A good buy

I've had this camera now for about 6 months, after my Toshiba PDRM 70 finally gave up it's last gasp. (see previous review of this fine camera) I've used it under lots of conditions and use it almost daily at my job taking pix to document a process or a quality shortcoming.

The camera takes AMAZING close-ups with the ability to focus at less than 2" from the subject. A little work is needed to be sure you have the item you want in focus and perhaps setting the camera to single rather than continuous focus will work better for you.

Switching from normal to Macro mode is as easy as sliding a switch if you keep it set for close-ups. The drawback here is that the default for the flash is NONE. If you do use the flash for an extreme close-up, keep the subject in the upper part of the frame since the lens blocks light from the lower half. This is not an issue from more than 3 or 4 inches.

Don't bother with the zoom in Macro mode. It automatically sets to WIDE when you go to Close-up. You can get a little zoom, but beyond that the camera simply doesn't focus.

For people and landscapes in the normal mode results are likewise excellent. I don't often use the "Red-eye" function since that delays the actual shutter by quite a bit and most of my shots are un-posed/candid and will be gone by the time the shutter clicks. It DOES work quite well when you have the luxury of using it, but otherwise, use your graphics software to reduce/remove the red-eye.

Using the menu feature of the center switch position gives you a LOT of options, including a COPY function that works pretty much like your friendly neighborhood photocopier. Simple, black and white, sharp, crisp images.

Other modes are sports action, multi-shot, landscape, portrait, Dawn and Dusk settings and many sub features within these menus. It will take some time to learn them and there will be some you will try and then never use again. It's well worth exploring the power and flexibility of these menu features. What works for me may not work for you, but there is something for everyone.

The Movie mode is amazing. I have a 2G UltraSD card installed that allows over 50 minutes of TV quality video. Be sure you get the faster flash cards as all flash is NOT created equal. The faster cards with write speeds of over 9MBytes/sec result in faster saves and faster video frame rates. The low-light sensitivity in this mode is excellent, but you cannot zoom at all. What you set for framing when you start is what you get throughout. Nikon, take note.

The generous screen shows clearly what you are taking as long as the ambient light isn't too bright. Under normal conditions framing is easy. Reviewing what you have just taken is likewise easy and you can view a mosaic to find a shot, or just scroll from the end of the queue through all of them. A simple click of the "OK" button will start your video playing, complete with surprisingly clear sound. But get into bright sunlight and the screen effectively vanishes.

The deciding features for me were the optical 5x zoom, the word Nikon on the front and.... the batteries! This camera is surprisingly frugal of battery power. I've taken over 179 shots including 15 minutes of video on two sets of NiMh AA batteries. I carry several sets of freshly charged 2300maH batteries with me whenever I go out and have NEVER run out of power even taking lots of video and many flash shots. The camera eats conventional AA, Nickle Cadmium, or NiMh batteries and allows you to optimize operation with any of these types. Just be sure to use two of the same type. NiCd and NiMh are NOT mixable.

Ok, the flaws. Yes even Nikon has some. Slow activation, dim viewscreen (include an optical finder?), poor low-light operation in other than video mode. And the viewscreen on my camera now has a large ugly scratch. (hint: put a PDA protector film over the screen to help prevent this) Being able to use the zoom in macro and video modes would also be useful.

All in all, this is an outstanding point and shoot camera with great flexibility and the image quality you expect from the name.