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87 of 87 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great compact camera, 1 Jan 2009
This review is from: Nikon Coolpix P6000 Digital Camera - Black (14.0MP, 4x Optical Zoom) 2.7 inch LCD (Electronics)
I have had this camera now for a couple of months and have had chance to use it extensively.
I have been a big fan of Nikon cameras for many years - all my 35mm cameras are Nikon and my F90x and F5 are amongst my most favourite cameras. Like Nokia mobile phones, Nikon cameras are operate in a similar way - the Coolpix P6000 is no exception. This camera definitely owes much of it's heritage to the Nikon SLRs - both 35mm and digital - that have gone before it. That might seem strange, but the user interface definitely "feels" like a Nikon.
Form factor
It was the form of the P6000 that initially drew me to it. It has a kind of retro appearance with a large knurled knob and a hot shoe on top. Very reminiscent of my FM2 (another Nikon 35mm favourite).
If you are looking for an ultra compact digital camera, this is NOT the one for you. I have an Olympus FE-300 which I use for work. It is a 12MB compact and fits easily into my bag without me noticing it. I use it for recording whiteboards during meetings etc. For this purpose, it works really well. However, it is just too slow to use on the move (I tried, unsuccessfully, to photograph an otter swimming underwater while at the Seattle aquarium recently - the delay between the button being depressed and the shutter firing made it just about impossible). The lack of a viewfinder on the Olympus does'nt help either.
The P6000 is small enough to fit into a large pocket and has a great solid "chunky" feel to it. The body is made of magnesium alloy and is covered in part by a coarse rubber grip (which probably explains the similarity with the F5!).
The good bits
It is a well designed camera. The layout of the controls will feel familiar to a Nikon SLR user. The command wheel is used to great advantage. The layout feels as if it really has been thoroughly thought through. For example, if you are in playback mode (viewing images) and half press the shutter button, the camera flips back into camera mode. Pressing the "Delete" key immediately after taking a picture will delete it without the need to go into playback mode. Although just small touches, these do make a difference to the overall handling of the camera.
Most of the camera's settings can be set manually and there are a features that you would not expect on a compact (e.g. real curtain sync, auto bracketing, manual focus). There are even a couple of user definable user modes.
Power up. The camera seems to power up almost immediately and, in use, there is negligible delay between depressing the button and the shutter firing. Big difference from many other compacts.
Picture quality. Both picture resolution (13MB) and colour rendition is absolutely stunning (which is probably what you would expect).
Face recognition. This works well in "portrait" mode and instantly detected faces - focussing on the face even if off centre. I could even get it to recognise a face from a print on my desk.
File format. It is possible to set the camera up to simultaneously capture both JPEG and RAW formats.
GPS. This took a while, probably 30-40 minutes, to locate the satellites once it was initially powered up. But after this, it worked well. Obviously, outdoors will produce the best results, but it still managed to find a satellite signal while sat at my desk next to the window. It seems pretty accurate. However, when moving from location to location, it can take up to 10 minutes to locate the satellites. This gets a bit annoying after a while.
The not so good bits
Lens. This works really well, particularly in macro mode. It could probably do with a slightly longer focal length (just x4 optical zoom), but works well as is.
GPS. This seems a bit slow to me and takes a lot longer than my Garmin Forerunner to locate itself. The end result is that it is a bit difficult to use as a "point and shoot" AND record GPS data.
WiFi. I don't understand why there is no WiFi connection, only a wired RJ45 port.
Power. It would be good if it were possible to charge via the mini-mini USB cable rather than having to carry yet another charger (something else to forget!).
All in all a great little camera. Solidly built and really easy to use. If you are looking for a compact that provides full manual control, take a look at this one. I suspect the GPS will have limited appeal in it's current format.
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Camera But GPS Function Is Poor, 23 April 2009
This review is from: Nikon Coolpix P6000 Digital Camera - Black (14.0MP, 4x Optical Zoom) 2.7 inch LCD (Electronics)
I bought this camera because I liked the idea of geotagging my photos so you can view them on flickr and other such websites with the photo taken location automatically uploaded.
The camera takes really good crisp photos and I am very impressed with most of its camera functions.
I have a few minor negatives.
1. No auto picture rotation and several key presses are required to rotate a photo you have just taken.
2. Zoom motor is too fast making zooming to the correct amount difficult.
3. Only displays the battery level when it is running out - no full battery display.
You may also want to buy the optional external battery charger for about £16.00 from amazon model MH-61 and maybe a spare battery.
Now for the GPS function.
Seems very in-sensitive.
You will look like a real Rodney standing still for up to two minutes trying to get a GPS fix when you first want to take a photo.
Once you have got a fix it does seem to work quite well but I have several other GPS devices both a-gps and normal gps and all are a lot quicker to get a fix than this camera.
Also note the sensor is on the left end of the camera.
Lastly, remember to turn off the GPS function when you are done or it will run the battery down.
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not for Vista x64, 4 April 2009
This review is from: Nikon Coolpix P6000 Digital Camera - Black (14.0MP, 4x Optical Zoom) 2.7 inch LCD (Electronics)
This is a nice camera, with decent optics for its size. It takes good pictures and leaves same the options open for you as if it was a micro SLR (though I am not really sure that this is very usefull for a micro camera like this).
The GPS is largely useless and consumes a lot of battery. Do not buy it for that reason. Do not buy it for the network capability either. That is useless as well.
And, if you are a Vista x64 user, do not buy it for shooting RAW unless you have Lightroom or Photoshop. The software requires x32 and the RAW format is new to this camera.
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