«A capable inexpensive winner»

After much research and pavement pounding I recently decided to buy a Nikon P60. I have had no regrets on buying this fine camera and it does 95% of what I need a camera to do.

On macro work the camera is quite good as I have taken a number of very good closeups of flowers, insects, and other small things like bare microchips. Hard to find fault here except on some subjects I've had to take two or three shots to get a good one. I personally chalk this little problem up to operator error because I'm still learning about what this little gem can do.

Using this camera for outdoor photography is where it shines. Unlike most modern point and shoot cameras that depend entirely upon the big LCD on the back of the case, which is glare prone on every one that I've seen, this camera has a viewfinder with a tiny, but very good LCD in it that simply removes the glare issue. The other added bonus in using the viewfinder instead of the big LCD on the back of the camera is greatly increased battery life. I managed close to 500 shots on a single pair of AA alkaline batteries using this feature alone.

If there is any weakness in this camera it has to be the same with all small frame point and shoot cameras, the flash. To me it is amazing the output of the tiny flash unit built into the camera but it is quite limited. When buying this camera you have to keep in mind that all indoor flash photography is best when your subject is between ten and twenty feet away. At least that's where I've gotten the best results in all the various modes that require the flash when I've used this camera.

The real bright spot with this camera is the fireworks mode. I suggest having some kind of camera stand when using this mode because when you hit the switch the shutter will remain open for a full four seconds thus getting a good exposure of the fireworks in motion, leaving nice traces in the image looking like some beautiful artwork in the end. Really fantastic. I intend to experiment with this scene mode in other situations, like parties or night time city scenes.


There are many other scene modes but I do not have time, or space to review them all but there are three other strong points with this point and shoot camera.

1. Lens body is quite good with very little distortion at the higher levels of zoom.

2. This camera has a natural 5x zoom capability, and also a digital zoom. Disable the digital zoom, as in all digital cameras I consider that feature worthless, stay with the optical zoom. If you need to get closer to the subject then handle that with post processing in your favorite photo editing program but be certain to have the camera at its highest quality (least amount of compression) setting and resloution (highest mega-pixel setting).

3. The P60 takes two standard AA batteries, not some special format. Add to that the battery chamber is quite well designed so that the batteries will not get stuck in the case. The previous camera that I have been using now has a Li-Ion battery that is solidly stuck within the case. When it dies that four year old beater will be going to the landfill. Add to that getting new batteries will not be a problem because AA's are sold everywhere.

In summary I feel that this is a wonderful camera for the price that is quite capable of what it was designed for but remember it is a mid-range point and shoot style camera with a few more features, useful features, than your standard point and shoot style camera. If you need a camera to do more then you need to look at the high end point and shoots like the Nikon P80 or P6000 which has a RAW file mode.

[Tuesday, December 02, 2008]

«Nikon Digital Camera CoolPix P60»

Very nice product. I took it on a cruize and it worked out very well. Once I learned how to change the default setting to suit my needs, it was GREAT. Speedy delivery. Nice price. Night shots were not very good but probably because I have not had a chance to experiment with the settings as yet. I had only one week to get used to it before the cruize. It came with a wrist strap but I would like to get a neck strap. It would be more convenient for me. Also the vibration reduction is good for this camera and for the price it suits me just fine. The one step up model is supposed to be better at this but costs $100 more so I think I will stick with this model.

[Wednesday, November 26, 2008]

«Great pics if you learn the ropes»

The color, subtle contrast/tone changes, and pixel rolloff on this are much more natural than the canon or kodak I've owned in this price range. That's why I got this unit. Sample pics at one site were almost identical to the D60 shots. Light is the difference though...this has a lot less glass. I fixed the frequent blurr by switching to center focus (not face) and fixed the motion blurr and got lower ASA by spreading a tripod short-legged (even when not planted) for dim shots. Once I worked with "P" mode for focus, ASA, exposure, etc. I got some outstanding shots. To move beyond point-shoot at a lower cost takes work, but this gives me that real natural color and contrast subtlety. Only Nikon and Fuji seem to do that. Fuji is still a bit sluggish. Nice shirt cam, super if you fiddle in P mode and steady things. I always MUST have electronic viewfinder...that's a big seller in the sun!

[Monday, November 17, 2008]

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