Rating: 
Summary: Hard to Outgrow the 885
Review: I waited six months to review the Coolpix 885 to see how it was to really live with this camera. After shooting over 2,000 exposures, I can tell you that I love the 885. Anyone who is not satisfied with the results has got to buy a new printer and try again is all I can say. Try taking photos in the FINE mode and you will be very satisfied with all but insanely huge enlargements. Use the HIGH resolution (.TIF) and it will be difficult to hurt the resolution in any enlargement. (I know you think you are not enlarging very much, but if you take the center 10% of an image and try to make it into an 8x10 print, that is a monstrous enlargement.) This camera is good for a family where on might leave the camera set on full autoprogrammed mode and the other would prefer the absolutely total controll offered in the Custom Shooting Mode. Guess what. About 95% of the time, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. It is a huge plus that the 885 will take macro shots from about one INCH away. It is a huge plus that the optical zoom range is 4:1 with another 4x digital zoom. It is a huge plus that you can zoom in 4x when viewing an image in the monitor so you can evaluate focus in critical areas. My only complaint is that the f: stops are not really f: stops and I wish that were not the case. You have complete control over the shutter speeds from 1/1000th to 8 seconds, but there are only two apertures to toggle back and forth between. I guess that's one reason to go up a level, but then you have to deal with a swivel in the middle of the camera and I am always afraid something like that is one more weak link that is destined to break. Buy at least two rechargeable batteries and 128 or larger Compact Flash Memory. Buy a USB card reader and don't hook the camera to your computer to download images. Just read them directly off the card. This will save batteries immensely. With the price hovering in the [$] range now, I think the 885 is the one to snap up before it is discontinued. It's a bargain.
Rating: 
Summary: best digital camera I used so far...
Review: I've got this camera for about 6 months now and used it durning normal weather, rainstorms and even in the desert of Egypt. The pictures are allway bright, collerfull and sharp. The camera is east to handle, had a firm grip and the battery is lasting for almost 70 pictures (incl flash and just waiting for the best moment). It realy deserves the 5 starts!
Rating: 
Summary: Don't make the same mistake as I did
Review: I've had an excellent history with non-digital Nikon cameras, always believing Nikon was the leader in photography. Their effort on the digital side has made me reassess this view. Purchased the Nikon 885 a while back and still having problems. Did an incredible amount of research, reading reviews, comparing many other 3 mgp cameras, and finally decided on the 885. One theme I had read about in many reviews was the cyan issue in the photos -- basically anything 'red' in your shot would dominate the picture. Ignoring those reviews, I still decided to purchase, and am regretting it to this day. The red in almost every shot stands out, and I mean looks florescent red. While the rest of the picture is typically fine, the pictures this camera takes is not worthy of the Nikon name. I've since tried a number of Canon and Olympus cameras, both of which take significantly better shots. Basically it's a software problem that they haven't been able to fix -- have spoken with Nikon tech people, who have acknowledged the problem, but can't do much about it. If you want a SLR, get a Nikon -- when it comes to digital, would definitely not recommend Nikon.
Rating:
Summary: Good choice
Review: I've had this camera a week or so and I'm very happy with it. The point and shoot options are easy, but there are plenty of bells and whistles if you want to do more advanced photography. The manual is good and easy to follow.
Rating:
Summary: Great mid-range price with high-end features
Review: I've had this camera for a week and am thoroughly impressed. LOTS of controls (manual) and a dozen "scene" presets augment a fine "auto" system for point-and-shoot through numerous custom options. And rugged! I just dropped it from waist high onto macadam -- still works fine! (But I won't try it again...) Filters and other lenses readily available. The owner's manual is well-organized and guides the user through a myriad of options. Most of the controls are intuitive and easily remembered, making this camera a pleasure to use. The camera's small size makes it easy to pack along on any outing: which gave me the opportunity to snap photos of a car fully aflame by the roadside last night! The preview screen is on the small size, but adequate. The bundled software package is also good. Check out the web for more detailed reviews, but I couldn't be more delighted (without spending well over $1,000).
Rating:
Summary: This is not going to be another Sony commmercial....
Review: It is too bad Carlton had to put a commercial for Sony in his review for this Nikon. Now I have to rebut. There is one simple fact Carlton missed that was obviously not his primary focus, pardon the pun. The quality of the photographs. The quality of the output I receive from my 885 is easily 30% better quality then any thing any of the Sony models can put out. The color is truer, the gamma is more accurate, and the basic output is far more consistent then any of the Sony's. Change this setting or that setting... I don't care. the bottom line is the final output. Bottom line... the initial un-retouched photo's this Nikon produces are pretty phenomenal. Well for a digital camera at least. After all this is not an F5. I have tried each of the Sony CD models. They are good but they are no Nikon. I feel he missed what to me is the most important issue, picture quality. There are few if any digital cameras available, which produce a better photo then the Nikons. Sure, some are larger, some are smaller, some are faster, while others have more bells and whistles, and even others are prettier, like the Sony's. However, not one of them produces a better quality photograph. Nikon's quality and prowess in the analog camera arena has somehow seeped into their digital cameras. Their primary focus appears to have been picture quality, not bells and whistles. Pun intended. I find that comparing the Sony digital to the Nikon Digital is like comparing the F5 to the OM-4Ti. You'll have to research that on your own... Don't get me wrong... There ARE a few things I dislike about the 885. The little nose print I occasionally get on the LCD display when I shoot, slight design flaw. You have top pick one up to know what I mean about that. I also would have changed the pressure required for the trigger. Nevertheless, the bottom line is that the pictures are "Smokin"! One last thing from my craw. An experience I had with a great Sony audio receiver a few years ago tells all. Well what I thought was a great receiver when I bought it a few years ago. I had it for about year. It served me well. It had so many features I could never use them all, and was it ever pretty. Then I got educated on audio equipment. I read a few rags and talked to a few audiophiles. Then after purchasing my Marantz SR7000 for about [money amount] less then the original cost of the Sony I really started to get upset with Sony. Sure my Marantz was ugly compared to the beautiful Sony but... The sound quality of the Marantz was so far superior to that of the Sony. It was not a small difference but an astronomical difference. It was such a difference that I vowed never again to purchase another Sony product blindly. That is without seeing real side-by-side comparisons of the output of whatever the technology I was buying. I finally saw the Sony's strategy - not to provide the best quality output but to provide the most bells and whistles in the prettiest housings. Tooling and I.D. is Sony's key. They do have one very nice line, their Televisions and Monitors and I will not bash those. However, that is where Sony quality-output begins and ends. I bet I am really upsetting a lot of Sony aficionado's right now but don't get mad at me. This is about Nikon, not Sony. Go to your local high-end shop and ask any guru what they think of any specific Sony product. Remember I said high-end shop, not Best Buy or Circuit City. Believe me for the same doe you drop on a Sony "anything" you can get a far superior "anything" from any decent high-end shop. So enough with the Sony bashing... the Nikon 885 is my concern right now. Fact: The Nikon consistently produces better quality photographs. Period. Just as my Marantz consistently provides me with a far more accurate sound reproduction then the Sony receiver was ever capable of. After all, my main goal when selecting this camera was to get the best quality photos possible from a digital camera. No fancy "this-and-that". I just wanted quality photographs. If you would like to read about the features and the bells and whistles there are several other good reviews on this product and all the other products as well. My only focus here is to talk about the quality of the output of this camera. Hope you try them all side by side so you can create your own opinion before you buy. After all that is all this review is. My opinion, based upon facts I was able to gather firsthand. Thanks...
Rating: 
Summary: A Year Later
Review: My husband and I bought the Nikon 885 in June 2002 to replace our previous digital, an HP 315. While I was originally impressed with the features and larger resolution, it's wear has declined considerably over the months. Any hue of red is amplified beyond normal. The sound of the lens (when turning on/off the camera or zooming) has gotten progressively louder and is now painful to listen to. Low light conditions cause serious picture noise. And now, every photo has permanently burnt in pixels that I have to go in and correct manually.
Rating:
Summary: Confused at first
Review: The biggest problem I had was loading software as it was confusing. Take some advice, don't try to use the connection to the camera & computer on a USB hub extension it will not work! They said that in instructions & it was true!
Rating:
Summary: System Error
Review: The infamious "system error" appeared on my camera after 12 months. I learned after a searh on the web that this a common eroor in all Nikon digital cameras and the firm is doing nothing to fix it. DONT BUY
Rating:
Summary: Nikon 885 Review -- Beware of "System Error"
Review: The Nikon 885 at first glance has the right form factor, features and price. As a first time digital camera owner it seemed to be a great value. However, after 3 months of ownership, we are experiencing a "Systems Error" message. Unfortunately there are no clear resolutions to what appears to be a systemic issue with this camera across many customers. The only resolution is to return the camera to the manufacturer which is unable to guarantee or estimate a return date. Moreover, the Nikon online customer support web page is absent of any FAQ or other information. I would not recommend this camera based on my current experience and dissatisfacton with Nikon. By the way, do not dispose of your original packaging. Nikon will not support a return/repaire without it.
| 
