Nikon CoolPix 8700 Digital Camera

Nikon Coolpix 8700

CoolPix 8700 Digital Camera Review, by Tracey Capen April 21, 2004

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• Reviewed by: zercoll

  Strengths: sharp images, good auto B/W, great 3D matrix metering,very good macro, light, a lot of options, good image compression never over 3MB,good video, full metal body very best quality

  Weaknesses: shutter lag in low light, and focus very slow in some indoor occasions, flash poor, start for 35mm, video only 35 sec,at begining difficult menu navigation

  Overall: This is a very very good camera, it's main quality is superlative images in all conditions,after a little time of use you can take very beautiful shots, absolutely comparable with d50 and d70 but more lightweight and with more features, you only need a wideangle lens and this is the perfect camera,8700 it's better than 8800 because bigger and slower ( I hate the telecommander rda )

• Reviewed by: draperk

  Strengths: Very sharp images, excellent metering and color balance, excellent macros (down to 1.2"), long zoom, RAW, good flash, lightest camera in its class.

  Weaknesses: Shutter lag in low light, delay while saving RAW images, needs adapter for really wide wideangle shooting.

  Overall: I'm surprised by the negative reviews of this camera. No camera is best at every kind of work. Most reviewers sound like they bought the wrong camera for their particular needs and are blaming the camera for not being something it isn't. This is not a snapshooter's camera. If you shoot sports or news or even weddings, I'd pick another gun, preferably an SLR. And if you mostly want to shoot high quality family and vacation photos, the 8700 is overkill - it's too complex for efficient casual use. But if you primarily do deliberate work in fair to good light - macro, candid, art, real estate, scientific, etc. - it's a light, powerful, flexible joy to use. I'm particularly pleased by the sharpness of the lens at almost all stops and zoom ratios. Anyone who isn't getting sharp images with the 8700 needs to check his work habits; it's clearly capable of getting high real-world resolution and crispness. The metering is also superb under a wide range of lighting situations that would have completely defeated any other auto-exposure camera I've used. Autofocus is slow in low light, but I've seen worse. At least the 8700 has an AF-assist lamp that comes on when needed. Several other cameras in this price and MP bracket lack the assist and can't do AF at all in low light. I need a lightweight camera with a lot of pixels, a long sharp zoom, great macro capability, and the ability to work in RAW. I don't need to shoot rapid sequences on the run or in low light. I need to carry a camera and tripod around with me, but there's no way I'm going to lug a 2-3-pound digital SLR around with a heavy bag of interchangeable lenses. For me, the 8700 was a great choice. If you can afford the Coolpix 8800, it has an even longer zoom, makes a few small improvements, and gives you auto-stabilization. If your budget is a bit tight, however, the 8700 is a terrific bargain at under $600 net. (I paid $465 for mine after the rebate.) If you buy yourself a good tripod with some of the money you save, your pictures will be sharper and you won't miss the stabilization.It comes down to what you want to use the camera for. If you need the long lens, pixels, sharpness, lightness, etc., of the 8700, you can't beat it in its price bracket. But if you need shooting speed and simplicity more than you need 8MP and a long zoom lens, you need a different camera.

• Reviewed by: jcarter_30052

  Strengths: Zoom, Flash, Relatve ease of use.

  Weaknesses: Haven't found a solid weakness yet.... more to come

  Overall: I've always found a distinct difference between the professional and non-professional attitude for a paticular camera. The 8700 is a Semi-pro camera. If you want a point-n-shoot, save your money with a lesser model. BUT... if you want professional level operations.. the 8700 is a great choice. The key... to use the features... you've got to understand what they do. If you don't.. you'll be very frustrated. My buying decision was based on the need for control but not the need for changing lenses. More to come on this review as I experiment with various shooting situations.

• Reviewed by: pasttime

  Strengths: It does everything well.

  Weaknesses: None.

  Overall: A GREAT camera. While it does take a bit of effort to learn all of it's fine features, I found it not to be as difficult as some others have said.

• Reviewed by: trmc

  Strengths: Nikon lens, small size, excellent zoom, good battery consumption, 8 megapixel,

  Weaknesses: Most pics need color correction, very complex and difficult to use menu system, slow response of shutter

  Overall: This is my 5th digital camera, and is by far the most difficult to use with complex menu system...I still haven't figured out how to use all of the functions and carry along the owners manual to figure out how to use it. Pics are sharp and detailed, but shutter reponse is very slow and negates taking any action pics with any degree of accuracy.