Rating: 
Summary: not what i had hoped for.
Review: i bought this camera almost a year ago, but in that year, it has only been in a woking state for 3 months. the zoom drive mechanism has broken twice. the first time that i sent it in, they took over a month to fix it, arguing about the warranty on the camera.the camera takes great pictures on bright sunny days. try to use it at any other time, and it bites the big one. no low light pictures. no black & white support. no USB. the camera takes forever to actually take the picture, with the timing of about a 60 shutter speed in the end. don't even think about trying to take pictures of anything moving. the timing on the flash is way off, without any method of fixing it. the software included was not even worth installing. get a flashcard reader to get your pictures off, as the cable included takes a year and a day to copy. it sucks batteries like there's no tomorrow. buy rechargables or a battery pack. if you like taking pictures at the max resolution, then you're going to need a bigger capacity flash card, as the one that it comes with will only hold 8 pictures at max resolution. i've also heard that the coolpix 990 has the same drive problems that the 950 has, so it's not much of an upgrade, except for the CCD size. my recomendation, don't get it.
Rating: 
Summary: Outstanding, but be aware of limitations...
Review: Had this a little over a year, great camera--have the feeling I'm still only scratching the surface of what this thing is capable of. The Pros: 1. Oustanding image quality, great colours, etc. Typically Nikon does err a little on the side of preserving detail, so you might find a little contrast/brightness adjustment in Photoshop to your taste. 2. Enough manual control if you want. Enough point and shoot in the Auto mode if you don't. 3. That swivel head gives great flexibility. 4. Best shot selection gives some really interesting flexibility with regard to avail. light photography (OK, so I know I really should use a tripod). The Not-so-good: 1. The flash is disappointing. Terribly easy to red-eye anything biological :) Get the bracket and an add-on flash if you have to shoot flash. To be fair, tough for _any_ camera with the flash/lens this close together to not have the same problem (red eye reduc. or not). 2. The pre-exposure focus lock does not 'feel' as definite (when you partially depress the exposure button) as on Nikon's 35mm SLRs. The nice, nice thing about the 990 is that the area of focus is artificially sharpened in the LCD viewfinder. _Very_ tough to check focus in 950 LCD viewfinder until _after_ you take the pic and magnify in the LCD. 3. Definitely less than great for fast moving action. Digitals in general are not the greatest for moving action. For long-time 35mm users, this is probably the hardest thing to get used to. By the time, you add in the focusing time, save to CF card, etc., there is a definite delay between pulling the trigger & getting the shot, as well as a significant delay between shots (flash use makes it worse). Some of this can be negated by swithing to Manual and presetting a focus distance, and so on, but it's an adjustment. Recommendations: 1. Get three sets of NiMH rechargeable AA batteries--this thing eats batteries for breakfast. 2. Get a bigger CF memory card, at least 48MB. 3. Get a USB/PC card reader for the CF card--the serial connection is _painfully_ slow. 4. Download the .PDF file from Nikon's site which goes into a little more detail what the controls do. 5. Get this book! :)... Would I get this again? YES, but I would probably spring the extra bucks for a Coolpix 990 for: 1. Focus area sharpening 2. Selectable autofocus area 3. USB 4. QuickTime capture Less so for the 3.3 megapixel.
Rating:
Summary: A GREAT Camera For Professionals
Review: Wow, what a difference. I currently sell items on eBay, and I've been using a HP C200 Digital Camera for the past year to take pictures of items that I was selling. It got the job done, but when it came to detailed shots and close ups, it just didn't cut it. I just received my Nikon Coolpix 950 and it's amazing. Excellent detail at 1600x1200 resolution. The close up shots (Macro Shots) are amazing. I'm extremely satisfied with this camera. If your a near power seller eBayer like myself, and you have the money, invest it into this camera. It's really worth it. I did my homework, and this camera gets you the best bang for your buck. The CP800 and CP880 are good, but they are slightly worse than this model, and they require non-AA batteries, which are very expensive (so are the rechargeable ones and the charger). The Coolpix 990 is slightly better than this model (it takes slightly better pictures and it boasts a higher resolution), but if you don't have the money, this model is worth it. The Coolpix 950 and the Coolpix 990 are the best two digital camera's that you can buy for under $1000.00. If you want to go up another level, you need to be ready to shovel out over $3000.00 for camera's like the Nikon D1. For accessories, get a USB CompactFlash Card reader, an A/C Adaptor, and two sets of rechargeable batteries. I recommend a tripod as well, a small one especially for Macro shots. Overall, this is a very good camera. The Coolpix 990 has better resolution, better picture quality, and its design is better, but if you don't have the extra money, the Coolpix 950 is simply the best you can get.
Rating:
Summary: Personal Feedback on this Great Digital Camera
Review: Well, I would probably be reviewing the 990 or D1 if I could have paid their high sticker prices, but I wanted to give my 2 cents on this exceptional camera from NIKON. I searched and searched for the perfect camera before I settled on the Coolpix 950. I wanted at least 2.1 megapixels and could have gotten other brand 3.3 cameras for the list price of the 950, but the features of this camera are what sold me. The additional lens and flash options make this a photographers dream. The point and click options make my non-photographer wife very happy. The Good: 1. Picture quality excellent! 2. Exposure and composition excellent! 3. Very easy to use 4. Lots of picture (size) options 10 different picture formats for storage purposes 5. Battery Life not all that bad if you do not use the LCD screen as your viewfinder The Bad: 1. Nikon photo software is kinda crappy (I now use Adobe Photoshop) 2. The serial connection is really slow...I bought a (lexar 8x) 32 meg memory card and a usb card reader for $50 bucks 3. The 8 meg card is kinda small if you want high res shots 4. No lens cover (so I bought a UV filter lens cover) to protect the expensive Nikon lens $5. Overall, I am extemely please with this camera....the price was too good to pass-up...I used a $50 dollar off online coupon from Amazon which brought the price down to $706 and then Nikon had a $150 dollar rebate on the Coolpix 950. I have not gotten that money yet, but when I do $556 for this camera is a steal. Good luck buying your camera, and I hope this review was helpful.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Digital Camera with many feature
Review: This is great camera with many features. You can take the pictures in many conditions. The flashlight is good enough for Indoor shooting. You can use the A-REC mode for automatic shooting & M-REC mode for manual Shooting. You will have a great photos just using A-REC mode. Just switch on the bottom & ready to take photos. If you want more professional photos use M-REC mode. You can adjust for the manual shutter speed or manual aperture. In this feature you customize your photos even you can bright your object at the poor light. The 2.11 mega pixels is good enough for viewing in the web, sending though E-mail & print in A4 paper. The worst think that I know is a battery live. This camera it's so hungry with power, that I thought same with the others digicam. For your convenient use a 3 set of NIMH batteries, which can take 30 to 40 pictures each set in normal used. You can save your battery live with minimize using LCD monitor to framing the object.
Rating:
Summary: A Vert Handy Camera
Review: I purchased my Nikon Coolpix 950 in May, and, despite some shortcomings, have used it almost exclusively over my Cannon EOS system and compact Konica APS camera. It is convenient, always works well outside, and the enlargements I have printed and framed have been outstanding. My only complaints are that it has a wimpy flash, comes with a very small compact flash card (8 MB), no decent editing software was included (Hotshots is very limited in what it can do), and the printed manual is inadequate for use in the field. Although full documentation is included on a CD, it isn't very helpful when taking pictures from a boat along the Naapali Coast of Kauai! I see that they have a $150 rebate until 12/31/00. It would make a great gift for ANY amateur photographer, and the Amazonprice with rebate of $548 makes it a great bargain. I would not hesitate to get one KNOW. Make sure you get at least a 32MB card, and stock up on rechargeable NiMH AA batteries and a charger. A flash card reader is also very useful; downloading directly from the camera is extremely slow and uses battery power quickly (although an AC adapter could be used).
Rating:
Summary: Great Choice-Great Camera-Great Pictures-Great FUN!
Review: I have had my Coolpix 950 for almost a yest now. I bought it here, on amazon.com, and I'm still amazed. There are so many things you can do with it! I bought a 32 mg memory card and some rechargable batteries, too. (Well worth it!) The 32 mg is enough for me. I take my pictures at the second highest level becuase I noticed no difference. I almost waited for the 3 megapixal camera...but there is no need to get one unless you like to print pictures that are poster size. I've printed 5x7's that look great and I should try an 8x10. It is so handy to have around and it's great to use with people who are constantly closing their eyes and ruining photos. I've looked at other cameras and haven't found quite as many "fun things" on them as this one! Spend a little time researching before you buy to make sure you know what you want, don't spend too much or too little - depending on preferences. Also, check Nikon for any rebates! (I got $100 back from them) My only complaint is the door that closes over that card, it's cheap. It pops open when I change batteries. Everything else is SUPERB!
Rating:
Summary: Quick Digital
Review: I've owned a Ricoh & a Nikon Digital. This blows away the Ricoh. I was such a nimrod for purchasing the Ricoh. Oh well, that's life. The only drawback to this one is when it's darker. Takes a little longer and some pics don't turn out as well as others I've seen. For business purposes, this is a great buy that works very quickly. Buy it.
Rating: 
Summary: "red eye........."
Review: it is weak in the night......... you must buy another photoflash...........
Rating:
Summary: yes, but
Review: Out of the box, there is no doubt that nikon makes fine cameras, but... My experience has been that their repair facility takes months to return a camera and that it is not fixed when it is returned. I can't recommend it.
| 
