PC card slot, buy a compact flash adapter for about $10. If you have a computer with a USB port, buy a compact flash reader to plug into it (I got mine for about $25). It allows 8MB of pictures to be transferred to the computer in about 10 seconds. No waiting an hour for them to come over the serial port for me! If you can afford to get the 950, do so. Also try to get some rechargeable batteries, a compact flash reader and a bigger compact flash card. Strengths: Great pictures in automatic mode. Ability to set the shutter speed. Good zoom. Weaknesses: Buy a NIMH charger and some NIMH batteries (there are places that sell these on ebay fairly cheap...I got 12 of these 1500Mah for $22). The included 8MB compactflash card is small. Buy a bigger one. Similar Products Used: Have had a Quicktake 150 and a Kodak DC50.
Rating:
Summary: Gorgeous images, easy to use, needs better Flash
Review: I have owned this camera for over 9 months now and I really like it. The image quality is stunning and I didn't find it all that hard to figure out how to use it. The controls are generally well thought out and positioned ergonomically. The camera is also slow (I think this is true with most digital cameras.) You click the shutter and about 1 or 2 secs later it takes the picture. This may not sound like a big deal, but last night I was trying to take pictures of my infant son, and in that amount of time he often moved his face away from the camera. A significant short coming is the built in flash. Its nowhere near powerful enough, even for a simple head and shoulders shot when the subject is 4 feet away. Images often come out too dark. This wouldn't be so bad if there were accomodations for an external flash, but there doesn't seem to be one. Also, the camera tends to create "red eye" a lot, which you can correct if you have PhotoShop, but that's more work than I want to do. The camera does eat up a lot of power, I agree with the others who suggest getting rechargeable batteries. You can get a set of NiMH batteries and a charger for about $20 bucks (it takes 4 AA batteries.) I'd suggest getting at least 8 AA batteries. I do suggest getting extra memory (I have 32 megs) and one of those USB memory card readers, its a lot faster than a serial port.
Rating:
Summary: Decided to buy from Amazon
Review: I wanted the Nikon and found it on one of the price comparisonsites. The site that was selling it was well organised but I'd never heard of them. After thinking about it for a few days, I decided to check the price at Amazon. OK it's more money from Amazon, but I'm sure that I'm going to get it and that it will be new! I have always had fantastic service on books, well Amazon, here's my first order on electronics. I'm sure you won't let me down!
Rating:
Summary: almost the best camera
Review: Recently bought this camera, and although i'm very happy with it, there are a few remarks i'd like to make. I'm not getting exactly what i see on the lcd screen, that is, at the moment i press the button the image i get is different from the one i see on the lcd. This is due to some kind of auto correction the camera does by itself and cannot be turned off. If you buy this camera remember to buy at least two packs of rechargeable nimh (this is of extreme importance (for normal ones won't last 20 min), you should also get the ac adaptor for downloading pics. Also keep in mind the download is through a serial port, this is aprox 115000 bps, this means it's really slow (it can take up to 25 secs per image on fine mode). I don't know how good are those USB flash card readers, but i'm thinking seriously about buying one. But I have to say the quality of the images is impecable, i love it, even in jpg, they are just great!
Rating:
Summary: Here are some tips about buying a digital camera
Review: I bought a 950 about 3 weeks and I am still learning it. Sofar, it has performed very well. I researched all digital cameras online and spoke to many professional photographers. My end result is that the Nikon 950 will not disappoint you. If you want a GREAT digital camera, get a 950. Here are a few tips that you can use that depending on pixels. 1 megapixel cameras give up to a 5x7 clear printout while 2+ megapixel cameras will let you print 8x10 shots clearly. (The Nikon 950 is 2.1 megapixel)
2. If you are looking for a great 1 megapixel camera for around $300 or less, go with the Kodak DC215. It is a good camera and comes with great software.
3. Buy a 32mb or larger flash card for extra storage. They are availble up to 128mb+.
4. Buy 2 sets of NiMH (nickle metal hydride batteries) and a charger. Regular alkaline batteries will only last about an hour!
5. If black and white pictures are important to you, there are two very nice cams with that feature super close up shots is what you need, go with the Nikon 950. It will shoot a crystal picture at 1" away!
6. Buy a SanDisk card reader so you won't have to hook your camera up to your computer everytime to upload your photos! Just pop your memory card into it and wala! They come up on your screen in seconds!
Rating:
Summary: Nikon Coolpix 950
Review: I have had my 950 for 9 months now and couldn't be without it. It's great, the manual isn't so hot but you can print a good one from the Nikon CD which comes with the camera. When you buy the camera get a card reader that plugs into the USB port. It is really fast. I save my images on Zip disks and use PhotoSuite III to adjust most of them. Adobe Photo Shop 5.5 is used on the very important ones. This camera is teriffic and the price has really come down in 9 months. By the way get as large a memory card as you can afford because you will be taking many more pictures with this camera than you ever did with a film camera. I can't recommend it highly enough.
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