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A Good Point & Shoot Camera
- Reviewd on:
2008-12-29
By: Oceanman
Once again Nikon goes all out with the latest edition of the P series point and shoot cameras. The Coolpix P6000 is the newest addition to the P series family, replacing last year's P5100. Loaded with onboard GPS, ethernet connection, VR(Optical Vibration Reduction),13.5 Mpegs, D Lighting and wireless flash, the P6000 finally brings to the table Vista compatible raw format.
Even though wireless flash has been around for a couple of years now and most notably on Olympus systems, it is still rather uncommon in point and shoot systems. As far as external lighting support goes, the P6000 operates with a single external speedlight. I am not totally sold on the wired ethernet connection but Nikon is betting that somewhere out there, someone may have the need to connect the camera to a router.
Unlike earlier models in the P series line, Nikon opens new doors with the NRW raw format. NRW is compatible with Vista's Windows Imaging Component codec API whereas NEF format is not. NRW format allows using raw files more transparent under the Windows umbrella. Simply put, the operating system does the format transcoding rather than the application. So much for scratching your head wondering about application support. This is a sweet bonus for amateur photographers trying to go the extra distance in achieving quality photographs. For NEF format and Nikon Capture junkies (Raw Processing Software) no worries. With all the dollars sunk into Capture software Nikon is not going to abandon NEF format anytime soon. Not as long as it remains a bankable money cow at least.
Of note, the P6000 utilizes a 1/1.7-inch 13.5-megapixel CCD that supports sensitivities up to ISO 3200 at full resolution. A 4x 28-112mm optically stabilized lens does an all around sweet job. The well lit, wide view 2.7-inch LCD is standard. Taking a page from its family of DSLRs Nikon incorporates the Picture Control settings feature. Manual and semi PASM shooting modes remain the same.
The onboard GPS worked well with no hiccups and is a sweet addition for allowing the user to immediately id shooting locations. Similar to its predecessor the Coolpix P5100, I still encountered a sluggish feel in between shots. Other then that, the P6000 operated smoothly in transition and delivered some great shots. As with all new digital cameras it comes down to memory card speed and quality batteries. I highly recommend SDHC cards and rechargeable batteries.
Novice camera owners should remember that like all point and shoot cameras, the Nikon P6000 will only go so far. It is by no means a DSLR and does have limitations. Point and shoots are all about convenience. For the price tag I would forgo convenience and put down the extra bucks to invest in one of Nikon's many DSLRs. Nikon's D60 would be a good starting point.
Overall, I remain quite impressed with the P6000 and would recommend it to point and shoot users that insist on wanting a little more without going into the DSLR realm.
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First impressions : disappointing performances
- Reviewd on:
2008-12-16
By: Dany Sammour
I am a big fan of Nikon and before buying this P&S, I got a D90 which is really phenomenal.
I did not have much time yet to review in details the performance of the P6000 but I want to share the first impressions I had from using it indoors for the past 3 days.
I must admit the performance of this camera is extremely disappointing
- Slow Focus
- Slow file saving on the memory card when selecting fine+raw
- Very slow continuous shooting
- You need to wait 5 seconds for the flash to be ready!!! This can completely ruin the picture you want to take! You cannot ask people to stand still for 5 long seconds to take a spontaneous picture. Nikon must absolutely do something about this.
After years of developments in cameras, this is simply not acceptable.
I had read on the web that P6000 is not as fast as the canon G10 but I would never have imagined I would be so much disappointed.
So think twice before buying this item if performance matters to you.
Should you have suggestions for me, please do so and I will update this review accordingly.
PS : I will update this review with more details in the coming weeks when I test the camera a bit more in other contidions (outdoors, etc). I am sure it has many pluses...
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Pro-photographer needing somthing light.
- Reviewd on:
2008-12-12
By: Dangerous Fashions
The Nikon Coolpix P6000 is a great camera. I have two Pentax k-1000's, Nikon 808, Nikon D-100 and now this! I had an accident In Jan 06' and since then i haven't been able to work professionally as my d-100 was too heavy for me to carry on my shoulder and hold. I'd been discouraged with so many light weight cameras out there, too much noise, light sensors were horrible and the list went on and on. So finally this came out and still looking after two years i found this one. I was skeptical at first and turned off, since amateur photographers rave about the digital little point and shoots and even their cell phone cameras for that matter! But i decided to give it a try. Within a week i had shot over 500 pics and now have my true love for photography back. I love the fact it has a manual focus, which really works and shows your depth of field. The colors are awesome and even has settings you can set yourself to increase your contrast and tonality. Depending on if you are inside or outside the iso's matter. Shooting above 800 iso w/o a flash, you will start to see some noise. WIth flash, obviously that is eliminated. Now i know for the pros, flash is always a huge reluctance, but ahhhh with this camera you can turn down the flash to use it as a fill light or increase it for a more dramatic affect. You can shoot in black & white, sepia, and blue (can't remember the technical term), plus you can change the saturation on these as well, and or the contrast. I love the wide angle, and was even surprised by the digital zoom! Most digital zooms are worthless, but this looks pretty good and is useful. The light sensor is great for reading available lighting and you have the option of changing your white balance and even customizing one of the WB settings. For a little camera you have lots of control with how YOU want your photo to look like. I am absolutely impressed!
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Coolpix P6000
- Reviewd on:
2008-11-12
By: Dr. Steve
The Coolpix P6000 is a great little camera. The Vibration reduction feature works flawlessly. However in bright sunlight, the Monitor screen is difficult to see, and the viewfinder is somewhat small. GPS is interesting feature, but, until I cruise around Europe, I'll probably be able to tell where I took the picture from the content. Overall: Great!
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Great Point & Shoot
- Reviewd on:
2008-11-05
By: J. R. Bowman
After reading all the other reviews I couldn't help but laugh....what did you guys think this camera was going to be? For those of you not old enough to remember, I can assure you that back in the Nikon F days of the late 60's & early 70's the 35mm rangerfinders were a compromise vs the SLR's too! That what this camera is, a compromise between a DSLR and a DP&S (glorified digital instamatic).
This is actually the first digital P&S camera I have ever owned, but have in the past owned a D-70 and currently have a D-200 with the extra battery pack and many Nikon lenses including the 300 2.8 (which weighs a ton.
But I needed a very small HQ camera that would fit in my pocket, give some of the creative control I wanted, be durable and most of all be one 20th the weight of my other camera gear so I would carry it with me all the time and the P6000 has filled that need.
In the last week and a half, I have given this little camera a great workout and tried every conrol feature, every image quality feature, time lapse, GPS & more and have had better than good results in many different modes and conditions leading me to say I am more than happy with this camera because I didn't expect too much and judged it on it's own merits.
It will require a bit tweaking to get the image you want but it is well worth it in the end and that is one part of photography I have always liked the best, playing around with the equipment until I get the results I want!
I agree the GPS is semi useless inside a building and the battery life could be better but overall I like this little camera and really enjoy having it with me at all times to capture life's unexpected moments.
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