Camera Nikon D3100 14.2MP Digital SLR Deals & Reviews

Michael Allebach (Philadelphia, Pa): I purchased the 3100 specifically to shoot video, so I put on Nikon's brand new 85mm 1.4g Nano lens and shot video with it. The lens costs more than double the camera but I wanted to see how the 1080P video looked. It has the look of a cinematic movie. After the 85mm, I put on Nikon's 50 1.2 manual focus lens and was able to take very cinematic video in manual mode. In order to make it brighter or darker you either need to use a really old lens like the 50mm 1.2 and hit the AE-L (auto exposure lock) and twist the aperture to change exposure. Or you can hit the AE-L button when you get the exposure you like. Its not a perfect system but it works well for me. Inside the menu options you can change the AE-L button to hold the setting until you reset which is helpful.

J. Douglas (Wisconsin): I recently updated my DSLR collection to the Nikon D3100 from the Nikon D70. There are good reviews out there that you should check out. However, I would like to share some of my first impressions.
I'm an amateur photographer and this camera meets my needs. I love the fact that it's small and light, with great quality images. If I were a serious photographer and had more money to spare, I would wait and check out the D7000, which appears to have phenomenal specs. I'm happy with my purchase and I highly recommend this camera.

Macauley86 (California, United States): This is great, not only for you, but also for your non-photographer spouse; my XSi took phenomenal shots, but I had to know how to set it. Can you imagine me going to my non-photographer wife and say, "okay, when you take indoor shots of our kids, set the camera on A mode (Canons expose for ambient light in A mode and adjust flash for fill, that's great), +0.7 exposure compensation, ISO 400 or 800, white balance on cloudy, and shoot." My wife was lost at "okay." Sure the custom modes on the 40D would have helped, but the 40D is old technology; can it take 1080p video? I didn't think so. Plus, what lens are you going to use with the 40D? The 17-55 IS? Great lens, but who wants to spend $1,000 for a non-weather sealed 17-55 dust collector (google Canon 17-55 and dust)? Will 17-55 be enough for your telephoto shots? Your kids' baseball games? Didn't think so. What about the Canon 18-200? Sub-par quality, noisy, overpriced.

jpullos (New York, NY): I am a photography teacher in NYC and online. (See my Amazon profile for my website.) I teach beginner and intermediate photography students every week. I've also been a professional photographer for the last five years with images published in The New York Times, GQ, New York Magazine, Women's Wear Daily, The New York Observer, The Village Voice and Time Out New York.
If you're a beginner, you're most likely asking yourself: Nikon or Canon? Really, I feel confident in saying that you can't go wrong with either. I've used both brand's cameras extensively and find that they both offer amazing image quality with well-built, solid cameras that, if taken care of, will last decades. There are two differences between the cameras, though, that can be taken into consideration.

Camera Nikon COOLPIX P510 16.1 MP CMOS Deals & Reviews

Lisa T. (Hartland, MI): I am an avid camera collector and Nikon fan, taking classes in high school and college (and the last thing I needed was yet another camera) but I was unhappy with my options. My DSLR took fantastic pictures but was too heavy to carry around for everyday use and my basic point and shoot was the perfect pocket size, but took less than decent pictures. I was hoping a bridge camera would solve all of my problems.

CR (Massachusetts): I bought both the Nikon p510 camera and the Sony hx200v camera to see which I prefer. I took numerous pictures with both, but decided to keep the Nikon p510. Although both cameras took very nice pictures, I liked the way that people shots came out with the Nikon p510, especially indoors. The Nikon p510 seems to give a nice "matte" finish to skin shots and with a bit more color, whereas the Sony hx200v showed/emphasized more skin flaws. Also, indoor pics with the Sony were inconsistent - sometimes too yellow, and other times too white (overexposed). Although the Sony hx200v does have a "soft skin" setting, I felt it looked too unnatural (gave the skin too much of a porcelain doll finish). Also, the Nikon p510 seems to handle indoor pics better where there is a lot of backlight. Outdoor pics are nice with both cameras, but again I preferred the people pics with the Nikon p510 (the outdoor people pics taken with the Sony were more neutral toned). The only reason I give this review 4 stars is because the zoom can be a bit flaky when trying to focus with maximum zoom, in particular on small objects such as birds; sometimes it would focus right away, but a lot of times I had to keep adjusting the zoom before it decided to focus. Yet, I haven't had this problem with other types of pictures.

FFDR (Chicago, IL, USA): I think I found the solution to the problem I had with zooming on small objects. Pg 72 of the disc manual ("Using Focus Modes") talks about how to change focus modes. It seems that when I change the focus to "infinity", it focuses on the subject a lot quicker. I'm still going to play with this setting a bit more, but so far it seems to have helped. Also, after reading page 73 ("Available Focus Modes"), it looks like "manual focus" may also be helpful on zooming in on small objects. I will play with these settings for a while. If I find these settings consistently work, I will change my rating to 5 stars.

Scott (USA): I read the single star review, and I suppose you can get a bad apple even with the best of quality controls, but I have found none of his problems. Battery life --- I am amazed how long it lasts. Of course, being an "old timer" I use the view finder. I know of no professional or serious amateur that uses the preview screen for generall composiyin and framing, but I do like the ability to use it in flip up mode while on a tripod for ground level shooting versus getting down on my old knees. My only disappointment battery wise, it that it has to be charged "on board". The camera did not come with a stand alone charger, but there are plenty of after market chargers with batteries on line for under $20. Macro: There is a macro setting. You can take close up, but it takes practice to get it to focus correctly. I will still use my D-SLR for macro-work. I do a lot of close up photography. The P510 is not the best choice if you do to.

Camera Nikon COOLPIX L820 16 MP CMOS Deals & Reviews

C. Wilson (Binghamton NY): My wife and I did a lot of research online looking for a camera with a 10x or larger zoom, video capability, low light w/o flash and most of all easy to use. We first purchased the Coolpix L610 Nikon COOLPIX L610 16 MP Digital Camera with 14x Zoom NIKKOR Glass Lens and 3-inch LCD (Black) at our local Best Buy because it was on sale and over $100 cheaper than the L820. This was a mistake, we got the camera home and it just didn't take the pictures we expected (flash picture came out almost black and the zoom wasn't as awesome as I had hoped for :) plus more poor reviews than I had noticed). After reading about this camera the L820 and finding that it was actually only $50 more than the L610, we exchanged the L610 for the L820 and we couldn't be happier.

B. D. Blank (KELLER, TEXAS, US): I am not a photographer but I like to take pictures and I like them to come out well. This camera allows you to set the camera to Auto mode and not have to think about much else besides finding something to take a picture of. The camera is laid out well, making it easy to choose from the many different modes and preset features to allow you to take best pictures possible, so I think it suits the novice and an intermediate photographer. The zoom is in two places on the top near the shutter release and on the left side of the lens housing which is a nice touch.

Andy (The Great American West): I did a lot of research for a camera at this price point with zoom and it came down to this one and the Canon PowerShot SX500 IS. The older verse (Nikon Coolpix L810) had good reviews and specs; this newer version has a few more additional features. This is my first camera of this type to own and I bought it to capture; kids soccer/volleyball events, birthdays, etc. So far it has performed awesome, the Sports scene is great as it takes multiple shots and you can pick from the best one, like a frame by frame slow motion. For battery power,I highly recommend purchasing the eneloop XX 2500mAh Typical / 2400 mAh Minimum, High Capacity, 4 Pack AA Ni-MH Pre-Charged Rechargeable Batteries with 4 Position Charger and an additional 4 package eneloop XX 2500mAh Typical / 2400 mAh Minimum, High Capacity, 4 Pack AA Ni-MH Pre-Charged Rechargeable Batteries. In addition, my daughter is starting to get into photography and she has already figured out additional features that I did not know the camera had, very kid friendly camera.

Gadget Gizmo Freak "Gadgetfreak" (Austin, TX): I got this camera primarily because of the reach that a 30x zoom allows me, really that's it. I'm not a professional photographer. I'm just a guy who goes on photo kicks now and again to indulge my inner paparazzi. I think everything needs to be commemorated and documented for the purpose of later boring my friends and family. A flower, a bird, spilled ice cream... it's all gold! While I'd love a DSLR with a telephoto lens, I just can't justify the cost. Enter the L820. I had a Fujifilm FinePix S4200 Digital Camera which has a nice zoom, but I couldn't get it to focus on what I wanted it to focus on. I'm glad I didn't see a Yeti while using that camera, because the image would be blurry and no one would believe me. The Fuji has good reviews, but I wasn't satisfied so I returned it. I continued my hunt and found the L820. Good reviews, though relatively new so not as many as the Fuji, a good zoom, a good brand. I got a smokin' deal on it from an Amazon reseller (over $100 cheaper than Wal-Mart, and $30 cheaper than Amazon itself) so figured I'd give it a go. Pros and cons are a tried and true review method, so why mess with success?

Camera Nikon COOLPIX L26 16.1 MP Deals & Reviews

Mary J. Norman (Reno, NV): I truly deeply LOVE this camera; it is sooo easy to use and the quality is there. It even lets you select the final size of your photos in pixels. Uploading pictures is a PLEASURE, NOTHING COMPLICATED IN USING IT, unlike other digitals. It is truly a point and shoot camera! I take photos of fast moving puppies and it keeps up with them, no blurs! I recommend it to all! The price was more than worth it without having to spend thousand(s) of dollars. It is meant for the amateur photographer and is simply an absolute VERY TRUE JOY to use! I can't say enough about this VERY excellent camera. Wish I had had it years ago, but maybe it would not be the excellent camera it is today! This is the VERY best digital camera I have ever used and meets all my needed requirements, especially for the puppies in picture taking! It replaces the KODAK cameras I have used over the last 11 years with Kodak now going out of business in this area anyway. I recommend it to all amateurs, well worth the money which is not that much.

E. Chiaretti (RENO, NV, US): I bought this camera to have something handy in my purse or pocket at all times. I food blog, I submit random shots to the local news and I like to take quick snapshots on the go when I find a cool craft or when I see a location that I might want to go back to with clients and take some REAL photos.
All my professional gear is Canon. I have Nikon cameras but I honestly prefer Canon because I like the color and sharpness I get with Canon and it just feels good in my hand.
Brand preference is a personal thing some people like Nikon better and I am fine with that I am not here to argue the Canon v.s. Nikon attributes.

S.M.R.W. "Stef" (Connecticut): The camera took fantastic photographs---when it felt like working. Starting a few days after I purchased it, the lens would refuse to open when I turned the camera on. "Lens error" would flash on the screen and it was impossible to operate the camera in that state. The only way to solve this problem was to remove the batteries, replace them, then turn the camera back on. This is not something I would expect from a brand-new camera. When I called Amazon, the customer support department was very helpful and professional.

Jeff K. (PA): There was too long of a delay between pressing the button and the picture being taken. And that was when it worked. Sometimes we had to press the button two or three times before it would take a picture. Then, when it did take a photo, it wouldn't let us take another one right away. We had to wait several seconds before it was possible to take a second shot. Very frustrating. Picture quality wasn't very good either. We sent our camera back to Amazon and got a refund. Yeah, Amazon. Boo, Nikon.

Camera Fujifilm FinePix S2950 14 MP Deals & Reviews

Kala Krugman (Grantsville, WV USA): I used the other features for the photos I am going to describe in this paragraph. I work in the buildings behind the World Trade Center so taking pictures of the progress from our office is priceless. On this camera, the pictures are the kind that everyone who visits wishes they could take from this view. I had no light "bounce back" from the several floors of newly installed windows on the Freedom Tower (still under construction). The zoom feature is so amazing that I was able to zoom in on a worker cleaning out one of the reflecting pools. It was not a blurry "it could be anything" picture, you can clearly see him, the color of his skin, shirt, jeans and the hose he was using. I also have views of the Statue of Liberty, the surrounding islands and New Jersey. I used the zoom on these photos, again, amazing clear detailed photographs.

Miss Lurker (Ohio): I love this camera. I bought it because it has an old school view finder and the display. Most of the cameras I have looked at have gone away from having a view finder. I have used many different cameras and on bright day it is very hard to see the display and line up a shot without a view finder. It is very easy to switch between the view finder and the display.
It takes fantastic pictures and you can use rechargeable batteries if you want. Another thing that is great about this camera is the response time between pictures. My old camera took 10 seconds before I could snap another shot. This camera is almost instantaneous.

Kensil (Carmichael, CA, US): I almost didn't purchase one because of it! .. I'm glad I decided to do some research and make up my own mind.. do a search at YouTube and look for the fujiguys channel.. they have videos to get you familiar with it and the features PLUS they answer any questions you may have! .. and if you want to see some actual photos taken with the Camera, do a search at Flickr! .. I ordered this Camera and got it a day and a half later which was awesome! .. I already knew some things about it because I done some research.. after playing with it for awhile, it was very easy for me to work it and I'm use to Kodak Cameras.. you have got to see the photos taken with this Camera!.. don't expect great results without knowing what you are doing though! .. the only bad thing about the Camera is the software that comes with it.. I got errors and removed it and found out others have had problems as well.. you can still transfer the photos without the software .

Alan Houston "alanhouston-texas" (Houston, Texas, United States): I have to say this. Too many people turn this camera down because it doesn't do well in the auto shooting format. Well I am here to say something. I didn't purchase this to shoot genetic automatic Shots. I bought it for the powerful lens, but mostly the fact it has nearly full manual controls. If you want a standard point and shoot, look elsewhere. to sell this at this price point and afford to put these manual controls, they had to sacrifice somewhere. Buy a point and shoot at this price point with no manual controls you'll be happier if you don't want manual control.

Camera Nikon COOLPIX L810 16.1 MP Deals & Reviews

Mocoko "Mocoko" (California):  Okay first of all i love the 26x zoom and second i love the 16.1 mp. I recently went to the zoo and took pictures that were making professional photographers mad because of the clarity and at full zoom. Side by side comparison told me i did the right thing in purchasing this camera. And for those of you that think somethings wrong with the camera just spend some time using all the different scenes and adjustment's this camera has. one more thing i really liked was the ability to just push the video button to record video instead of having to change modes...and it doesn't matter what size sd card you have it will only record 29 min at a time, you can record multiple 29 min video's.... take it as you will.

KB16 (OMAHA, NE, US): I was very happy to see this camera finally come out. I have been using it for about a month now and I am very happy. I read a review about the images being out of focus and I simply took the picture again with the flash on or with the camera on a different setting. The application that comes with the camera let you view the pictures with great clarity. I bought and would suggest the following 2 items to go along with the camera:
Nikon CoolPix L810 HDMI Cable - HD Video Cable for Nikon CoolPix L810, which lets me hook up to my tv in HDMI or even my computer through HDMI.

Chicks With Sticks (Oregon): This is a fantastic camera for the money if you take a lot of stills. If you take a lot of actions shots, like kids in sports, etc.....don't get it. It's focus time and shutter speed are just too slow for action. Some of the other reviews saying all the pictures turned out blurry make me suspect they did not download the CD that came with it titled "Reference Manual". If you read through it, and practice for a few days adjusting ISO and white balance, you'll get fantastic photos. The physical paper manual in the box is really just a quick overview, and doesn't provide much help, but the downloadable manual really does. This is indeed a point & shoot camera, but a little fancier, so you will have to spend some time with it. Don't order this and expect to pull it out of the box and go on a trip the next day with it. You'll be disappointed. I've had it a few days now, and I still have lots more to learn. It is very comfortable to hold, great grip, and great screen on the back. I'll post an update after I've used it a bit, too.

J. Sunderland "a poetry reader" (Kansas City): A great camera. Sort of midway between a point and shoot and a standard SLR but much much lighter in weight. I was able, while sitting at a ballgame, to get closeups of players in action. Even caught a ball in motion once. A tripod allowed me to shoot Venus clearly. I have another Coolpix and understand the focusing. This is light, easy to hold, the controls are so much easier than my older Coolpix, and the shots are just great. I've had a great time playing with it. It's not a simple point and shoot however, you have to know something about cameras or take the time to really learn how this one works.

Camera Fujifilm INSTAX 210 Instant Deals & Reviews

Robert J. Crowley (Sudbury, MA United States): The flash always fires, which is a bit of an annoyance sometimes, but mostly it doesn't matter. The colors from the Instax film are superb - beautiful blues, pinks and a nice gray scale too, with decent sharpness, all at a fairly low price. One can only wish that Fuji or some other manufacturers would produce a film back to take this excellent film over to other cameras same as Lomo did with the mini-Instax. Perhaps they will. In the meantime, this is such an easy camera to use, produces excellent outdoor images, OK inside shots at parties and the like, and everybody just loves to see that picture come up, like magic!

Jules (Chicago, IL): This is one of my favorite new instant cameras. I love the frame size and the quality of prints, but the actual camera body is very fragile. It is plastic, and I have had it break for myself and three of my friends. If you even slightly knock or bump it, it could shut off and stop functioning. I have had to replace two already. I love it so much, so i keep coming back. But, just know, you will have to be way more careful with this camera than any other camera I have ever tried using.

Bacchus (Boston, MA USA): My wife has always been a big fan of the old Polaroid film cameras but since the film costs an arm and a leg these days she has gone without for many, many years. I came across this camera while researching instant cameras to see if anyone has produced something comparable to the old Polaroid. The reviews for this camera were overwhelmingly positive and for 60 dollars I thought the price was fantastic so I decided to give it a try. I gave the camera to my wife this Christmas and she LOVES IT!

JO (ypsilanti, mi United States): The 210 seems to be the same as the instax 200 but is a different color (black) and the 210 comes with a close up lens (which I have not been able to get anything in focus to come out of). I just received it and have put one pack of film through it. I have experience with all sorts of Polaroid cameras. The photo quality is similar to the 600 film with a little better color saturation. The main problem is you can't turn off the flash. I am trying to decide if I should return it or not. It seems capable of taking pretty good photos but the flash is washing things out. I'm experimenting with covering the flash with three fingers of my right hand while pressing the shutter button with my little finger... If it was $19.95 I would be happy with it but I am not sure the annoyance is worth almost $100. Hopefully the Impossible Project people will get that Polaroid film factory running again and Instax will become unnecessary.